How to hire a veterinary pathologist

How to hire a veterinary pathologist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step veterinary pathologist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a veterinary pathologist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new veterinary pathologist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a veterinary pathologist, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect veterinary pathologist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   The following list breaks down different types of veterinary pathologists and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Veterinary Pathologist	Description	Hourly rate
   Veterinary Pathologist	Veterinarians care for the health of animals and work to improve public health. They diagnose, treat, and research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals.	$11-54
   Public Health Veterinarian	Public Health Veterinarians require participation in a public health program that leads to a master's degree in public health with a focus on veterinarian medicine, should this be their career choice. Earning an average of $76K per year, it is a position that requires a great deal of compassion, as well as manual dexterity, and decision-making, interpersonal, problem-solving, and management skills... Show more	$13-65
   Emergency Veterinarian	An emergency veterinarian is responsible for providing quality care services for animals at veterinary clinics and hospitals. Emergency veterinarians diagnose the animal's condition and administer treatment plans and medications... Show more	$22-90

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • FDA
   • Experimental Design
   • Clinical Pathology
   • GLP
   • Biotechnology
   • Peer Review
   • Diagnosis
   • Sops

   Responsibilities:

   • Supervise and manage pathology, microbiology and biochemistry laboratory.
   • Assist histology and necropsy laboratories attending client's needs by investigating and establishing new techniques and improving current ones.
   • Plan, direct and conduct rehabilitation treatment programs.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the veterinary pathologist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A veterinary pathologist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a veterinary pathologist in Kansas may be lower than in New York, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level veterinary pathologist. Additionally, a veterinary pathologist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average veterinary pathologist salary

   $53,066yearly

   $25.51 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level veterinary pathologist salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 17, 2025

   Average veterinary pathologist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$69,394	$33
   2	Pennsylvania	$65,063	$31
   3	California	$63,627	$31
   4	Massachusetts	$60,811	$29
   5	Ohio	$54,234	$26
   6	Texas	$48,772	$23
   7	North Carolina	$48,011	$23
   8	Nevada	$47,235	$23
   9	Minnesota	$46,958	$23
   10	New Mexico	$46,150	$22
   11	Oregon	$44,748	$22
   12	South Carolina	$44,727	$22
   13	Illinois	$43,707	$21
   14	Iowa	$41,620	$20
   15	Washington	$41,530	$20
   16	Tennessee	$41,117	$20
   17	Georgia	$40,289	$19
   18	Missouri	$38,596	$19
   19	Wisconsin	$37,342	$18
   20	Kentucky	$33,614	$16

   Average veterinary pathologist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Emory Healthcare	$101,220	$48.66	23
   2	Fred Hutch	$99,853	$48.01	1
   3	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital	$94,432	$45.40	2
   4	Medtronic	$88,986	$42.78
   5	Syngenta	$88,903	$42.74
   6	Oregon Health & Science University	$82,986	$39.90	2
   7	Neuralink IT Solutions	$81,304	$39.09
   8	Emory University	$73,767	$35.46	6
   9	University of Nebraska at Omaha	$64,013	$30.78
   10	University of Georgia Small Business Development Center	$56,645	$27.23	5
   11	WIL Research	$55,651	$26.76
   12	Clemson University	$55,154	$26.52
   13	University of Pennsylvania	$54,600	$26.25	17
   14	Charles River Labs	$53,051	$25.51	33
   15	Unh Law	$52,990	$25.48
   16	University of Nebraska System	$51,594	$24.80
   17	University of Wisconsin System	$50,682	$24.37	18
   18	Iowa State University	$49,372	$23.74	15
   19	Charles River Center	$40,930	$19.68
   20	State of Ohio	$37,589	$18.07	2

4. Writing a veterinary pathologist job description

   A good veterinary pathologist job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a veterinary pathologist job description:

   Veterinary pathologist job description example

   For 70 years, Charles River employees have worked together to assist in the discovery, development and safe manufacture of new drug therapies. When you join our family, you will have a significant impact on the health and well-being of people across the globe. Whether your background is in life sciences, finance, IT, sales or another area, your skills will play an important role in the work we perform. In return, we'll help you build a career that you can feel passionate about.
   
   We are seeking an experienced Anatomic Veterinary Pathologist IIfor our Safety Assessment site located in Mattawan, MI.
   ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
   
   + With minimal supervision, interact with clients to assure satisfaction and to market services.
   
   + Perform macroscopic and microscopic tissue evaluation and interpretation of assigned studies.
   
   + Write comprehensive report narratives detailing all test article effects. As needed, work with study directors to ensure data is accurately integrated into study reports.
   
   + Provide training, technical guidance and leadership to laboratory staff and may provide training, guidance, and leadership to less experienced pathologists.
   
   The following are minimum requirements related to the Anatomic Veterinary Pathologist IIposition.
   
   + Education: Doctoral degree (D.V.M./V.M.D.) from an accredited veterinary school, or acceptable international equivalent in veterinary medicine.
   
   + Experience:3 or more years of pathology experience post-D.V.M.; working knowledge of anatomic pathology; specialized training and/or experience in toxicologic pathology preferred.
   
   + An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted as a satisfactory substitute for the specific education and experience listed above.
   
   + Certification/Licensure: American College of Veterinary Pathologists (A.C.V.P.) board-certification required to enter the grade at the minimum experience level. Additional years of directly related experience may substitute for the board-certification.
   
   About Safety Assessment
   
   Charles River is committed to helping our partners expedite their preclinical drug development with exceptional safety assessment services, state-of-the-art facilities and expert regulatory guidance. From individual specialty toxicology and IND enabling studies to tailored packages and total laboratory support, our deeply experienced team can design and execute programs that anticipate challenges and avoid roadblocks for a smooth, efficient journey to market. Each year approximately 120 investigational new drug (IND) programs are conducted in our Safety Assessment facilities.
   
   About Charles River
   
   Charles River is an early-stage contract research organization (CRO). We have built upon our foundation of laboratory animal medicine and science to develop a diverse portfolio of discovery and safety assessment services, both Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and non-GLP, to support clients from target identification through preclinical development. Charles River also provides a suite of products and services to support our clients' clinical laboratory testing needs and manufacturing activities. Utilizing this broad portfolio of products and services enables our clients to create a more flexible drug development model, which reduces their costs, enhances their productivity and effectiveness to increase speed to market.
   
   With over 14,000 employees within 80 facilities in 20 countries around the globe, we are strategically positioned to coordinate worldwide resources and apply multidisciplinary perspectives in resolving our client's unique challenges. Our client base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, government agencies and hospitals and academic institutions around the world. And in 2018, revenue increased by 22% to $2.27 billion from $1.86 billion in 2017.
   
   At Charles River, we are passionate about our role in improving the quality of people's lives. Our mission, our excellent science and our strong sense of purpose guide us in all that we do, and we approach each day with the knowledge that our work helps to improve the health and well-being of many across the globe. We have proudly supported the development of ~85% of the drugs approved by the FDA in 2018.
   
   Equal Employment Opportunity
   
   Charles River Laboratories is an Equal Opportunity Employer - M/F/Disabled/Vet
   
   .

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find veterinary pathologists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your veterinary pathologist job on Zippia to find and recruit veterinary pathologist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with veterinary pathologist candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new veterinary pathologist

   Once you've decided on a perfect veterinary pathologist candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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