More salary musings...

[Shanomong]

---

Members do not see this ad.

.

 

[Angelo84]

I am all for further discussion on salary but I would be careful about cutting and pasting things from other password protected sites without permission (unless you had it?). I realize you left identifying info out but still...

I agree in general that it is possible to pay of loans from vet school as long as you are okay with keeping things simple for a while after graduation.

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[IvyLynx]

So I tend to be among the minority who doesn't think we'll have major problems paying off student debt after school. Judging mostly based on the lifestyles of the vets I know, and the few salaries I know (new vet friends... all starting at $80,000+ in various states/locations), it doesn't seem as dismal as the $50,000/year I keep hearing people expecting. Sure those salaries are out there... but they seem to be the low end, not the norm.

What are these friends doing? Are they all in private practice?

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[Shanomong]

.http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=15691

 

[HandD42]

ETA: These are all SA vets with the exception of one, who is a zoo vet.

Interesting point....throwing some conjecture out here that LA/equine practitioners may be the ones bringing the average starting salary down into the 40-50ks.

 

[sumstorm]

The other thing is that some grads are having problems finding jobs. average $90k w/ $0k and it makes some sense. So it will only take some making $30-40k (interns, residents) to drop that average. That is why averages without deviations aren't terribly useful. I do not think this field is death walking for income, but I do not think it can continue to have ever rising educational costs, either, with relatively stagnated incomes.

Out of curiosity, what is the zoo vet making, and is that post residency?

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[random23]

I think salary is also heavily dependent on the area of the country you work in. Also, I was interested in sumstorm's comment that new grads are having difficulty finding jobs. Don't mean to divert the thread, but I hope that there isn't a shortage of jobs. I was under the impression that I wouldn't have any trouble finding a decent job when I graduate, but I haven't really looked into it much yet so I could be quite wrong in that assumption....

 

[VeganSoprano]

I will say that the interns at my workplace aren't having the easiest time finding jobs, and that's after an internship. Banfield is receiving strong consideration from some, which is a position they definitely didn't think they'd be in.

 

[SilverSpyderGT]

I will say that the interns at my workplace aren't having the easiest time finding jobs, and that's after an internship. Banfield is receiving strong consideration from some, which is a position they definitely didn't think they'd be in.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with this. There are a lot of people in my class who are interviewing with Banfield, and a lot who are still searching for jobs barely a month before graduation (June 13).

However, there are a lot of people in my class who are restricting themselves geographically. If you're looking to work in an area with a vet school, you're going to be fighting your classmates for jobs in an already supersaturated area. If you're willing to relocate, you can find a good job in a lot of places... and now that the government is finally instituting the loan repayment program, you have an extra $25,000/year incentive to move to the middle of (almost) nowhere.

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[sumstorm]

I'd agree with what others have said. either geographical constraints (and not necessarily just around the vet school) or other constraints (specific hours, specific practice type, specific equipment available, extremly specific philosophy, etc.)

 

[rugbychick16]

If you're willing to relocate, you can find a good job in a lot of places... and now that the government is finally instituting the loan repayment program, you have an extra $25,000/year incentive to move to the middle of (almost) nowhere.

Lol hey my home county is on the shortage map, my fiancees home county is on the shortage map....to me it seems like awesome places to move to and exactly what I want to do. Hopefully the program works out and is still going strong in a couple years with funds, because to someone like me its an awesome opportunity.

The shortage map, for any of those who haven't seen it-
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/animals/in_focus/vmlrp/vmlrp_shortage_situation_usmap.html

 

[sumstorm]

Lol hey my home county is on the shortage map, my fiancees home county is on the shortage map....to me it seems like awesome places to move to and exactly what I want to do. Hopefully the program works out and is still going strong in a couple years with funds, because to someone like me its an awesome opportunity.

The shortage map, for any of those who haven't seen it-
http://www.nifa.usda.gov/nea/animals/in_focus/vmlrp/vmlrp_shortage_situation_usmap.html

There are a couple challenges with the shortage areas; you need to be interested in food animal or mixed practice, and some areas will have difficulty supporting a vet, and in some cases, it will mean you are working on your own and will need to invest in your own equipment. It can be difficult to get the business loans for a clinic, or more likely, a mobile service, particularly if the bank says 'this place won't support, fiscally, a veterinary service.' And, unfortunatly, in my experience, vets in food animal face the additional challenge that they are generally not called until an animal is rapidly declining and may then be blamed if the animal can't be recovered. Not saying I think the program is a bad idea....just not sure it is as simple as it sounds, from talking to other vets serving similar areas or retired/relocated from some of these areas.

BTW- has the debt threshold for the current year been announced yet?

 

[eventualeventer]

I spent some time browsing the northern tier of the country on that site, and one place said that the local government was considering even building a clinic and providing other perks because they were so desperate. I think this was in some corner of North Dakota, hours away from a major city, and they had not been able to attract anyone thus far.

 

[david594]

Also keep in mind this loan repayment thing isn't a you show up and automatically get it. They currently only have funding for 50 vets.

 

[chris03333]

So I tend to be among the minority who doesn't think we'll have major problems paying off student debt after school. Judging mostly based on the lifestyles of the vets I know, and the few salaries I know (new vet friends... all starting at $80,000+ in various states/locations), it doesn't seem as dismal as the $50,000/year I keep hearing people expecting. Sure those salaries are out there... but they seem to be the low end, not the norm.

My challenge to you is to update this thread when you are looking for employment. 👍

 

[Shanomong]

.