Veterinary and Animal Care

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Animal Behaviourist
• Animal physiotherapy
• Animal Technologist
• Dog Handler
• Gamekeeper
• Veterinary nurse
• Veterinary surgeon
• Zookeeper
• Zoologist

If you want to work with animals, but don't know where to start, book an appointment with a Careers Consultant.

The National Careers Service has different animal, plant and land-related job profiles.

• the ability to communicate effectively with pet owners, clients and visitors
• confidence in handling, treating and caring for animals of all sizes
• attention to detail, high levels of concentration and strong observation skills
• the ability to work well in a team, often in stressful situations
• compassion, empathy and the ability to remain calm in emotional circumstances
• knowledge of animal health, welfare and ethical issues

The starting annual salary for a newly qualified vet in the UK is around £30,000. With experience this rises to £40,000-£70,000 depending on the size of the practice.

Salaries tend to be much lower in other animal care roles.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources: 

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations 
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs 
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn 

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers. 

Read how Alex Bain from Newcastle University found his reptile and invertebrates placement year at Kirkley Hall Zoological Gardens.

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend recruitment events and  employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.  

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process: 

• RateMyPlacement  placement year reviews written by students.  
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews  
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees  

Read career guides for this sector, such as:  

• Prospects - advice on jobs working with animals
• Careers in Zoos and Aquariums (dudleyzoo.org.uk)
• Royal College of Veterinary Science has produced career guides on becoming a Vet or Veterinary Nurse
• MyVetFuture
• British Horse Society: equine careers
• Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers (ABWAK)

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews. 

Examples include: 

• Vet Times
• The Guardian: Animal Welfare
• Animal Behaviour - journal from the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
• Horse & Hound
• Animal & Plant Health Agency - government press releases, research and news
• BBC News: Animals

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. 

See the professional bodies below, who often run events.

See also our recruitment events and employer and sector insights. 

Use social media to find industry insights 

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities.

You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate. 

Find out more about how to use social media for your career  and subscribe to our veterinary sector Twitter list. 

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network  

Professional bodies often: 

• run networking events  
• have specialist groups you could join 
• post vacancies on behalf of their members 
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications 

Animal behaviour, therapy and technology

• The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB). Sign up to the newsletter for industry news.
• Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal Therapy (ACPAT)
• Institute of Animal Technology (IAT)

Dogs, Horses and Game

• National Search and Rescue Dog Association
• The Canine Behaviour & Training Society
• International Association of Equine Dentistry - this includes an international database of certified practitioners and events.
• Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

Veterinary

• British Equine Veterinary Association
• Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons - information for veterinary professionals in the UK
• British Veterinary Association (BVA)
• British Small Animal Veterinary Association - gives free e-membership for students studying an undergraduate veterinary degree
• British Veterinary Nursing Association - includes vacancies, fact sheets and bursary information

Zoos and wildlife

• British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)
• Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers (ABWAK)

Finding professional bodies worldwide 

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide. 

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Advertised placements and internships are possible in veterinary and animal care. In this sector it is common for offers of placements and work experience to be on an unpaid basis. Work experience often takes place on a voluntary basis for a charity.

See our 'finding hidden opportunities' section below for information on how to contact employers about work experience that isn't advertised.

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites 
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad
• Go Volunteer - offer a variety of volunteering projects to Newcastle University students. This includes environmental and animal-related opportunities

Search the following external sites for more opportunities:

• Work experience | Veterinary Schools Council UK (vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk)
• BIAZA - British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums | BIAZA. This lists zoos and aquariums offering work experience and placement opportunities. Specific zoos that run advertised placement years include Chester Zoo and Belfast Zoological Gardens.
• Natural England: work experience, student placements and volunteering
• Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust offer placement years and MSc projects

 The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.

Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box. 

You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March. 

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:   

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world.  
• Projects Abroad. Find work experience abroad, including opportunities in veterinary medicine and animal care
• Careersabroad - sources of relevant work experience

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank. 

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them. 

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. Graduate schemes are quite rare in the animal care sector, but there might be some opportunities with bigger organisations.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. This will be the most common way of finding graduate employment in the animal care sector.

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites 

• British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums
• Animal Jobs Direct
• Horse and Hound: jobs
• British Horse Society: jobs
• Association of British and Irish Wild Animal Keepers
• Countryside Jobs
• Animal Welfare Research Network: jobs

• Vet Times
• Vet Record Careers
• VetClick: Jobs

 See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Careersabroad offer opportunities in sustainable development, biological and zoological research and conservation.

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company. 
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

• targetjobs - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology 
• Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers. 
• Charity Choice - list of animal charities
• RCVS Find a vet – search for RCVS accredited practices
• British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums - search for zoos and aquariums
• LinkedIn Find Alumni Tool - see where Newcastle University graduates are working for inspiration

Search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.