10/09/2026
I get lots of questions from students thinking about becoming veterinarians.
Here's what I say:
1) I get to do the best work, with the best people, and the best animals, and I wouldn't want to do anything else. But getting to that took a lot of time and few episodes of burn out.
2) Learn everything about personal finance immediately. If you can't manage your finances, this is going to be a really tough lifestyle.
3) Get a therapist, and practice setting healthy boundaries.
4) Have an employment attorney review all of your contracts.
Here is some fresh information from AVMA here for serious candidates to consider:
"The average debt from earning a veterinary degree was $185,424 for all 2026 graduates, including those with no veterinary student debt, and $227,588 for those with veterinary student debt. Overall, 18.5% of all new graduates had no debt from veterinary college.
On the other end of the spectrum, 43.3% of new graduates owed $200,000 or more in veterinary student loans and 7.9% reported owing $400,000 or more. These figures account for student debt incurred during veterinary college only.
The average debt-to-income ratio (DIR) for new veterinarians entering full-time employment in 2026 was 1.5:1, indicating a debt that was 1.5 times the amount they were expecting to earn. This figure has also increased from previous years, and now 18.1% of new graduates have a DIR of 2.5:1 or greater."
New data on veterinary compensation and educational debt trends over time were presented on October 8 at the 2026 AVMA Veterinary Business and Economic Forum. The full results of the 2027 AVMA Report on the Economic State of the Veterinary Profession will be available in the first quarter of 2027.
