There is a shortage of small animal specialists in Australia in many disciplines including:
- Dermatology.
- Clinical Pathology.
- Small Animal Surgery.
- Radiology/Diagnostic Imaging.
Why specialise?
Specialist roles offer:
- Excellent salaries (compared to G.P. vets).
- Good job prospects and job security.
- An interesting and challenging career.
Things to consider
It can take many years and a very large time commitment to secure specialist qualifications. Will this fit in with your goals? Will the shortage of specialists continue?
Career planning
To follow is a link to our career planning blog for your interest:
Career planning…What will you be doing in 10 years?
I would be delighted to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to leave me a comment below.
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Would like to specialise in small animal surgery, but in SA this is a major obstacle because the number of institutions to work and the number of students they take while you study is limited. But I’ve set a ten year goal so hopefully by 2019 there is an opportunity.
Hmm, not sure about this one Mark. What is the evidence that there is a shortage of specialists in Australia? Is this purely on the number of current job vacancies? I think you need to look at the reasons for the current number of job vacancies. For instance it could be a result of the comparatively poorer salaries of specialists working in larger specialist practices where they receive a percentage of the money they take. If you look at Melbourne there is probably an oversupply of specialist surgeons. In a recent advert from PESC describing their mobile specialist service they state it has been developed in response to “intense market competition”.