According to an AVMA survey, women will dominate the veterinary profession within a decade

Fewer men are becoming veterinarians. Within a decade women will dominate the profession, if present enrollment trends continue at the nation’s 27 veterinary medical schools.

Today, females account for 36% of practicing vets but make up 70% of veterinary medical students. A survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medicine Association of 1999 veterinary school graduates indicates that 68.1% of women entered advanced study programs, compared with 31.9% of the men who graduated.

Numerically, women are expected to achieve gender parity in the profession sometime around 2007. But the AVMA is already ahead of the demographic shift. In July, it became the first major trade association to elect a woman as its president.

Female enrollment in veterinary colleges is expected to peak at 78% by 2015, according to a market study conducted by KPMG Consulting LLC on behalf of the AVMA, the American Animal Hospital Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

The demographic tilt toward women is expected to shorten the average work week in the veterinary field. One-third of vets now work 50 or more hours per week. Women on average work three to four fewer hours than men, according to KPMG’s report.

Several factors are expected to lead to flat or lower incomes for future veterinarians, the survey found. These include the shortened work week, an oversupply of veterinarians, lower earnings expectations of women in general and the tendency of women vets to price services 9% lower than men.

With more females drawn to the profession, a greater number of large corporations likely will enter the veterinary services market. This is because women generally have shown less interest than men in owning private practices, according to the study.

ASSOCIATION FILE

National Veterinarian Service Association
42,747 members
Infocus
Herndon, VA

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Veterinarians
62,911 names
Dunhill International
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Boca Raton, FL

Veterinarians
57,345 names
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Sweet Springs, MO

Veterinarians by Specialty
61,938 names
Fred Woolf List Co. Inc.
White Plains, NY

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DVM Newsmagazine
49,554 subscribers
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Pet Business
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• An estimated 64,944 veterinarians are employed in the United States as of this year. The number of vets is projected to peak at 76,600 in 2017 if enrollment at U.S. veterinary colleges and attrition from the profession remain constant.

• Demand for veterinary services is expected to decline in the future because as people age they keep fewer pets. Through 2015, spending for these services is predicted to grow 5.1% per year, down from a 7.2% annual rate of growth during the 1980s and 1990s.

• America has 22,400 veterinary practices with about two vets working in each one. The average gross revenue generated per practice is $478,355, with $303,584 in overhead expenses.

• Most veterinarians have private practices. About 2,300 work for the federal government, primarily at the Department of Agriculture. More than 50% of vets specialize in small companion animals such as dogs and cats. About 30% are self-employed in solo or group practices.

• Veterinarians with 10 years’ experience receive an average salary of $73,000. The mean pretax income for all vets is $65,208. The average starting salary for 1999 veterinary school graduates was $38,533. Incomes for veterinarians are expected to remain stagnant for at least 10 years until supply and demand for services rendered balances out.

• Vets make more money treating dogs than they do on cats. About 31.2 million households keep 52.9 million dogs, spending an average of $128.77 per dog on veterinary care annually. About 27 million households own 59.1 million cats, spending an average of $81.10 per cat on such care.

• A recent Gallup poll ranks veterinarians in third place among the top 10 most honest professionals. Vets trailed only nurses and pharmacists. They are considered more honest than medical doctors, teachers, clergy, judges, policemen, dentists and college professors, in that order.

Source: American Veterinary Medical Association, Schaumburg, IL

FEWER MEN are becoming veterinarians. Within a decade women will dominate the profession, if present enrollment trends continue at the nation’s 27 veterinary medical schools.

Today, females account for 36% of practicing vets but make up 70% of veterinary medical students. A survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medicine Association of 1999 veterinary school graduates indicates that 68.1% of women entered advanced study programs, compared with 31.9% of the men who graduated.

Numerically, women are expected to achieve gender parity in the profession sometime around 2007. But the AVMA is already ahead of the demographic shift. In July, it became the first major trade association to elect a woman as its president.

Female enrollment in veterinary colleges is expected to peak at 78% by 2015, according to a market study conducted by KPMG Consulting LLC on behalf of the AVMA, the American Animal Hospital Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges.

The demographic tilt toward women is expected to shorten the average work week in the veterinary field. One-third of vets now work 50 or more hours per week. Women on average work three to four fewer hours than men, according to KPMG’s report.

Several factors are expected to lead to flat or lower incomes for future veterinarians, the survey found. These include the shortened work week, an oversupply of veterinarians, lower earnings expectations of women in general and the tendency of women vets to price services 9% lower than men.

With more females drawn to the profession, a greater number of large corporations likely will enter the veterinary services market. This is because women generally have shown less interest than men in owning private practices, according to the study.

– An estimated 64,944 veterinarians are employed in the United States as of this year. The number of vets is projected to peak at 76,600 in 2017 if enrollment at U.S. veterinary colleges and attrition from the profession remain constant.

– Demand for veterinary services is expected to decline in the future because as people age they keep fewer pets. Through 2015, spending for these services is predicted to grow 5.1% per year, down from a 7.2% annual rate of growth during the 1980s and 1990s.

– America has 22,400 veterinary practices with about two vets working in each one. The average gross revenue generated per practice is $478,355, with $303,584 in overhead expenses.

– Most veterinarians have private practices. About 2,300 work for the federal government, primarily at the Department of Agriculture. More than 50% of vets specialize in small companion animals such as dogs and cats. About 30% are self-employed in solo or group practices.

– Veterinarians with 10 years’ experience receive an average salary of $73,000. The mean pretax income for all vets is $65,208. The average starting salary for 1999 veterinary school graduates was $38,533. Incomes for veterinarians are expected to remain stagnant for at least 10 years until supply and demand for services rendered balances out.

– Vets make more money treating dogs than they do on cats. About 31.2 million households keep 52.9 million dogs, spending an average of $128.77 per dog on veterinary care annually. About 27 million households own 59.1 million cats, spending an average of $81.10 per cat on such care.

– A recent Gallup poll ranks veterinarians in third place among the top 10 most honest professionals. Vets trailed only nurses and pharmacists. They are considered more honest than medical doctors, teachers, clergy, judges, policemen, dentists and college professors, in that order.