A veterinarian’s salary in Arizona depends on the type of practice, years of experience and location. Veterinary practitioners with a specialty certificate or license can earn more than general practitioners. Some veterinarians also supplement their income by teaching, especially at universities and colleges.
The median annual salary for a licensed veterinarian in Arizona is $76,000, which equates to an hourly pay rate of $37.68. This is the mean for all vet salaries in the state, excluding veterinarians that are self-employed. The highest-paid 10% of veterinarians in Arizona earn over $111,080 per year, and these professionals typically have at least 15 years of experience under their belts.
Veterinarian salary in Arizona Overview
The average annual salary for a veterinarian in Arizona is $110,800. The median annual salary is $101,980. The most common industries that veterinarians work in are medical laboratories and clinics, animal hospitals, and veterinary offices. The most common occupations of veterinarians are veterinarians & veterinary technicians; veterinary specialists; veterinary assistants & laboratory animal caretakers; and assistant professors & instructors (postsecondary).
How much do veterinary assistants make in Arizona?
The average annual salary for a veterinary assistant in Arizona is $29,340. The median annual salary is $27,680. The most common industries that veterinary assistants work in are animal hospitals and clinics; pet stores; and animal hospitals & clinics. The most common occupations of veterinary assistants are assistant professors & instructors (postsecondary); teachers; registered nurses; registered physical therapists; registered practical nurses; and bakers.
How much does a veterinarian make per month?
The average monthly salary for a veterinarian in Arizona is $4,929. The median monthly salary is $4,813.
Veterinarian Job Duties
Anyone who has taken their pet to a veterinarian probably has a good idea of some of the tasks they do on the job. What do veterinarians do on a daily basis? Here are some common duties:
- Examine animals to diagnose their health problems
- Treat and dress wounds
- Perform surgery on animals
- Test for and vaccinate against diseases
- Operate medical equipment, such as x-ray machines
- Advise animal owners about general care, medical conditions, and treatments
- Prescribe medication
- Euthanize animals
Some veterinarians specialize in a certain area. For example, some work with horses, while others work with farmers by assisting with their cattle and livestock.
Veterinarian Education Requirements
How do you become a veterinarian? What are the education requirements? Veterinarians must complete a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) degree at an accredited college of veterinary medicine. A veterinary medicine program generally takes 4 years to complete and includes classroom, laboratory, and clinical components.
Although not required, most applicants to veterinary school have a bachelor’s degree, and this is often recommended. What major should you choose for an undergraduate bachelor’s degree if you plan to go to veterinary school? That’s a great question.
Admission to veterinary programs is competitive, and up to half of all applicants are rejected. It is also described as very difficult. Students will have to learn many different species of animals, drugs, medical procedures, and more.
Students typically spend the final year of the 4-year program doing clinical rotations in a veterinary medical center or hospital.
Veterinarians must be licensed in order to practice in the United States. Licensing requirements vary by state, but all states require prospective veterinarians to complete an accredited veterinary program and to pass the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination. Veterinarians working for the state or federal government may not be required to have a state license, because each agency has different requirements.
Most states not only require the national exam but also have a state exam that covers state laws and regulations.
The American Veterinary Medical Association offers certification in 40 specialties, such as surgery, microbiology, and internal medicine. Although certification is not required for veterinarians, it can show exceptional skill and expertise in a particular field. To sit for a specialty certification exam, veterinarians must have a certain number of years of experience in the field, complete additional education, and complete a residency program, typically lasting 3 to 4 years. Requirements vary by specialty.
Pros and Cons of Being a Veterinarian
Most veterinarians love their careers, and they consider it a calling, not a job. They are very passionate about helping animals and others. Nevertheless, every profession has its advantages and disadvantages–its likes and dislikes.
What Most Veterinarians Like (the advantages) about their Jobs:
- Most vets love the feeling of helping animals
- You can work to own your own practice
- You can specialize or work in many different areas
What Most Veterinarians Dislike (the disadvantages) or Working as a Veterinarian:
- Animals can be rabid or dangerous
- People can become emotional after loss of pet. I’ve heard stories of people bringing in dead pets, pleading for the vet to bring them back to life.
- Dealing with financial issues and unpaid accounts.
- Animals are sometimes mistreated or neglected by owners
How much does a veterinarian make in Arizona?
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports the annual mean wage for veterinarians in the state of Arizona as $107,700, calculated and reported as of May 2019. The annual mean wage for veterinarians all throughout the United States is $104,820, also as of May 2019. The annual mean wage for this occupation in Arizona is, thus, slightly higher than the overall national average. Veterinarians in the U.S. can typically expect their yearly salary to be somewhere between $75,580 and $122,590, the twenty-fifth and seventy-fifth percentiles of collected annual wage data, respectively. In the middle of this range and at the fiftieth percentile of wage data is the median occupational salary, which is $95,460. The annual mean wage for veterinarians in Arizona is over twelve thousand dollars more than the national median, meaning that Arizona, on average, pays its veterinarians a salary that is in the upper half of the typical occupational pay range. This could be an indication that it is one of the higher paying locations in the U.S. for veterinarians.
