While working in Veterinary medicine for the past decade, there is a phrase that we hear often: “I didn’t get into Veterinary medicine for the money.” You might have said this phrase yesterday or when graduating from vet school with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans.
Years back, we’re talking in 2015, the median veterinarian pay was $88,9401. Compared to other doctors that practice human medicine, there was a huge spread where the dream of becoming financially independent felt impossible for most in vet med.
Fast forward to 2024, the median veterinarian pay was $125,5102. That’s a 41% increase over 9 years. Of course, general practice, equine, specialty, and emergency all have different compensation increases.
From 2020 to 2021, due to the pandemic and unprecedented amount of funds injected by the United States government, inflation surged compared to previous years making that pay increase feel minimal. In the same time frame, student loans for a Veterinary degree increased. Everything increased across the board, even the cost of Veterinary care.
Let’s have an honest conversation about money for a moment. Society symbolizes money, and status is often defined by the things we have, the experiences we enjoy, and the amount of money we have in our portfolios. When we think back in time before there was a fiat currency, people would trade chickens for wine, and wine for oil. There was less emphasis on the amount of money and more on being able to survive. Retirement is a relatively new concept invented during the 20th century where we believe there is a “finish line” that we are racing towards and many feel that they will never reach that finish line.
Becoming a veterinarian for reasons beyond money helps foster the mindset needed to provide exceptional care for animals. The thing is, life does cost money whether you’re a veterinarian or running a business. Without money, survival can be painful and the stress of paying bills can become magnified. We need to take a step back and dive into why there is such conflict about providing Veterinary care while collecting money in exchange.
There is a commonality many people experienced when they were younger: there was little to no conversation in the household about finances. Growing up without bills or obligations, it is easy to become numb as we get older and start making financial decisions. The decisions can be about what car to purchase, how much in student loans to borrow, what is a reasonable rent or mortgage payment based on income, and overall minor and major decisions.
Conceptually, we are “thrown into a swimming pool for the first time” and expected to swim. Think back to when you started collecting a paycheck, even during your teens or college. Depending on your values and principles, the money would be spent on meaningful things or saved for the dream of financial independence. Maybe there weren’t values or principles learned during adolescence and the idea is to consume every dollar when it is earned. These two beliefs can clash, especially as we step into our careers.
When you think about where you want to be in life, would you say that is clear, hazy, or impossible to see?
Without clarity, we make decisions in the moment and then later try to overcorrect those decisions or justify that they were good. This can be something as simple as reducing the cost of an exam or not charging for a specific service.
On the other side, this can create tremendous internal conflict when someone challenges you and says, “You don’t care,” and “You’re just in this for the money.” Has anyone said that to you before? Those phrases sting a bit because they feel like a personal attack on us. Some good news: you are not being personally attacked, and this is the other person’s internal struggle because they might be choosing between caring for their animal or feeding their family.
In these scenarios, it is always a great idea to take a step back, breathe, and try to focus on the situation, not the person. When we take a step back, we give ourselves a moment to reset our brains and, hopefully, remove emotion from the interaction to reduce the temperature.
Every moment is a decision we get a chance to respond in a positive or negative way. When we live in a haze, we might find ourselves reacting to what is happening and oftentimes take it personally. Each day is a chance to refresh our convictions, beliefs, and confidence so we can handle these types of scenarios with grace.
Your finances should not suffer, especially with all the hard work done to study for four grueling years. We need to focus on what money can do for us, how it is used as a tool to support our hopes and desires, while contributing back to society. By charging a fee, this allows for you and others in the Veterinary hospital to continue to show up to help more people.
After reading this article, take the time to reflect on where you feel uncomfortable when talking about money, personally or professionally. This can be about saving, investing, buying a Veterinary practice, proposing a care plan to a patient, or walking them through the reasons for treatment.
The best place to start is to ask yourself, “Why do I feel this way?” and, if needed, ask why five different times until you get to the root cause. This will be a starting place to become conscientious and, instead of avoiding, approach the uncomfortable feelings with confidence to grow and show up tomorrow as a stronger person. Today you might perceive as a bad day, and maybe it was. That bad day does not have to turn into bad days, and we have a choice to change our perception to live incredible lives to show up for those who need us while living great lives for ourselves.
RESOURCES:
1https://www.dvm360.com/view/top-9-highestpaying-countries-for-veterinarians
2https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm
This material is intended for general public use. By providing this content, Park Avenue Securities LLC and your financial representative are not undertaking to provide investment advice or make a recommendation for a specific individual or situation, or to otherwise act in a fiduciary capacity. Guardian, its subsidiaries, agents, and employees do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. Consult your tax, legal, or accounting professional regarding your individual situation. Neither Guardian nor its subsidiaries issue umbrella or auto insurance. Tom Seeko, CExP, is a Registered Representative and Financial Advisor of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). Securities products and advisory services offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian. Florida Veterinary Advisors is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. Florida Veterinary Advisors is not registered in any state or with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as a Registered Investment Advisor. The individuals associated with Florida Veterinary Advisors do not maintain specialized licenses or qualifications for the financial services provided to Veterinary professionals CA Insurance License # 0K80141, AR Insurance License #15823672. #8671225.1 Exp. 12/2027