It's a tough time to be graduating from veterinary school and launching a practice, according to new research from Kansas State University. The average debt reported by 2014 graduates of the university's College of Veterinary Medicine was $170,380, while the average starting salary was just $64,678. Those numbers didn't improve much over 2013 figures--a trend that Roger Fingland, executive associate dean for K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, attributes to the weak overall economy in a statement from the university. "It is important to educate people who want to be veterinarians about the financial realities," he says. Veterinary specialists, such as cardiologists, and those who practice in underserved rural areas may find more lucrative job opportunities, he adds. Release