I think there is a misconception that young veterinarians think they will not have access to capital to purchase practices. I do think, however, it is much, much more complicated than it was 20, 30 years ago [i.e., when current practice owners bought-in]. Instead, I think it's more of the drive to take on such an immense responsibility. For me, I've successfully managed a short-term mortgage and reduced my interest rate greatly on my student loans, but this leaves less than desired for savings/investing and - overall - my sense of financial security. Thus, taking on an opportunity for practice ownership would have to have risk mitigation beyond what could be considered normal. I find most current practice owners are staying in their role longer than traditionally observed and partnership appears quite complex. Simply put: not every veterinarian has the option to be an owner. Lastly, certain regions are simply saturated making the pool of opportunity for either start-up or buy-in/out quite small. However, I am well aware of the potential financial and professional growth and individual decision making not obtained in an associate role that I would like to partake in as a future, hopeful, practice owner.