People who love animals sometimes want to turn their passion into a career and there’s nothing more rewarding to some animal lovers a career in the animal sciences. Animal science can encompass many different careers, so it is important to select a school with the animal science program that matches your specialty.

What You'll Learn in Animal Science Programs
Those entering animal science programs can normally choose to go into fields such as veterinary medicine, animal scientist, veterinary technician, technical writer in animal science, cooperative extension agent, wildlife specialist or an environmental consultant. There are more specialized animal science programs that allow students to go into the fields of animal production (animal manager, herd breeder, artificial insemination technologist, meat inspector, aquaculturist, feed ration specialist or a pest control specialist). Students interested in animal science programs may also choose careers in feed manufacturing, agricultural accounting or agricultural sales specialist.

People with an interest in the animal science field must have a strong passion for animals, as well as a high aptitude for science and math. The degree programs for animal science range from a two-year associate degree for some veterinarian tech programs to several years of undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate study for veterinarians and research scientists.

Animal Science Career Paths
Veterinary technicians and veterinarians are two of the most common career choices associated with animal science programs. Veterinary technicians typically assist veterinarians in their offices, although some vet techs accompany vets if they do home visits, especially if the veterinarian has a large animal practice that focuses on agricultural animals such as cows and horses. Vet techs typically are trained on how to do x-rays, collecting and analyzing blood and other specimens, administering anesthesia and assisting with surgery, as well as giving injections and administering IV’s. Many times, vet techs are the members of the staff who check or stay with hospitalized pets over a weekend or on holidays. Veterinarian technicians typically have an associate degree that focuses on the humanities, math and sciences. Some vet tech animal science programs also require the completion of on the job training to receive their degree.

Veterinarians typically have to complete a bachelor’s degree in a pre-veterinarian medicine, which requires coursework completion in some animal science program courses such as organic and inorganic chemistry, physics, biochemistry, general biology, animal biology, animal nutrition, genetics, vertebrate embryology, cellular biology, microbiology, zoology, and systemic physiology. The entrance requirement to veterinarian school usually varies, but entrance exams are required. Only about 1 in 5 people who applied to veterinarian school in 2005 were accepted. That is due to the fact that the number of schools has remained the same for the past 25 years, while people interested in animal science programs have increased.

Claw Your Way into an Animal Science Program
The salaries in animal science careers range broadly from about $20,000 per year for veterinarian technicians working in small practices to over six figures for veterinarians working in the federal government, as well as research scientists. The key to getting a career in the animal sciences is to find an accredited animal science program that focuses on your animal specialty!