Also called: Board-Certified Veterinary Surgeon, DACVS
A specialist who performs complex surgeries on animals, like orthopedic repairs and tumor removal.
Repairs a torn ligament in a Labrador's knee, removes a tumor from a cat's chest, and fixes a fractured leg on a greyhound with plates and screws.
Estimate; board-certified specialists typically earn well above general-practice vets.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 13 years after high school. Bachelor's, 4-year DVM, a 1-year internship, then a 3-year surgical residency and board certification.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Animal Science, Biology, Pre-Veterinary, Zoology.
Growing much faster than average (about 10% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. 3D planning and imaging AI help prepare cases; the cutting, plating bones and repairing ligaments stay in the surgeon's hands.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Physics, Studio art (fine motor).
Official data: O*NET occupation 29-1131.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.