PathSource - VETERINARIAN: A High GPA Will Serve You Well For Your Entire Career

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VETERINARIAN: A High GPA Will Serve You Well For Your Entire Career

About this video

Dr. Grant is a small-animal Veterinarian, a doctor for dogs, cats, rabbits, and the occasional chicken. He grew up in an urban area and raised animals as part of the 4-H club; visiting the veterinarian with those animals inspired him to become one.

School: Haverford College

Degree: Biology - Veterinary Medicine

Job Title: Veterinarian

Job Summary: Veterinarians

Job Description

Veterinarians care for the health of animals. They diagnose, treat, or research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and animals in zoos, racetracks, and laboratories.

The following are common types of veterinarians:

Companion animal veterinarians treat pets and generally work in private clinics. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 77 percent of veterinarians who work in private clinical practice treat pets. They most often care for cats and dogs, but also treat other pets, such as birds, ferrets, and rabbits. These veterinarians diagnose animal health problems, consult with owners of animals, and carry out medical procedures, such as vaccinations and setting fractures.

Equine veterinarians work with horses. About 6 percent of private practice veterinarians treat horses.

Food animal veterinarians work with farm animals such as pigs, cattle, and sheep. About 8 percent of private practice veterinarians treat food animals. They spend much of their time at farms and ranches treating illnesses and injuries and testing for and vaccinating against disease. They also may advise owners or managers about feeding, housing, and general health practices.

Food safety and inspection veterinarians inspect livestock and animal products and enforce government food safety regulations. They may inspect livestock, checking the animals for E. coli and other transmittable diseases. They check for food purity and sanitation by inspecting food products, animals and carcasses, and slaughtering and processing plants. Others may work along the country’s borders in food safety and security, ensuring abundant and safe food supplies.

Research veterinarians work in laboratories, conducting clinical research on human and animal health problems. These veterinarians may perform tests on animals to identify the effects of drug therapies, or they may test new surgical techniques. They may also research how to prevent, control, or eliminate food- and animal-borne illnesses and diseases.

On-the-Job Training

Limited.

Additional Info

When deciding whom to admit, some veterinary medical colleges weigh experience heavily. Formal experience, such as work with veterinarians or scientists in clinics, agribusiness, research, or some area of health science, is particularly advantageous. Less formal experience, such as working with animals on a farm, at a stable, or in an animal shelter, can also be helpful.

Certification Requirement

Optional.

Quick Facts

Average salary

National Statistic Change Location

Confirm

$50,000 - $150,000

Projected Job Growth

30 to 40 percent

Typical schedule

Full-time, Long hours, Irregular

Typical workplace

Office, Outdoor, Indoor, Hospital / Clinic

Personal Qualities

Patience, Problem solving skills, Analytical skills, Verbal communication skills, People skills, Empathy

Educational Path

Education Requirement

Doctorate

Recommended Education Degree

Doctorate

Recommended Majors

Veterinary Studies
Biology
Animal Sciences
Animal Biology
Zoology
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology
Biochemistry
Chemistry
Physiology

Related Careers

Agricultural and Food Scientists
Animal Care and Service Workers
Medical Scientists
Physicians and Surgeons
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists

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P3.instances[0].transcript.parse_transcript_data({"transcript":"I'm Doctor Grant. I'm a small animal veterinarian. And I take care of people's dogs and cats, and occasionally a rabbit, and every so often, a chicken. I work in a mainly urban area. It's the East Bay. And folks bring their pets to me with a variety of questions, everything from health maintenance-- which is talking about what to feed your pet, how to take care of your pet, giving vaccinations. We do a lot of spay and neuter, which is for population control. And then of course, as pets get older and problems arise, they bring their animal to me for help with anything from chronic kidney disease to heart problems, maybe a broken toenail. And then sometimes very sophisticated problems, although in this area I tend to refer certain very sophisticated problems to a specialist. I was nine years old. And I decided I wanted to be a veterinarian. Part of that was being in 4H, which is a club for kids who raise animals as projects. It's pretty common in parts of the country. It's fairly uncommon in a very urban area, like where I live. I raised dairy goats and chickens and rabbits. And I decided that when I was nine or ten years old that went-- well, we were visiting the vet with my animals, I thought that would be a fun job. I think deep down inside, part of me wanted to be a farmer. And I knew that being a farmer would be difficult, since I didn't grow up on a farm. So being a veterinarian and working with animals in that way seemed like a realistic a way to go. I went to an undergraduate college in Pennsylvania. And my college experience, my major, in college was molecular biology. Most of my classmates ended up going into research or medical school. I was one of only two or three students from my small college to ever go to vet school. I did get into vet school on my first try. I think, in large part, because I did have good grades. I did study very hard in college, and I did have a very high GPA. And so I was able to get into vet school the first time. There are a lot of students who will apply to vet school two or three or four times. And generally, those are students who's GPA is a little bit lower. And so it takes them a little bit longer to get in. What I have learned from talking and meeting young people who want to go to vet school is that, if I had any advice to a young person who is starting off their college career, is have fun. But get that high GPA, that high grade point average, while you're in college. Because it will serve you well for the rest of your life after you graduate college. It's much harder to fix a low GPA, grade point average, five or ten years after college than it is while you're going through it the first time. ","file":{"id":305214,"video_id":"2793598848001","name":"1426-DrGrant-Veterinarian1","duration":196743,"thumbnail_url":null}});