From Calling to Career: Gen Z challenges the corporate vet model (#370)

Generation Z – those born between 1997 and 2012 – are now entering the workforce in full force.

They are the first true digital natives, shaped by smartphones, social justice movements, climate anxiety, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gen Zers value: authenticity, balance, purpose, and inclusion – and they are far less likely than previous generations to stay silent about unhealthy work environments or broken systems.

And here’s the critical fact:

Most veterinarians graduating today are members of Gen Z.

That means the future of veterinary medicine will be defined by this generation’s values, expectations, and boundaries.

If the profession fails to adapt, it risks alienating the very people it needs to survive.

Has the Pipeline Cracked?

When I entered the field, the journey from veterinary school to practice was demanding but relatively linear. Today’s Gen Z veterinary students and new graduates face a different reality: overburdened schools, overwhelming debt, mounting mental health challenges, and outdated clinic models that don’t reflect their values.

The veterinary school-to-practice pipeline isn’t just leaking – it’s structurally unsound.

Limited Capacity, Rising Demand

The United States has just 33 accredited veterinary schools (at least it did a few minutes ago …). Though the demand for animal care has soared – especially following the pandemic’s pet adoption surge – available training seats remain limited. That bottleneck is about to tighten further as declining birth cohorts reduce the number of future undergraduates applying to veterinary school.

Qualified Gen Z candidates are finding themselves locked out or forced into fierce competition, just to access a profession already teetering on burnout.

A Degree That Costs More Than It Pays

The debt figures are staggering. Veterinary graduates routinely carry $160,000 to $400,000 in student loans. Yet early-career salaries often start at $85K to $105K. Compared to physicians or dentists, veterinary professionals see a significantly lower return on investment.

This economic mismatch forces many new vets into high-volume corporate clinics or away from underserved areas like rural America – often against their personal values.

The Cost of Compassion

Veterinarians experience some of the highest suicide rates of any profession – up to 4× higher than the national average.

The causes are complex: the emotional toll of euthanasia, compassion fatigue, ethical dilemmas, financial stress, and a culture that still undervalues mental health.

Gen Z is not willing to sacrifice their well-being for outdated ideals of stoicism and self-denial. They are sounding the alarm, and we would do well to listen.

Corporate Clinics: Help or Hindrance?

Over the last two decades, the landscape of veterinary practice has shifted dramatically.

Private equity firms and multinational corporations now own large swaths of general and specialty practices. While these corporate entities often offer sign-on bonuses, standardized procedures, marketing support, and predictable schedules, they also come with productivity quotas, limited clinical autonomy, and conflicts of interest between profit and patient care.

For Gen Z, this creates a profound dilemma:

• On one hand, corporate practices provide job opportunities with health benefits and clearer onboarding.

• On the other, they may lack mentorship, flexibility, and a sense of ownership/belonging – values that Gen Z prioritizes.

Moreover, some young vets feel ethically compromised by being pressured to upsell services or operate within profit-maximizing algorithms.

The profession risks becoming a volume business, rather than a healing one.

Veterinary medicine should be about care, not commodities.

Gen Z knows this instinctively – and they’re less willing to compromise.

A Clash of Values

Gen Z isn’t rejecting work – they’re rejecting work without meaning, support, or flexibility.

Gen Zers want:

• Mentorship, not micromanagement

• Work-life balance, not exhaustion-as-status

• Digital tools, not paper charts

• Purpose, not just production

Yet many veterinary clinics – especially those under corporate ownership – remain anchored in rigid traditions and profit-driven models. No wonder Gen Z turnover is soaring – 134% higher than in 2019 in some sectors.

What Needs Fixing?

The problem isn’t Gen Z. The problem is a system that hasn’t evolved.

What Must Change?

• Expand vet school capacity – but do so with quality and adequate clinical placements.

• Modernize clinic culture – mentorship, team-based care, tech adoption, and genuine wellness support.

• Provide financial relief – loan forgiveness, rural service incentives, and equitable salaries.

• Rethink corporate involvement – by prioritizing patient-centered care, ethical leadership, and clinician autonomy.

• Diversify career paths – encourage work in research, shelter medicine, academia, industry, and One Health fields.

• Listen to the new generation – not to appease them, but to co-create a profession that endures.

A Path Forward

When Gen Z says the system is broken, it’s not a tantrum – it’s a truth bomb.

They are deeply committed, deeply capable, and deeply aware of what they need to thrive.

The veterinary pipeline isn't beyond repair, but it requires bold renovation.

If we continue to ignore the cracks, we risk losing not only a generation of vets, but the soul of the profession itself.

It’s time to stop telling Gen Z to toughen up – and to start building a system that’s actually worth being tough for.

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