High Supply and Falling Demand for Veterinarians -NYT Article

This article was a surprise to me, since I thought that vets made more (they have a 45K average salary), and that there was sufficient demand:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/business/high-debt-and-falling-demand-trap-new-veterinarians.html?src=recg

Another example of the end (Vet salary and demand) not being able justify the means (vet school tuition).

Also noted in the article: DeVry runs an accredited for profit vet school in St Kitts, which cranks out three times the number of vets that an average school does.

 

My cousin and two of my fraternity brothers are vets. The only way to make real money in that line of work is to own your own practice, work with large (i.e. farm) animals or be a specialist (my cousin is a horse surgeon and solely works on thoroughbreds).

 

This sounds a bit like some recent threads we've had related to law schools/law grads.

 

The legal community has also noticed the similarities. However, the legal education issues get more attention, because there are far more law schools/graduates than vet schools/graduates (plus lawyers just may be more vocal).

 

It's so happens that once in 80s and 90s there was good future and good salaries for Veterinarias DVMs. To few schools so it was more demand then supply.
With the years things changed.

Today, there are many DVM's who are making a little bit more then what we read in the article. Depends on city and state. In my area they make 60 to 90 K in salary working for pet clinics.

As I mentioned in one discussion, I have a friend who is an RVT that had very hard time to get a job so he risked and used his life savings to buy a an animal hospital from an aging DVM who retired.

Since then he is employing couple of DVM's and an RVT etc.

He replaced DVM's once they demand to match money but fail to deliver and the list of unemployed or underemployed DVM's who are asking to work in his clinic is long.
To open a pet Hospital all that is needed among other thongs is licensed DVM whom he hires.

Yes working with exotic animals brings good income. A contract with Zoo as a backup clinic.
There are a lot of Horse ranches where he has the business, they also have a mobile clinic in RV so they come to the ranches.
He is also considering to open in another location an emergency clinic.

So far AMA did a better job to protect MD's production wile AVMA failed to do the same for DVM's and ABA failed to do the same for law practitioners.
AVMA made it easier to become an DVM. There used to be two exams in the past National and State, today is only national etc.