Vet Salary

pbthevet

Just curious.

Im a vet myself. Wondering what ye guys would presume i earn.

Listening to a lot of would be vets talking to me about applying to be a vet and the 'huge salary' comes up a lot. Not to mention the 'sure your a millionaire' comments i get from my clients daily, especially when paying bills .

Ive recently moved back to ireland after working in the uk and the north since qualifying. Took a big cut to do it, but its worth it to be back hime near the family farm and the relatives and friends etc. i dont own a practise, just ur standard vet in a mixed practise. Dont want to reveal my age but lets just say i know what im doing . . . . .i think

But its a question id love to know the answer too. Be honest. Ill give you the range im in if it gets enough interest.

naughtysmurf

I have given a fair wad to my local vet recently, just a guess, €40 - 45k, haven't a clue really though, close?

kevthegaff

2 sisters and ex are vets its a tough job and not that well payed for the hours and college work put in. Department and factory vets are doing well but the guys/girls on the ground are putting in lots of work for ok money

satstheway

62,000 a year.

Conmaicne Mara

€28,507, after tax.

moy83

45,000
What kind of hours do you put in during the average week ?

whelan1

Slightly off topic but my da was in local meat factory today and he knows the vet that was on duty. He reckons the vet is 5 or 6 years older than him my da is nearly 70. Would they be allowed to work on for dept at that age?

studdlymurphy

75-80k?

Just on a separate subject you may be able to answer:
Planning permission: local needs, can a vet claim local needs dues to working locally and not being from the area?

pbthevet

whelan1 wrote: »

Slightly off topic but my da was in local meat factory today and he knows the vet that was on duty. He reckons the vet is 5 or 6 years older than him my da is nearly 70. Would they be allowed to work on for dept at that age?

That is a good question to which i dont know the answer. Will look it up tho. I presume tho thise lads have some experience. Hard to replace that especially in a job where detecting a health risk lesion is vital.

pbthevet

studdlymurphy wrote: »

75-80k?

Just on a separate subject you may be able to answer:
Planning permission: local needs, can a vet claim local needs dues to working locally and not being from the area?

Being on call would require vet to be local.

But exact legal answer, ive no idea. Vet could allways rent, some practises have a flat upstairs for this purpose, well in uk they do.

The Glass Key

Off topic again, didn't they call in a load of retired Vets to do the onsite checking of flocks of chickens during the bird flu scare?

forgotten password

1000 euron an hour

delaval

If you don't have any testing or factory work, I'd guess €40k

pbthevet

moy83 wrote: »

45,000
What kind of hours do you put in during the average week ?

Average, 10 hour day x5

Plus 2/3 nights on call plus 1 in 3 full weekend on call.

Typical for ireland i guess. In uk rotas much better plus u sometimes get a day off after weekend on call.

munkus

pbthevet wrote: »

Being on call would require vet to be local.

But exact legal answer, ive no idea. Vet could allways rent, some practises have a flat upstairs for this purpose, well in uk they do.

Well, come on. What are ya on?

rs8

€33k

JillyQ

About €45 to €50k. Mind you a good vet is worth there weight in gold.

kevthegaff

the way i see it with vets/doctors the hours and money put in for studying for 5-6 years and then long hours they deserve it

1chippy

The problem is once you go over 32000 it takes absolutaley huge increases in increments to pull in that extra 100 euro each week. The tax system in Ireland is just super.

id say your on 50-55 and getting to take home sweet f-all of it.

munkus

Can't imagine anyone doing this job for less than 60 to 70k. Tough work and terrible hours. You'd be mental to do it for less.

darragh_haven

A vet for rural area..... I'd say somewhere between 65k to 72k.

whelan1

pbthevet wrote: »

That is a good question to which i dont know the answer. Will look it up tho. I presume tho thise lads have some experience. Hard to replace that especially in a job where detecting a health risk lesion is vital.

yes i would not doubt this guys ability, my father just thought it was strange to see him there

pbthevet

Right lads thanks for all the replys. Interesting to see most are pretty close! I thought ye'd be way off the mark

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Not great but job satisfaction is huge, i get loads of free cups of tea, work outdoors and see many great people.

Being home is brillient by the way. Early start today to head off to collect some heifers for sale in mart. Havent driven a tractor or been in mart for years!

bob charles

pbthevet wrote: »

Average, 10 hour day x5

Plus 2/3 nights on call plus 1 in 3 full weekend on call.

Typical for ireland i guess. In uk rotas much better plus u sometimes get a day off after weekend on call.

Are you a partner or employee or self employed

If no dept work I would be thinking aroudn 60-70k but most vets on the ground I know are doing 70hr weeks. Job aint a good payer unless you head for the dept route where the salaries are ridiculous for the output of doing nothing. I find it hard to see how one could have job satisfaction of being a dept lard ass vet signing letters to say johnny up the road is locked up with TB.

Moonbeam

30-35 for a vet with a few years experience?
That sounds crazy in the IT sector some graduate jobs pay that.
I would have guessed around 60k for a vet with 5/6 years experience.

bob charles

pbthevet wrote: »

Right lads thanks for all the replys. Interesting to see most are pretty close! I thought ye'd be way off the mark

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Not great but job satisfaction is huge, i get loads of free cups of tea, work outdoors and see many great people.

Being home is brillient by the way. Early start today to head off to collect some heifers for sale in mart. Havent driven a tractor or been in mart for years!

Ouch, you in your first few years of practice. I consider vet to a very poor career choice nowadays for kids thinking its a get rich occupation. Some of the vets I knew in college must be walking disasters by now. They hadnt a clue

smcgiff

pbthevet wrote: »

Right lads thanks for all the replys. Interesting to see most are pretty close! I thought ye'd be way off the mark

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Not great but job satisfaction is huge, i get loads of free cups of tea, work outdoors and see many great people.

Being home is brillient by the way. Early start today to head off to collect some heifers for sale in mart. Havent driven a tractor or been in mart for years!

Surprised at that, although I imagine a lot of vets see their work as a vocation. And I don't use that term lightly. I don't think many doctors do it as a vocation, rather they got the points and went for it because medicine has high points.

Vets ARE different, hopefully you'll set up your own practice one day and reap the rewards.

pbthevet

bob charles wrote: »

Ouch, you in your first few years of practice. I consider vet to a very poor career choice nowadays for kids thinking its a get rich occupation. Some of the vets I knew in college must be walking disasters by now. They hadnt a clue

Its why i allways bring the kids aside and tell em the truth. Suicide rate in the profession is huge. Lots of reasons said for it, but im pretty sure low salary is a big part, that and a lot of people out there would be too proud to admit it.

Truth is if i was to walk into bank now to get a mortgage id probably be laughed outta the place. Future probably involves return to uk or new zealand and then come back with some cash and set up own place.

Was in mart today, sitting in background, unnoticed. Was thinking to myself i couldnt buy many of animals on offer but how funny it is thats they are my patients

Its an issue to me for one reason and one reason only. I love my job, dont care too much about the money.
But i know all too well a lot of kids out there getting 550+ in leaving are just putting down vet as they think its a high earner only to learn the harsh reality after qualifying. Have seen the effects in collegues and friends unfortunatly way too often.

Just wanted to get rid on any mis-conceptions out there.

Any kids out there wanting to be vets, do it! Best job out there jbst know what your getting into. Those looking for millions, stay clear, its not for you

Good night

micky mouse

As a matter of interest would you live off a small animal practice ,working 9 to 5,they tell me that a lot of the young vets now don't want to hear the words "mixed practice"

Stheno

Moonbeam wrote: »

30-35 for a vet with a few years experience?
That sounds crazy in the IT sector some graduate jobs pay that.
I would have guessed around 60k for a vet with 5/6 years experience.

I'd the same reaction, quite shocked tbh.

Rho b

Best of luck pbthevet and I think its great that you have come back to practice in your home area. Hopefully in time you can either take over an existing practice or establish your own. Best of luck to you in the future
Presuming that you are either a MRCVS or MVB and taking into account what you said that you are an employee of an existing practice (irrespective of experience/age/ marital circumstances) then I reckon your gross salary is in the region of €33,000 to €37,000 per annum. Not much after all those years studying!

Massey10

pbthevet wrote: »

Right lads thanks for all the replys. Interesting to see most are pretty close! I thought ye'd be way off the mark

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Not great but job satisfaction is huge, i get loads of free cups of tea, work outdoors and see many great people.

Being home is brillient by the way. Early start today to head off to collect some heifers for sale in mart. Havent driven a tractor or been in mart for years!

Do you get much testing work or do the practice partners do all of that

pbthevet

Massey10 wrote: »

Do you get much testing work or do the practice partners do all of that

Salary. Do plenty of testing. Practise gets the money. Thats the norm

pbthevet

micky mouse wrote: »

As a matter of interest would you live off a small animal practice ,working 9 to 5,they tell me that a lot of the young vets now don't want to hear the words "mixed practice"

Oh you would yes. Rare enough in ireland tho. Mixed is the norm here. Amazing the amount of people wanting to be small animal only vets too. Aint gonna happen im afraid untill youve got a good few year experience in smallies work and find the right place.

In the uk tho large and small animal has seperated. With large now concentrating on becoming more consultant type roles (like me in the dairy sector) and smalls doing more advanced surgeries due to high levels of insured pets over there

Not many pets insured over here unfortunatly, so obviously options limited.

TheBody

You would be surprised what some people earm. I teach at third level and earn €27K ish (gross) per year for 60 hour weeks.

bob charles

pbthevet wrote: »

Salary. Do plenty of testing. Practise gets the money. Thats the norm

I was thinking a small bit better for a salary vet circa 45k. From dealing with a good few vets the way I see it going is that the very good knowledgable Vets that havnt got their heads up their Preverbal (thinking they are in a different class altogether than their client - its bred into them in college for some reason) are going to make allot of money. Consultancy work is where the money is going to be made and specializing in a particular field. Fire brigade vet calls are nearly a thing of the past on larger farms.

blue5000

TBH PB I'm a bit shocked at your salary, I thought it would be much higher. Did you find a big difference workwise between here and UK?

mf240

Obviously the big money is in owning a pratice.

Tough job no doubt, not made easier by some farmers attitude.

Considering that you need to be in the top couple of percent in leaving cert results and the length in college its not great.

pbthevet

blue5000 wrote: »

TBH PB I'm a bit shocked at your salary, I thought it would be much higher. Did you find a big difference workwise between here and UK?

Dont be shocked! Ok another 5-10 grand would be nice but thats the general area and tbh its a fair enough salary.

Just dont like the kids going in blind thinking 100k+ day one. Tho it isnt just veterinary that has this problem.

Sam Kade

How much does the vet that owns the practice make? My vet charged €4/head for tb testing + €68 for the 2 call outs :mad: My wife took the dog in to get his glands done which costs around €6 then the vet decided to lump a €31 consultation charge on top of that. I checked the cost of tb testing it goes from €2.50/hd - €4.50/hd with no call out charge up to €70 call out charge.

pbthevet

blue5000 wrote: »

TBH PB I'm a bit shocked at your salary, I thought it would be much higher. Did you find a big difference workwise between here and UK?

Short answer . . .yes

Farms in uk tend to be larger, more business like, less of a way of life.
People here tho are a lot friendlier

Rho b

pbthevet wrote: »

Short answer . . .yes

Farms in uk tend to be larger, more business like, less of a way of life.
People here tho are a lot friendlier

And may I also add have more concern/empathy for their stock.

pbthevet

Sam Kade wrote: »

How much does the vet that owns the practice make? My vet charged €4/head for tb testing + €68 for the 2 call outs :mad: My wife took the dog in to get his glands done which costs around €6 then the vet decided to lump a €31 consultation charge on top of that. I checked the cost of tb testing it goes from €2.50/hd - €4.50/hd with no call out charge up to €70 call out charge.

They make the profit - costs multiplies by % of practise they own

As regards tb testing expense and vet costs etc Thats for another thread.

Want to keep this related to the assistant vets and those thinkifg of a future career in veterinary.

Being a owner/partner is a different kettle of fish. But only few vets get to that stage if at all. You dont need to be a vet to own a vet clinic

blue5000

pbthevet wrote: »

Short answer . . .yes

Farms in uk tend to be larger, more business like, less of a way of life.
People here tho are a lot friendlier

Only going by what I see on tv, but it looks like farmers over there do a lot more vet type work compared to here, also over there it seems vets are more involved in consultancy/prevention work than here.

pbthevet

Rho b wrote: »

And may I also add have more concern/empathy for their stock.

Its equal. Trust me. Every decent farmer takes great care and pride in their stock.

pbthevet

blue5000 wrote: »

Only going by what I see on tv, but it looks like farmers over there do a lot more vet type work compared to here, also over there it seems vets are more involved in consultancy/prevention work than here.

In fairness farmers here would be fairly top notch at doing their own work too. Farmer today needs to be a vet, mechanic, builder, economist to just barely survive the day

Username John

pbthevet wrote: »

Right lads thanks for all the replys. Interesting to see most are pretty close! I thought ye'd be way off the mark

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Not great but job satisfaction is huge, i get loads of free cups of tea, work outdoors and see many great people.

Being home is brillient by the way. Early start today to head off to collect some heifers for sale in mart. Havent driven a tractor or been in mart for years!

JESUS... 30k :eek:

That's shocking pay, given the time and study you have to put in...

Are you sure that's the general run of things and you aren't being totally ridden where you are?

pbthevet

Username John wrote: »

JESUS... 30k :eek:

That's shocking pay, given the time and study you have to put in...

Are you sure that's the general run of things and you aren't being totally ridden where you are?

Three job, three interviews, all three offers in that range. Took closest to home. None of my irish friends earning much more. Some get some nice perks like free accom or a car/van thrown in. But thats the general range these days i guess. Way too many vets being created here now plus the current economic climate combined with the reduction in the bread and butter testing that vet practises used to do is my reasoning.

To be honest im amazed at how important testing is to a practise. 5 years in college and it got mentioned barely once or twice yet if it were to dissapear i wreckon a lot of practkses would close. A vet should be able to earn a living doing veterinary work alone. Doesnt seem to be the case

naughtysmurf

pbthevet wrote: »

Im on in the range 30-35 before tax plus using my own jeep but get diesel.

Shocked at that tbh

Username John

pbthevet wrote: »

Three job, three interviews, all three offers in that range. Took closest to home. None of my irish friends earning much more. Some get some nice perks like free accom or a car/van thrown in. But thats the general range these days i guess. Way too many vets being created here now plus the current economic climate combined with the reduction in the bread and butter testing that vet practises used to do is my reasoning.

To be honest im amazed at how important testing is to a practise. 5 years in college and it got mentioned barely once or twice yet if it were to dissapear i wreckon a lot of practkses would close. A vet should be able to earn a living doing veterinary work alone. Doesnt seem to be the case

I'm amazed to hear that PB. And a but sorry to hear it. You'd like to think people are earning a good living after putting in so much work.
Plus, it's not the easiest of jobs as well...

Whilst I don't like parting with money in general I must say my vets are very good, and I don't begrudge them their money whatsoever...

pbthevet

Username John wrote: »

I'm amazed to hear that PB. And a but sorry to hear it. You'd like to think people are earning a good living after putting in so much work.
Plus, it's not the easiest of jobs as well...

Whilst I don't like parting with money in general I must say my vets are very good, and I don't begrudge them their money whatsoever...

Jaysus dont be sorry. Its still fairly good money. Just a lot of kids coming my way expect a LOT more. Dont want them getting shocked. Lots of people out there working like dogs on less than 20. Its the new ireland, take it or emigrate our options its seems