Take by the paw: how the market of veterinary specialties is recovering
The market for veterinary professions has been gaining momentum in Russia since 2024, according to job search websites. hh.ru and SuperJob. From 2019 to 2023, the number of resumes for such places was extremely small, and now there is a rapid increase, especially in some areas. For example, the number of candidates for the position of "cattle veterinarian" increased by 157%. The economy is recovering after the pandemic, interest in animal husbandry is growing, and commercial veterinary activities are actively developing, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. About how universities react to the revival of the market and which specialists are most in demand — in the material of Izvestia.
Why is the number of veterinarians' resumes growing?
Last year, the number of resumes from veterinary specialists on recruitment services began to grow rapidly, job search sites told Izvestia. Moreover, this trend has continued since the beginning of 2025.
"The number of veterinarians' resumes this year is on average 8% higher than last year," the service said. hh.ru .
Similar conclusions were reached at the St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine (St. Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine).
"The market of veterinary professions in Russia has recovered from the recession during the pandemic and in some specialties has already exceeded the figures of 2019," analysts say. — In 2024, there was a noticeable increase in the number of resumes. In three specialties, the figures not only returned to the level of 2019, but also exceeded it.
There is a particularly noticeable trend towards an increase in the number of applicants for the position of a cattle veterinarian, said Evgeny Finageev, head of the Employment Department at St. Petersburg State University. The number of such resumes has grown by 157% in five years.
— This is logically connected with the development of animal husbandry in the country, — he said. — Now we see a growing interest in working with farm animals.
Applicants are more actively looking for the position of chief animal technician and chief veterinarian, the university noted.
The SuperJob resource has slightly different data: in 2025, the most popular specialty among applicants on this resource is a veterinarian, followed by a zoo technician and a veterinarian's assistant. And according to the data hh.ru The most coveted veterinary positions are veterinarian, chief veterinarian, and assistant veterinarian.
The pandemic in most regions has become a serious challenge for the veterinary service, which has made it possible to optimize work in new conditions, said Sergey Domolazov, Associate Professor of the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Kazan Bauman Academy of Veterinary Medicine of Kazan State Agrarian University.
— And the level of increase in the number of applicants for veterinary specialties is due to the fact that veterinary medicine is dynamically developing in the field of commercial activity. Agricultural enterprises also offer high salaries for employment and various support measures in the form of preferential mortgage loans for the purchase of housing, lifting payments to young professionals for employment in agricultural enterprises," he said.
Veterinarian Mikhail Shelyakov noted that there has been a failure in the field of agriculture for more than 20 years, but now it has gained popularity again — against the background of sanctions.
— Farms were unprofitable in the 2000s, and then the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on them. But with the introduction of import substitution policy in the country, interest in them returned. Accordingly, interest in veterinary specialties has increased," he said.
And Evgeny Finogeev believes that veterinarians have become more likely to look for work, as the traditionally accepted way of finding it has changed in this area.
— Previously, veterinarians were looking for work through friends, now everyone is actively using Internet platforms, — he said. — In addition, during the pandemic, the demand for the services of urban veterinary clinics increased dramatically: people got more pets. Therefore, the need for veterinary specialists who work with small pets has increased.
The growth in the number of applicants for veterinary specialties is related both to the general economic recovery after the pandemic and to changes in Russia's agriculture, analysts at SPbGUVM also note.
—The development of animal husbandry creates new jobs and requires qualified specialists, which makes veterinary professions more and more in demand on the labor market," the university noted.
According to Rosstat, in January 2025, agricultural production in Russia increased by 2.1% compared to the same period of the previous year. Livestock and poultry production in live weight increased by 3%, which indicates a positive trend in the livestock sector. By the end of 2024, livestock production in Russia also showed growth.
What is the shortage of personnel in veterinary medicine
In the last 10 years, there has been a shortage of staff in the veterinary doctors' market, the National Veterinary Chamber told Izvestia. They also confirmed that in recent years, against the background of import substitution, animal husbandry, as well as veterinary medicine for small pets, have been actively developing.
— In the field of small pets, therapists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and ultrasound diagnostics specialists are always in great demand. There is a general demand for paramedics and veterinarians in animal husbandry, they said. — And now the shortage of personnel in veterinary medicine is very acute, despite the growing popularity of the profession.
Director of Research hh.ru Maria Ignatova also told Izvestia that in the first quarter of 2025, 2.5 thousand vacancies for veterinarians were placed in Russia, which is 57% less than in the same period last year.
Among the leaders in the number of such vacancies, she named Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Moscow region, the Krasnodar Territory and the Chelyabinsk Region. Veterinarians were least often sought in the Jewish Autonomous Region, Astrakhan, Murmansk Region, Kalmykia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, Komi, Trans-Baikal Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia.
— A shortage of these specialists has been identified in at least 58 regions. Employers have the most difficult time in the Kamchatka Territory, Adygea and Khabarovsk Territory. A surplus of veterinarians is observed only in five regions of the country — in the Astrakhan, Amur and Murmansk regions, as well as in Kalmykia and Dagestan," added Maria Ignatova.
The shortage of personnel in the veterinary industry continues to be a problem, despite the increase in the number of vacancies, Sergey Domolazov agreed.
— There is practically no competition between candidates in the Urals and the Far East, where there are less than two resumes per vacancy. In the Volga region, about two to four people apply for one vacancy," he stressed.
Dairy farming continues to experience a shortage of personnel, especially for small and medium-sized farms and in areas remote from large centers, said Deputy Director General of the National Union of Milk Producers (Soyuzmoloko). Maria Zhebit. According to her, despite the increase in the number of applicants, specialists in cattle and animal husbandry remain in demand.
— This is due to the outdated production stock of some enterprises, the lack of opportunities for some companies to compete for specialists from other industries, and the low popularity of the agricultural sector among young people. She often prefers more "clean" and simpler work with pets, she said.
Maria Ignatova noted that, according to data for the first quarter of 2025, they are willing to pay 74.3 thousand rubles to animal treatment specialists, 77.8 thousand rubles in the professional field of Agriculture. rubles'.
— The maximum salary is 200 thousand rubles. At the beginning of the year, it was fixed for a veterinarian in Karelia, and the minimum was 35 thousand rubles in the Trans—Baikal Territory," the expert added.
The amount of remuneration for veterinarians depends on various factors — the region of residence, the scale of the veterinary institution, specialization, qualifications and experience of the veterinarian," Sergey Domolazov reminded.
Maria Zhebit added that today large companies are actively implementing specialized programs in cooperation with universities and colleges to train the personnel needed by the business and retain specialists.
How veterinarians are trained
The growth in livestock production and an increase in the share of its exports by 2030, according to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, dictates the need to increase the number of personnel ensuring the veterinary well-being of livestock industries, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture told Izvestia.
"Active work is underway in Russia to popularize agricultural professions, including veterinary specialties," the editorial office said in response to a request. "For example, within the framework of the Agrotechnological Classes project, aimed at early professional orientation, universities, together with industrial partners, provide additional training for students to enroll in specialized universities."
In total, future veterinarians are trained at 43 universities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, more than 51.7 thousand people are studying such specialties. In the coming year, almost 8.8 thousand specialists will be released to the market.
The ministry recalled that such specialists are also in demand in the food industry, in the field of nature protection, border veterinary control, in zoos, aquariums, dolphinariums, pet gardens, and sports medicine.
In 2025, the number of veterinary graduates who studied at the target locations was 542, an increase of one third compared to the level of 2024. In previous periods, the graduation rate was about 450 people.
"Currently, employers are very actively publishing their proposals on the portal "Work in Russia" to attract targeted specialists in the field of veterinary medicine. A high influx is expected, as well as, accordingly, the graduation of qualified specialists at universities," the ministry said.
The main task of a veterinarian for the state and ensuring technological sovereignty is to work with productive farm animals, the Ministry of Agriculture noted.
"The country's food security depends on this. In this regard, there is a growing demand for specialists in breeding, reproduction, as well as in the prevention and control of diseases of farm animals and poultry. It is worth noting that the branch of the veterinary biopharmaceutical industry is actively developing and needs personnel: due to the need to provide animal husbandry with vaccines and medicines," they said.
The ministry noted that the need for veterinary specialists remains, especially in agricultural regions and large holding companies. This is due to the fact that the industry is developing, and there are new requirements for the qualifications of specialists, especially in terms of digital and managerial competencies.
Educational programs are being updated with the participation of universities, experts and employers. This approach will help to more accurately take into account the needs of the industry and make veterinary specialties more attractive to young people, the ministry said.
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