Episode 83 – The Veterinarian Profession’s Huge Pay-Increase Potential
Samantha: Welcome to “The Animal Health Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, executive search consultant and recruiter, Stacy Pursell, founder and CEO of The VET Recruiter, provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary employers hire top talent, while helping animal health and veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
In today’s podcast, we’ll be talking about the veterinarian profession’s huge pay-increase potential. Stacy, thank you for joining us.
Stacy: Hello, Samantha I’m glad to be here.
Samantha: Stacy, we’ve talked before on our podcast about the financial benefits associated with changing jobs frequently in this candidates’ market. Today, though, we’re going to address how the financial benefits are even greater for those who work in the Veterinary profession. Is that correct?
Stacy: Yes, it is. As you and probably most of our listeners know, times are pretty good in the U.S. economy right now. In fact, there was an article in the mainstream media recently that said there are more job openings available in this country than there are unemployed people to fill them.
However, for the purposes of today’s podcast, I want to reference another article.
Samantha: Which article is that?
Stacy: It’s an article on the Ladders.com website. According to the article, being a veterinarian is the job that now has the biggest pay-increase potential.
Samantha: You mean the biggest potential of all the jobs that currently exist in the marketplace?
Stacy: Yes, of all the jobs!
Samantha: That’s rather impressive. I knew there was plenty of potential in the Veterinary profession, but I didn’t realize it was that much.
Stacy: Yes, and I believe there are many people working in the Veterinary profession who are not aware of it, either. But even if they do know about it, there’s a difference between knowing about a situation and leveraging the opportunity that such a situation can bring to you. Basically, it’s the difference between knowing about a situation and benefitting from it.
Samantha: So how can veterinary professionals leverage this situation to their benefit?
Stacy: Well, there are really only two ways to do so. The first is to receive a raise from your current employer. The second is to receive more money from another organization after accepting their offer of employment. Samantha, of these two options, which one do you think will lead to the greatest pay increase?
Samantha: Based on everything that we’ve talked about, I would have to say the second option.
Stacy: That’s correct. As you mentioned, we’ve discussed this before, and people who change jobs more frequently typically earn more in compensation and benefits than those who stay at the same organization for extended periods of time. This is the case even if those people continue to receive raises at their employer.
Samantha: Why is that, Stacy?
Stacy: Because when an organization is attempting to hire a candidate, it must motivate that candidate by offering more in the way of compensation and benefits. That’s one of the ways it convinces the candidate to accept its offer of employment. On the other hand, when an organization is giving raises to its employees, it’s not trying to convince those employees to change jobs. That’s because they already work there!
Samantha: The organization wants to keep the employees happy, though, right?
Stacy: That’s right. However, when employers are trying to hire top candidates, those candidates sometimes receive salary offers that are $10,000 to $20,000 more than what they’re already earning. Even if a person receives a raise from their current employer, it usually is not that much.
This is compounded over the course of a person’s career.
Samantha: What do you mean?
Stacy: Let’s say there are two professionals who start their career on the exact same day with the exact same salary. One stays with the same employer for the duration of their career. The other changes jobs every three to five years.
Both of these professionals retire at the age of 65. Did they retire earning exactly the same amount of money? They certainly did not. The professional who changed jobs every three to five years earned tens of thousands of dollars more during their final year of employment than the other professional. And they also earned even more money over the course of their entire career!
The fact of the matter is that almost no one stays with the same employer for their whole career anymore. There are no more gold watches for service. The rules have changed. The good news is that the rules have changed in the favor of those working within the Veterinary profession.
Once again, even though the rules have changed in their favor, they still have to do something about it. And that involves a certain prerequisite.
Samantha: What is that?
Stacy: That prerequisite is the willingness to take risks. I’m not talking about irresponsible risks, but calculated risks. With a calculated risk, something could go wrong. But in the majority of cases, nothing goes wrong. In fact, things often go right.
Samantha: So you’re saying that being willing to take a risk by considering a new employment opportunity or changing jobs is a calculated risk?
Stacy: I would actually go so far as to say that it’s a risk-free proposition.
Samantha Risk-free? Why would you say that?
Stacy: I say that because it doesn’t cost anything to hear about an opportunity. Not only that, but there’s also hardly any risk involved when you explore an opportunity. And when I say “explore,” I mean pursuing an opportunity by entering the hiring process of another organization.
Samantha: Is that because you can drop out of the process at any time?
Stacy: Yes, That’s right. What some professionals don’t understand is that you’re not making a commitment of any kind unless you accept an offer of employment. Just hearing about an opportunity doesn’t mean that you’re committing to it. Going on a face-to-face interview doesn’t mean that you’re committing to it, either. Since there is no commitment, there is no risk.
Samantha: But you have to be willing to at least hear about it?
Stacy: That’s absolutely right. As I said, with the state of the economy, the employment marketplace, and the Veterinary profession, this is a very low-risk, high-reward proposition. If you discover that an opportunity is not clearly better than the one you have, then you can simply stay where you are. Remember, you are not making a commitment to a new employer until you accept their offer of employment. If they don’t make an offer, then there’s no commitment to make.
Samantha: And when you consider other employment opportunities when you already have a job, you have more leverage, is that right?
Stacy: Correct. One of the ways that a person has leverage is by moving from a position of strength instead of trying to move from a position of weakness. What we’ve been discussing is a prime example of doing just that, moving from a position of strength. And that’s exactly the position you want to be in when you’re strategically advancing and growing your Veterinary career.
Samantha: How long do you think the Veterinary profession will have jobs with such a huge pay-increase potential?
Stacy: For a long time! I’ve referenced this before, but CNBC published an article late last year. The title of that article was “For Aspiring Vets, Jobs are Aplenty—Demand Set to Rise 18 Percent in 10 Years.” The article referenced a very interesting statistic from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
According to the BLS, opportunities for veterinarians are set to climb by some 18 percent through 2026, while roles for vet technicians will rise by 20 percent in the same time frame.
So as you can see, not only is there a great demand for veterinarians right now, but there will also be a great demand for them in the future, too. Since there is such a demand, that means more in the way of salary and compensation for those professionals who have the right skill set and experience.
Samantha: But really, the only way for professionals to take advantage of these favorable conditions is to be open to opportunity and be willing to consider other job openings.
Stacy: Yes, that’s right. It doesn’t matter how good things are. If a person is not willing to be open to opportunity or take even a small amount of risk, then they won’t be able to take advantage of these favorable conditions.
Samantha: Stacy, as we wrap up today’s podcast, what would you like to say to our listeners about what we’ve been discussing?
Stacy: People need to understand that the Veterinary profession has big pay-increase potential. Just knowing that fact doesn’t change anything, though. Knowledge of a situation alone is not going to help you leverage the positive aspects of that situation.
Action is how you leverage it and use it to your advantage. You have to take action of some kind. You can’t be married to the status quo. Positive things rarely happen when you cling to the status quo.
So I guess I want to tell our audience to not be complacent and don’t let these opportunities pass you by. I want our listeners to seize the moment and seize the pay-increase opportunities that currently exist in the Veterinary profession.
Sharita: Thank you, Stacy! This was very positive and exciting information that you shared with us today, and I’m sure our listeners found it to be interesting.
Stacy: Thank you, Samantha. I look forward to our next podcast!