Facts & Figures

Employment of female and male graduates of US veterinary medical colleges, 2012

Mean starting salary among respondents who accepted full-time positions was $52,255 for males and $43,673 for females. When salaries for positions in advanced education were excluded, the mean full-time salary increased to $69,405 for males and $63,844 for females. Mean educational debt among the 89.2% of respondents who reported debt was $147 ,518 for males and $152,853 for females. Mean eductional debt for all respondents was $129,439 (median, $133,000) for males and $137 ,079 (median, $142,224) for females.

n cooperation with the 28 US schools and colleges of veterinary medicine, the AVMA conducted its annual survey of fourth-year veterinary medical students in the spring of 2012 (Appendix). Surveys were sent to 2,686 veterinary students expected to graduate in spring 2012, and responses were received from 2,502 (93.1%). Information regarding year-2012 graduates employment choices, expected salaries, and estimated educational indebtedness was described in an earlier report.1 The results reported here include an analysis of that information according to gender and contain additional information on employment benefits and demographic characteristics. Of students that responded to the survey, 22.5% (563) were male and 77.5% (1,939) were female. Base sizes in the present report vary because some respondents did not answer all questions. Employment Preferences, Offers, and Acceptances At the time of the survey, 96.3% (2,410/2,502) of respondents indicated that they were actively seeking employment or advanced education in veterinary medicine. The remainder of respondents (3.7% [92]) indicated that they were not actively seeking such positions. Respondents seeking veterinary positions were asked to indicate their top 3 employment preferences. Employment preferences were similar between male and female respondents. Of 532 males and 1,872 females that answered the question, the first choice for both groups was employment in the private sector (67.9% [361] of males and 58.1% [1,088] of fePrepared by Allison J. Shepherd, MBA, and Laura Pikel, BS; from the Communications Division, AVMA, 1931 N Meacham Rd, Ste 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173. 1040 Vet Med Today: Facts & Figures

males), followed by advanced education (28.9% [154] of males and 37.6% [704] of females) and public and corporate employment (3.2% [17] of males and 4.0% [74] of females). The remainder of respondents (6) indicated preferences for other types of veterinary employment. Among respondents seeking veterinary positions, 62.1% (331/533) of males and 61.3% (1,151/1,877) of females had received 1 offer of employment or advanced education at the time of the survey. Of year-2012 male respondents with employment offers, 45.3% had > 1 offer and 11.9% had 4 offers (Table 1). Among year-2012 female respondents with employment offers, 33.5% had > 1 offer and 4.1% had 4 offers. The mean number of employment offers received was 2.0 for male and 1.5 for female respondents. Among those who had received offers, similar proportions of male and female respondents had accepted offers of employment (88.2% [292/331] of males and 89.1% [1,025/1,151] of females). These individuals represented 54.6% of respondents who indicated that they were seeking a veterinary position. Of the respondents who had accepted offers, 79.4% (231/291) of males and 85.5% (876/1,024) of females had accepted an offer that matched their first choice, whereas 8.9% (26) of males and 5.9% (60) of females had accepted an offer of employment or advanced education that was not among their top 3 choices. The distribution of respondents who had accepted veterinary positions was determined (Table 2). The types of employment accepted most often by male respondents were internship positions (37.3%), companion animal exclusive practice (25.7%), and mixed animal practice (12.7%). For female respondents, the
Table 1Distribution of numbers of offers of employment received by female and male year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges. No. of offers 1 2 3 4 Female (n = 1,149) No. % 764 66.5 251 21.8 87 7.6 47 4.1 Male (n = 329) No. % 180 54.7 59 17.9 51 15.5 39 11.9

Surveys were sent to 2,686 veterinary medical students expected to graduate in spring 2012, and responses were received from 2,502; some respondents did not answer every question. Of 2,410 respondents seeking positions at the time of the survey, 1,482 had received 1 employment offer.

JAVMA, Vol 241, No. 8, October 15, 2012

positions accepted most often were internship positions (52.7%), companion animal exclusive practice (22.3%), and mixed animal practice (7.3%). Respondents entering internships were asked to provide their primary reason for undertaking an internship (Table 3). Most (53.2%) males indicated that they planned to apply for residency; 37.6% wanted to practice better quality veterinary medicine, and 5.5% believed they needed more training before entering veterinary practice. Among females, 41.3% indicated that they wanted to practice better quality veterinary medicine, 35.0% planned to apply for residency, and 20.9% believed they needed more training before entering veterinary practice. Very few (2.8% of males and 0.4% of females) cited earning more money in veterinary medicine as the primary reason they were undertaking an internship. Nearly all respondents entering private practice (99.1%; 98.1% [153/156] of males and 99.5% [378/380] of females) indicated they would be an employee rather than self-employed. Similar percentages of male and female respondents entering private practice expected to work full-time (98.7% [154/156] vs 97.9% [378/386], respectively).

Starting Salaries Survey questions allowed respondents to indicate various means by which they expected to be compensated for work (eg, base salary or stipend only, base salary or stipend with production bonus, and productionbased salary only [in lieu of base salary]). Respondents who accepted an offer of employment in 2012 were asked to indicate types of compensation expected. Among the 285 male respondents who indicated the type of full-time salary they would receive, 68.1% (194) indicated they would receive a guaranteed salary with no option for a production bonus, 28.1% (80) indicated they would receive a base salary with a production bonus, and 1.1% (3) indicated they would receive a salary fully based on production; 2.8% (8) were uncertain. Of 994 female respondents with full-time positions who answered this question, 78.7% (782) indicated they would receive a guaranteed salary with no option for a production bonus, 18.6% (185) indicated they would receive a base salary with a production bonus, 0.3% (3) indicated they would receive a salary fully based on production, and 2.4% (24) were uncertain. The mean number of hours that respondents expected

Table 2Distribution of employment types among year-2012 graduates* of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender. Practice type Food animal exclusive Food animal predominant Mixed animal Companion animal exclusive Companion animal predominant Equine Other private practice University Uniformed services State or local government Federal government Industry or commercial Not-for-profit Advanced education (total) Internship (private or academic) MBA MPH MPVM MS PhD Residency program Other advanced study Female (n = 1,025) No. % 8 13 75 229 44 18 2 5 13 1 7 2 6 602 540 0 7 1 1 12 34 7 0.8 1.3 7.3 22.3 4.3 1.8 0.2 0.5 1.3 0.1 0.7 0.2 0.6 58.7 52.7 0 0.7 0.1 0.1 1.2 3.3 0.7 Male (n = 292) No. % 11 3.8 17 5.8 37 12.7 75 25.7 14 4.8 3 1.0 1 0.3 2 0.7 4 1.4 0 0 1 0.3 2 0.7 0 0 125 109 0 0 0 1 2 11 2 42.8 37.3 0 0 0 0.3 0.7 3.8 0.7

*In total, 1,317 respondents had accepted employment offers at the time of the survey.

Table 3Distribution of primary reason for undertaking an internship for year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender. Reason To practice better quality veterinary medicine Need more training before entering veterinary practice Plan to apply for residency Feel I will earn more money in veterinary medicine by doing an internship Other Female (n = 535) No. % 221 112 187 2 41.3 20.9 35.0 0.4 Male (n = 109) No. % 41 6 58 3 37.6 5.5 53.2 2.8

13 2.4

1 0.9

JAVMA, Vol 241, No. 8, October 15, 2012

Vet Med Today: Facts & Figures

1041

to work each week was 56.5 (median, 55) for males and 59.1 (median, 60) for females. Mean full-time starting salaries in 2012 among all employer types combined (private, public, and corporate practice and advanced education programs) were $52,255 for male and $43,673 for female respondents (n = 282 and 990 reporting salaries, respectively; all salary values are reported in nominal dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation). When advanced education salaries were excluded from the analysis, mean fulltime starting salaries increased to $69,405 for males and $63,844 for females. Mean full-time starting salary for respondents who accepted an offer in private

practice was $69,873 for males (n = 150) and $64,457 for females (377; Figure 1). Among male respondents, full-time private practice salaries ranged from $65,265 for food animal predominant practice to $72,174 for companion animal exclusive practice. Among female respondents, full-time private practice salaries ranged from $35,389 for equine practice to $69,163 for companion animal predominant practice. Additional Compensation Respondents were asked whether they would receive a signing bonus, moving allowance, or emergency case compensation; multiple responses to the question were allowed. In total, 351 respondents (34.3% [98/286] of males and 25.5% [253/994] of females) expected to receive 1 of these types of compensation in addition to their salary. Of respondents who specified compensation types, a signing bonus was expected by 14.3% (14/98) of males and 9.5% (23/242) of females, a moving allowance was indicated by 31.6% (31) of males and 29.8% (72) of females, and emergency case compensation was expected by 72.4% (71) of males and 78.1% (189) of females. Additional Benefits

Figure 1Mean full-time starting salary of year-2012 male (white bars; n =150) and female (black bars; 377) graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges entering private practice. Salary information was provided by 527 of 547 respondents who had accepted private practice employment offers at the time of the survey. CAE = Companion animal exclusive. CAP = Companion animal predominant. EQU = Equine. FAE = Food animal exclusive. FAP = Food animal predominant. MIX = Mixed animal practice.

Respondents who accepted employment offers were asked to indicate the additional benefits that would be provided by their new employer. All but 2.2% of respondents (29/1,317; 3.1% [9/292] of males and 2.0% [20/1,025] of females) reported that they would receive 1 of the benefits listed in the survey. In 2012,

Figure 2Frequency distributions of benefits offered by employers to new graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. 1042 Vet Med Today: Facts & Figures JAVMA, Vol 241, No. 8, October 15, 2012

the compensation packages of more than half of the 1,317 respondents who accepted positions included medical-hospitalization plan (76.7% [1,010]), paid vacation leave (71.4% [940]), liability insurance (61.8% [814]), continuing education expenses (61.7% [813]), license fees (54.1% [712]), continuing education leave (50.3% [662]), and discounted pet care (50.6% [666]; Figure 2). Although the percentages of male and female respondents who expected to receive these benefits were fairly similar overall, the percentage of males indicating they would receive individual benefits was higher than that of females for most benefits (Table 4). Benefits for which the greatest distribution difference was detected between genders were association dues (54.1% of males vs 43.5% of females), tax-deferred retirement plans (29.1% of males vs 21.2% of females), paid legal holidays (29.5% of males vs 22.0% of females), and employer contribution to tax-deferred retirement plans

(22.6% of males vs 15.4% of females). The benefit reported most often by respondents of both genders was a medical-hospitalization plan (76.7% for both). Educational Indebtedness Most respondents had accumulated educational debt by the time they graduated. Among respondents who answered questions about debt in 2012, 12.3% (69/563) of males and 10.3% (200/1,938) of females did not incur any educational debt. Mean reported debt among respondents who had debt was $147,518 for males (n = 494) and $152,853 for females (1,738; all values for educational debt are reported in nominal dollars and have not been adjusted for inflation). Median debt of these individuals was $145,500 for males and $150,000 for females. Among those with debt, 23.1% (114/494) of males and 25.2% (438/1,738) of females had debt $200,000. Mean total educational debt for

Table 4Distribution of employment-related benefits offered by employers to year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender. Benefit Medical-hospitalization plan Dental plan Tax-deferred retirement plan Informal profit-sharing plan Employer contribution or match to tax-deferred retirement plan Life insurance Disability insurance Liability insurance Association dues License fees Continuing education expenses Continuing education leave Paid legal holidays Paid sick leave Paid vacation leave Personal use of vehicle Discounted pet care services Other Female (n = 1,025) No. % 786 374 217 15 158 163 276 630 446 538 626 500 76.7 36.5 21.2 1.5 15.4 15.9 26.9 61.5 43.5 52.5 61.1 48.8 Male (n = 292) No. % 224 98 85 9 66 54 87 184 158 174 187 162 76.7 33.6 29.1 3.1 22.6 18.5 29.8 63.0 54.1 59.6 64.0 55.5

226 22.0 396 38.6 727 70.9 96 9.4 512 50.0 65 6.3

86 29.5 122 41.8 213 72.9 47 16.1 154 52.7 17 5.8

Table 5Demographics of year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical schools and colleges by gender. Characteristic Mean age (y) Marital status (%) Single Married Divorced Respondents with children (%) Race or ethnicity (%) White or Caucasian Black or African American Hispanic Asian or Pacific Islander Other race or ethnicity Female Male All No. Value 1,937 1,350 524 51 93 1,707 44 54 82 41 27.6 70.1 27.2 2.6 4.8 88.5 2.3 2.8 4.3 2.1 No. Value 562 347 204 12 89 496 13 27 14 12 28.0 61.6 36.2 2.1 15.9 88.3 2.3 4.8 2.5 2.1 No. Value 2,499 1,697 728 63 182 2,203 57 81 96 53 27.7 68.2 29.3 2.5 7.3 88.5 2.3 3.3 3.9 2.1

Marital status information was provided by 1,925 females and 563 males. The total number of respondents that provided information on children was 1,934 females and 561 males. Information on race or ethnicity was provided by 1,928 females and 562 males. Units in parentheses apply to the value column. JAVMA, Vol 241, No. 8, October 15, 2012 Vet Med Today: Facts & Figures 1043

all respondents was $129,439 (median, $133,000) for males and $137,079 (median, $142,224) for females. The mean debt incurred for veterinary medical school education alone for all respondents was $119,686 (median, $122,800) for males and $125,989 (median, $130,000) for females. Graduate Characteristics Male and female veterinary students were approximately the same age at graduation (mean, 28.0 years for males [n = 562] and 27.6 years for females [1,937]; Table 5). The majority of respondents (88.3% of males Appendix

and 88.5% of females) described themselves as white or Caucasian. More than two-thirds (68.2%) of respondents were single and had never married; 61.6% of males and 70.1% of females were in this category. A higher percentage of males were married (36.2%), compared with the percentage of married females (27.2%), and a higher percentage of male respondents had children (15.9% of males, compared with 4.8% of females). Reference
1. Shepherd AJ, Pikel L. Employment, starting salaries, and educational indebtedness of year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2012;241:890894.

Response rates for the 28 schools and colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States that participated in the 2012 survey of new graduates.1 Veterinary school Auburn University Colorado State University Cornell Veterinary College Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University Iowa State University Kansas State University Louisiana State University Michigan State University Mississippi State University North Carolina State University The Ohio State University Oklahoma State University Oregon State University Purdue University Texas A&M University Tuskegee University University of California-Davis University of Florida University of Georgia University of Illinois University of Minnesota University of Missouri-Columbia University of Pennsylvania University of Tennessee University of Wisconsin Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Washington State University Western University of Health Sciences Overall response rate Response rate of graduating class (%) 100 78 100 95 91 97 100 87 100 100 81 100 93 100 97 100 100 98 100 74 91 97 78 98 100 100 99 87 93

(Reprinted from Shepherd AJ, Pikel L. Employment, starting salaries, and educational indebtedness of year-2012 graduates of US veterinary medical colleges. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2012;241:890 894. Reprinted with permission.)

1044

Vet Med Today: Facts & Figures

JAVMA, Vol 241, No. 8, October 15, 2012