Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Veterinarians
Diagnose, treat, or research diseases and injuries of animals. Includes veterinarians who conduct research and development, inspect livestock, or care for pets and companion animals.
Also called: Companion Animal Practitioner, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Emergency Veterinarian (Emergency Vet), Large Animal Veterinarian (Large Animal Vet), Mixed Animal Veterinarian (Mixed Animal Vet), Small Animal Veterinarian (Small Animal Vet)
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $138,900
- $66.78/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 1,540
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +3.1%
- 50 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Doctoral or professional degree
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $83,230 | $124,690 | $138,900 | $177,920 | $281,100 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Treat sick or injured animals by prescribing medication, setting bones, dressing wounds, or performing surgery.
- Inoculate animals against various diseases, such as rabies or distemper.
- Examine animals to detect and determine the nature of diseases or injuries.
- Collect body tissue, feces, blood, urine, or other body fluids for examination and analysis.
- Operate diagnostic equipment, such as radiographic or ultrasound equipment, and interpret the resulting images.
- Educate the public about diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Moderate exposure43 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 44
- Language-model AIOE 45
- GPTs-are-GPTs 40
Observed AI use today: Some (Anthropic Economic Index)
Veterinary work has moderate AI exposure, and some AI use has been observed. AI tools may help with tasks like reading diagnostic images and analyzing lab samples. Examining animals, performing surgery, and treating them still depend on a person. Massachusetts job growth is projected at 3.1%.
Likely to change
- Reading radiographic and ultrasound images
- Analyzing lab samples and test results
Still relies on people
- Hands-on exams and surgery
- Treating and calming sick or injured animals
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
0 programs near Boston (plus 3 graduate)
No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.
Related occupations
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians
- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
- Physicians, All Other
- Physicians, Pathologists
- Emergency Medicine Physicians
- General Internal Medicine Physicians
- Pediatricians, General
- Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric
- Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- Nurse Practitioners
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