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A day in the life of a large animal vet is different then all other because typically you will have most of your tools in your truck and you will be driving for farm to farm checking out any animals form dogs to pigs to horse or cattle. There is no telling what you might encounter while you checking out peoples animals some will be very easy and some maybe something you've never seen before. You always have to be ready to perform emergency surgery on the animals your going to visit just incase they have gotten worse or its more server then you thought.

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As a vet you get very good benefits and are very fortunate. Vets get excellent medical care, dental care, and vision care. You also receive 2-4 weeks of paid vacation and also get paid sick days. you can also receive continuing education pay if you continue to go to school.

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Veterinarian Salary & Benefits Information | VetHow

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Find out what the average veterinarian salary is for nearby cities and see what kind of benefits you can expect in the animal medicine industry.

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The beginning salary for a large animal vet is around $44,000 a year but it is very easy to move up in this career. A large majority of the people in this career that have moved up in the industry make at least $93,000 or a lot more.  Theirs expected a 12 percent increase in veterinarian jobs including large animal veterinarians.

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Starting and mid-career salaries for veterinarians are higher in some eastern cities.

Dean Golja/Photodisc/Getty Images

Large animal veterinarians primarily treat cows, horses and pigs for farmers, ranchers and other rural clients. Those who work for the federal government study common diseases of pigs and cows to keep the food supply safe for meat packing companies and consumers. Large animal veterinarians' starting and mid-career salaries can vary significantly, depending on where they live in the United States.

Entry-Level Salaries Between $40,000 and $45,000

The average starting salary for a large animal veterinarian was $44,000 as of May 2014, according to the job site Simply Hired. Most large animal veterinarians, like all veterinarians, earn bachelor's degrees in any major and four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They must also take and pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination through the American Veterinary Medical Association or comparable veterinary associations to earn their state licenses. Veterinarians may also become certified in one of 40 specialties if they have one or more years of experience and complete three- or four-year residency programs. Other essential requirements for this job are physical strength and stamina, manual dexterity and compassion and management, interpersonal and problem-solving skills.

Average Salaries Between $90,000 and $95,000

The BLS groups average salaries for all veterinarians together, including those who work with large animals. These average salaries are reflective of what mid-career large animal veterinarians earn. The average annual salaries for all veterinarians were $93,250 as of 2012, according to the BLS. Veterinarians earned average salaries of $132,170 in the scientific and research and development services industry, while those working for pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing companies averaged $113,350 per year. Colleges and universities paid their veterinarians average salaries of $75,190 annually.

D.C. First, Connecticut Later

In 2014, starting salaries for large animal veterinarians varied the most in the South region, according to Simply Hired, where they earned the lowest salaries of $34,000 in Mississippi and the highest salaries of $69,000 in Washington, D.C. Those in the Midwest made $34,000 to $47,000 per year in South Dakota and Minnesota, respectively. Large animal veterinarians earned $35,000 in Montana and $49,000 in both Alaska and California, which were the lowest and highest salaries in the West. In the Northeast, they made the most in Massachusetts and the least in Maine at $53,000 and $39,000, respectively. Average salaries for all veterinarians were the highest in Connecticut as of May 2012, according to the BLS -- $121,480 annually. Those in Delaware and New York made $112,260 and $111,960 per year, respectively. Montana employers paid veterinarians the lowest salaries of $61,050 annually.

Average Job Outlook

The BLS estimates a 12 percent increase in employment for veterinarians, including large animal veterinarians, from 2012 to 2022, which is average compared to the 11 percent national rate for all occupations. Federal government agencies may need large animal veterinarians for food and animal safety, disease control and overall public health. Approximately 3,000 veterinarians are entering the field each year, which creates stiff competition among these animal doctors. Large animal veterinarians may find more job opportunities with the federal government or in small farm towns experiencing shortages of veterinarians.

Photo Credits

Dean Golja/Photodisc/Getty Images

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What Is the Starting Salary and Mid-Career Salary for Large Animal Veterinarians?

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Large animal veterinarians primarily treat cows, horses and pigs for farmers, ranchers and other rural clients. Those who work for the federal government study common diseases of pigs and cows to keep the food supply safe for meat packing companies and consumers. Large animal veterinarians' starting and mid-career ...

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In this career you will have to perform surgery's on many different sized animals and also would have to do cleanings and annual check ups. You would also need to know how to work X-Ray machines and be ok with travailing and being on the road a lot. If you can not handle blood and cutting open animals this would not be a recommended field for you.

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Large animal veterinarians are practitioners that manage the health of livestock species such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs.

Duties

Large animal veterinarians are licensed animal health professionals that are trained to diagnose and treat illnesses that affect livestock species. Large animal practitioners commonly treat cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs. They tend to make farm calls to visit their patients, often using a customized truck outfitted with the necessary medical equipment.​

The usual routine for a large animal vet includes conducting health exams, giving vaccinations, drawing blood, prescribing medications, cleaning, and suturing wounds, taking ultrasounds, taking x-rays, and performing surgeries. Other duties may include monitoring the reproductive health of the breeding stock, performing artificial inseminations, assisting with problem births, and conducting pre-purchase exams.

Large animal veterinarians frequently work long hours and spend a great deal of time on the road as they travel from farm to farm. They also must be on call for potential emergencies on weekends and holidays. The work itself can be particularly demanding for large animal vets, as they must be capable of restraining and treating animals of substantial size. Large animal vets must be careful to take safety precautions while treating their patients.

Career Options

According to statistics from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), more than 75% of vets work in private practice.

The vast majority of practitioners work on small animals. While most large animal vets work on a variety of livestock species, some choose to focus on offering services exclusively for equine, bovine, or porcine patients. Others offer mixed practice services for both large and small animals.

Outside of private practice, vets also find work as educators, pharmaceutical sales representatives, military veterinarians, government meat inspectors, and research scientists.

Education and Training

All large animal veterinarians graduate with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. The DVM program is a rigorous course of study that covers all aspects of health care for both small and large animal species. There are currently 30 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States that offer an AVMA-accredited DVM degree.

Upon graduation, vets must pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE) to gain their credentials to practice medicine. Approximately 2,500 veterinarians graduate, pass the NAVLE exam and enter the veterinary field each year. At the end of 2015, according to the AVMA employment survey, there were 105,358 practicing veterinarians in the United States. Large animal exclusive vets made up less than 8% of that total.

Professional Associations

The American Veterinary Medical Association is one of the most prominent veterinary organizations, representing over 80,000 practitioners. Other groups for large animal practitioners include the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) and the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP).

Salary

The median wage for veterinarians is approximately $87,590 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics salary data in 2014.

Earnings reportedly ranged from $52,530 in the lowest compensated tenth of all vets, while the top tenth of all vets earned more than $157,390.

According to the AVMA, the median professional income for food animal exclusive veterinarians (before taxes) was $103,000 in 2009; this was the highest median among all branches of veterinary private practice. Food animal predominant veterinarians earned a median professional income of $91,000.

In terms of average starting salary right out of veterinary school, large animal vets begin their career with a mean compensation of $71,096 for food animal exclusive practice and $67,338 for food animal predominant practice.

Veterinarians who are board certified in a particular specialty area (ophthalmology, oncology, surgery, etc) generally earn significantly higher salaries as a result of their advanced education and experience.

As of 2015, AVMA data indicated there was 561 board certified large animal internal medicine diplomates and 307 board certified large animal veterinary surgeons.

Job Outlook

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the veterinary profession will expand at a rate of 9 percent over the decade from 2014 to 2024. This is faster than the average for all positions considered in their salary survey data.

A December 2015 AVMA employment survey found that there were more than 87,000 vets in private practice. Of that number, there were 3,655 veterinarians in food animal predominant practice and 1,969 veterinarians in food animal exclusive practice.

Since most vets choose to go into small animal exclusive practice (nearly 45,000 currently employed in this type of work), there should be a continued need for large animal veterinarians in the marketplace, especially in rural areas.

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Learn About Being a Large Animal Veterinarian - Job Duties and More

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Large animal veterinarians are practitioners that manage the health of livestock species such as cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs. Large animal veterinarians are licensed animal health professionals that are trained to diagnose and treat illnesses that affect livestock species. Large animal practitioners commonly treat cattle, horses, sheep, goats, and pigs.

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To be a large animal veterinarian you need to have Doctor Of Veterinary Medicine degree. Most animal science degrees and livestock degrees can get you into the livestock veterinarians field . some good internship ideas would be to volunteer at your local animal shelters or find a local vet and go meet with them and ask if the have an apprentice job open. To actually be able to practice medicine you have to pass a

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Livestock veterinarians focus on the health of horses or food animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep by performing checkups, diagnosing illnesses, prescribing treatments and quarantining animals if necessary. Most aspiring livestock veterinarians complete a bachelor's degree program in a major related to animal science before attaining the required Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree through veterinary school. Livestock veterinarians must then complete an internship or residency program and become licensed before being able to practice.

Required Education
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

Other Requirements
Completion of an internship or residency program and licensure

Projected Job Growth (2014-2024)
9% (all veterinarians)*

Median Salary (2015)
$88,490 (all veterinarians)*

Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Employment Outlook and Salary Info

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 78,300 veterinarians employed in the U.S. in 2014, with a median yearly income of $88,490. Vets who work exclusively with food animals had the highest starting salaries. Veterinarians in general can expect employment opportunities to increase by 9% over the 2014-2024 decade. Among those vets working in private practice in 2015, about 6% were equine vets and about 7% were vets for food animals.

Licensing Requirements

The BLS also reports that all states require veterinarians to be licensed unless they work for exempted state and federal agencies. The requirements for licensure can vary by state, but usually include a DVM and passing grade on the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam (NAVLE). The NAVLE, given by the National Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners, includes both multiple choice and visual questions that test a candidate's knowledge of veterinary medicine and diagnostic skills. Some states also require state jurisprudence or clinical competency exams.

Certification Option

The American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) offers species-oriented certification for veterinarians. Among the certifications offered are: beef cattle practice, equine practice, dairy practice, swine health management and food animal practice. According to the ABVP, applicants for certification must have six years of experience in the category they wish to test for.

To summarize, a livestock veterinarian makes a living by traveling to farms to look after the health of horses or food animals. In order to practice, they must complete a DVM degree, specialize in livestock, and pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam. The salary for all veterinarians is considered to be lucrative, and job growth during the 2014-2024 decade should be slightly faster than average.

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Livestock veterinarians focus on the health of horses or food animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep by performing checkups, diagnosing illnesses, prescribing treatments and quarantining animals if necessary. Most aspiring livestock veterinarians complete a bachelor's degree program in a major related to animal science before attaining the required Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree through veterinary school.