Veterinarian Family
Career series with 3 positions across 3 levels
In New Jersey civil service, Veterinarian names a 3-level progression covering 3 distinct titles.
Entry is typically through Veterinarian 1, advancing through the ladder toward Veterinarian 3. Pay across the family spans $83,582 to $155,359, around the 86th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 11 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Agriculture.
Positions in This Family
- VETERINARIAN 1 (00866) $83,582 - $122,832/year
- VETERINARIAN 2 (10100) $95,955 - $141,386/year
- VETERINARIAN 3 (21735) $105,267 - $155,359/year
What the Veterinarian family covers
Veterinarian is a graded series in the New Jersey civil service classification plan, running 3 title codes across 3 levels. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
The state is a direct care employer at scale, running psychiatric hospitals, developmental centers and veterans homes around the clock. That shapes the classifications: shift work, unusual work weeks and institution-specific variants are normal here rather than exceptional, and the same clinical title can exist several times over for different facilities. Professional licensure carries the qualification weight, so movement between the public and private sector is easier in this group than almost anywhere else in civil service. Counties run their own health departments and hire parallel titles under local jurisdiction.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Veterinarian rungs look like this. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Veterinarian 3 — $105,267 to $155,359 (a doctoral degree and 4 years of experience)
- Veterinarian 2 — $95,955 to $141,386 (a doctoral degree and 3 years of experience)
- Veterinarian 1 — $83,582 to $122,832 (a doctoral degree)
The distance from the bottom of Veterinarian 1 to the top of Veterinarian 3 is $71,777, an increase of about 86% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.
- Veterinarian 1: Under direction of a supervisory official in a state department or agency, performs tasks for the diagnosis and control of contagious and infectious diseases of livestock…
- Veterinarian 2: Under direction of a supervisory official in a state department or agency, performs surveys, examinations, diagnostic work and other related activities of livestock…
- Veterinarian 3: Under direction of a supervisory official within a state department or agency, plans, organizes, and directs the development, coordination and implementation of new and…
What it takes to qualify
Across the 3 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a doctoral degree on 3 of them. Stated experience runs from 3 years at the lowest rung to 4 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
Every title here carries a license or certification requirement, so the credential matters more than the exam score. On how the jobs are filled: 3 are non-competitive, appointed on proof of the stated qualifications rather than by examination.
Who actually employs these titles
11 people appear on the state payroll under 2 of these titles, at 2 agencies. Agriculture alone accounts for about 55% of them.
- Agriculture — 6 employees
- Law and Public Safety — 5 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $123,437 for Veterinarian 2 up to $150,105 for Veterinarian 3. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
Hiring for this family runs through state service. Departments, commissions and boards fill these titles from eligible lists built by the Civil Service Commission, so the route in is an announcement and a filing deadline rather than a posting you apply to directly. What state jurisdiction means, and a breakdown of who employs what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Veterinarian, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.
- Veterinarian (local jurisdiction)
- Senior Veterinarian Disease Control ($95,955 to $141,386, state jurisdiction)
- Veterinarian / Zoo Director Veterinarian (local jurisdiction)
Common questions about Veterinarian jobs
How many separate Veterinarian classifications does New Jersey have?
The Veterinarian family holds 3 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Veterinarian paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $83,582 at the bottom of Veterinarian 1 to $155,359 at the top of Veterinarian 3. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Veterinarian?
Not for the non-competitive titles in this family, of which there are 3. A non-competitive appointment is made on proof that you meet the stated requirements, without a competitive examination, though the position is still in the classified service with its own protections.
What are the requirements to become a Veterinarian?
The most common education requirement in this family is a doctoral degree, named on 3 of the 3 titles. Stated experience ranges from 3 to 4 years depending on the rung. 3 of the titles also require a license or certification. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Veterinarian staff?
State payroll records show 11 people in this family across 2 agencies, with Agriculture the largest at 6. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.