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Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Major

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Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine

What Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to small/companion animal surgery and medicine were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Majors

Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to small/companion animal surgery and medicine:

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  • Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Abilities for Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Majors

A major in small/companion animal surgery and medicine will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

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  • Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Small/Companion Animal Surgery and Medicine Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with small/companion animal surgery and medicine:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Veterinarians 18.8% $93,830

Some degrees associated with small/companion animal surgery and medicine may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for small/companion animal surgery and medicine careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 23.5%
Doctoral Degree 75.1%
Post-Doctoral Training 1.4%

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to small/companion animal surgery and medicine.

Major Number of Grads

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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