how much is a vet worth?

They are worth there weight in gold, if they are in it for the animal and not money. Sadly around me we have a few practices that would do anything for some money.

I'm very lucky that my vet is fantastic I've worked with him and I hope to god he isn't planning on retiring.
 
My vet has just retired but a few years back asked me what I thought he earned. I took a guess, a six figure salary, and he told me to multiply it by five.

He owned a practice that has lots of equipment -usually last years model purchased from the NHS - and each vet has a rent a wreck style car supplied by the practice. They can buy three cars for the depreciation of one newer car and it doesn't matter what they put in the boot which means they will attend to PTS or RTA.

You turn up at surgery time & wait your turn but don't get ripped off and the junior vets work a rota that allows them to sleep.

The practice is continuing on the same ethos in an area with three vets within a mile.
 
This list is an average wage and will include not just those who have just qualified but also those who work part time which will bring the salary down.

If you look at the medical professionals for example most Consultants will be earning well over £100,000 and Junior doctors when you take into the on call allowances can earn quite a bit too. I know doctors working part time earning about 60k a year.

Looking at that list I earn more than the average vet and so would quite a few of the managers where I work and we have not go such a responsible or difficult job as being a vet. It does not seem right on that basis vets are under paid but I expect that average is not what the majority of senior vets earning if they are working full time.

It not just about the average wage but the earning potential for a vet at the top of their career.
 
True, but as you say, it's about relative terms. For the amount of schooling vets need and the amount of debt that incurs, the salary is relatively low. Vets obviously know that going in but the fact remains, the person who comes out to your colicking horse is not making nearly as much as many horse owners seem to think and while there is the potential to earn a great deal, that technically exists in any industry but only a tiny percentage people get to that point.
 
Take in to account also, those partners who earn large amounts have large loans to pay off for the privilege. It costs £180-400k to buy in to a partnership these days - so unlike many other careers where you can work your way up to massive wages without any risk, there is no easy way in veterinary. Specialists do similar length and level of training to doctors, but with fewer opportunities and in the last 2 years, the qualified equine surgeons outnumber the job opportunities. I know of two who are fully qualified specialists and earn no more than the average ambulatory vet as there are not enough surgery jobs to go round. This is only just happening now, but is set to continue. Small animal is now the only feasible area to "specialise" in veterinary in my opinion(in terms of wages).
 
s4sugar said:
He owned a practice that has lots of equipment -usually last years model purchased from the NHS
Click to expand...

Really? Since when did the NHS buy something and then sell it off within a year...? IME ex NHS stuff is non diagnostic - which is why the NHS have sold it off and replaced it with a newer diagnostic model. The newest stuff you'll get off the NHS is 3 yrs old - not ancient and probably still good. But that's only from the maternity dept, and it won't necessarily be suitable for vet use. (maternity have to update their scanners, for example, every 3 years because things move on so fast technologically).

If your vet uses ex NHS stuff he's not giving you anywhere near the best diagnostic service available.
 
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