Employment, starting salaries, and educational indebtedness of year-2018 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges.

Abstract

Mean full-time starting salary among all types of employers combined (private, public, or corporate practice and advanced education programs) was $65,896 in 2018. Excluding salaries for graduates pursuing advanced education, the mean full-time starting salary was $82,425. Mean educational debt accumulated during veterinary school for all respondents (n = 2,758) in 2018 was $152,358 (median, $159,000). Mean educational debt among the 82.7% of respondents who had debt (n = 2,280) was $183,014 in 2018, an increase of 9.8%, compared with the 2017 value.