AASV’s sixth salary survey of veterinary members in the United States and Canada is now complete, and a summary of the results is available for members (only) to access on the AASV website at https://www.aasv.org/members/only/SalarySurvey2017.pdf. The summary will also be printed and mailed to US and Canadian members. The 2017 survey gathered salary and employment details for the year 2016.
The AASV salary survey is intended to benefit the members of the AASV by allowing greater insight into the value of professional services provided by swine veterinarians. In addition, it functions as a tool to encourage veterinary students to pursue careers as swine veterinarians.
As in previous survey efforts, the AASV membership was classified into two categories, with members in each category receiving a different survey: 1) Practitioners, defined as veterinarians working in private practice and veterinarians working within production systems, and 2) Public/Corporate Veterinarians, defined as veterinarians working within the allied pork industry and academia.
In 2017, a total of 955 US and Canadian members were eligible to participate in the survey, of which 371 (39%) responded. This compares to 35% (2014), 41%, 38%, 40%, and 44% (2002) previously. Participation by the Practitioner group (211 of 521, or 40%) was slightly better than that of the Public/Corporate group (160 of 434, or 37%).
The survey results are presented in a series of tables and figures comparing salary levels with other surveyed parameters, including age, gender, hours worked, number of employees supervised, employer/practice type, and position. The survey also includes a comprehensive list of fringe benefits, and indicates the percentage of respondents who reported receiving each benefit.
For comparison purposes, the 2017 survey summary presents the same information shared in previous survey reports. In addition, it in¬cludes details that have not been reported in the past. A new report displays the income levels of those engaged primarily (90% or more) in swine-related activities separate from the salaries of those who have a lesser percentage of swine involvement. Additional tables provide average salary, age, gender, and hours worked for several sub-categories of employment activity within each of the Practitioner and Public/Corpo-rate groups. Finally, in addition to breaking down income by age group as has been done in the past, the report now includes a review of income by years-since-graduation from veterinary school.
The AASV is indebted to IT Specialist David Brown for his management of the online survey instrument, as well as his expertise in compiling the survey results and preparing them for publication. Thanks also to members of the AASV Membership, Student Recruitment and Communications committees for their input.