Learn about the types of people who become veterinarians. This page goes into detail about the employment, gender, and ethnic ratios of the workplace.
Employment Type Mix, 2024
79% of veterinarians work in full-time roles while 21% work part-time.
Gender Mix By Career Interest, 2024
This graph shows the distribution of females and males that are interested in becoming a veterinarian. Four or five star ratings on CareerExplorer indicate interest.
More women than men are interested in becoming veterinarians at a ratio of 1.76 to 1.
Actual Gender Mix, 2024
80% of veterinarians are female and 20% are male.
Gender Bias, 2024
This is one of the most compelling statistics we collect. Gender bias shows the difference between gender interest in being a veterinarian and the actual gender mix of people in the career.
If there is a significant difference, then it means there is a gender imbalance between those interested in becoming a veterinarian and those who end up becoming one.
In this case there are more men interested in becoming a veterinarian than those actually working as one. It is hard to pinpoint the exact reasons why, but there are likely various forces at play, from changing interests over time to societal norms and biases.
Ethnic Mix, 2019
The largest ethnic group of veterinarians are White, making up 49% of the population. The next highest segments are Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and Other, making up 18% and 8% respectively.