Veterinary Medicine is one of the rare careers in Kenya. The profession, though not as marketable as a degree in medicine, pays well if a graduate secures a job at a government institution.
In Kenya the best university to pursue this course is the University of Nairobi, which is ranked one of the best in Africa. The degree program takes at most 5 years and is among the toughest degrees in Kenya.
After graduation, there are several places you can get a job, some of them include KEMRI CDC,KEMRI Wellcome Trust,KARI,Ministry of Health, several NGOs and other government institutions. Besides securing a job at aforementioned institutions, you can also choose to start your own business where you would be tasked with treating livestock and pets.
In our country there are few people who have specialized in this course, which means as a graduate of veterinary medicine you have very high chances of succeeding when you open your own company. Many people would advise you to seek self-employment option, which I would also advise you to do. This is because even if you are employed by the government, the salary won’t be enough.
What we have gathered is that a fresh graduate from a local university is offered a starting salary of Ksh55, 000-Ksh85, 000 while a very experienced professional earns Ksh180, 000-Ksh250, 000.You can see this salary cannot be compared to what you can earn when you are in private practice.
Currently the rate of employment for veterinary medicine graduates in Kenya stands at 67 %, which is not a bad rate considering other courses like MBA and BCOM have very low rate.