Back up careers

[lswajger]

What are some backup careers people had planned if they did not get into veterinary school? I was thinking veterinary pharmaceutical sales. Maybe I just am doubting myself so I am going down this route. But I would like to be able to put my biology degree to use.

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[potentialsheltervet]

If I can't get into vet school I'm planning on doing canine/feline behavior work in shelters and hopefully also helping shelters change design, implement enrichment, and enhance animal/zoonotic disease protocols. (Not too dissimilar from what I want to do if I DO get into vet school but minus spay/neuter, exams, and treatment of course).

 

[Minnerbelle]

I would become an accountant. You can go for a post-grad accounting program that’s fairly short and you have excellent job prospects which can be remote with an awesome QOL and pay. It would pay waaaay more than anything vet related you could do otherwise without a DVM, and that money/time would allow you to actually do fun animal related things.

 

[IvyMoose]

Trust me, I would love to be in vet med, but my plan B is grad school (funny that grad school may be equally as hard), probably in the geosciences. Or maybe do vet pharmaceutical research since my undergrad was chemistry still waiting for interview invites though!

 

[SocialStigma]

My back up at the time was to become an MD hahaha. Fortunately I never had to seriously consider it, I would not have made it through med school because I've since realized I'm very grossed out by human procedures. My husband is a physician and I gagged when he told me about manually deobstipating a patient on ER.

 

[battie]

When I was on my third cycle, I was working in residence life for my undergrad. I was good at it and loved it. So I was going to stay in residence life at my podunk undergrad for life.

Not gonna lie, after a few years of practice, I may look into low key teaching in academia because I miss being involved in student development. Thats all because of that job.

 

[SkiOtter]

since my undergrad was chemistry

Ayyyyyy

 

[deleted676737]

Vet school didn't pan out for me; I ended up leaving halfway through second year. At this stage in my life, I'm kind of stuck not knowing what to do. My BS in biology isn't enough for me to snag a job paying anywhere near enough to service the $100k+ in debt that I have, so I languish away, barely paying anything, on PAYE. I don't even really make enough where I am now to move somewhere where I could find those jobs, so I'm pretty trapped. Due to that debt and the fact that I've now been out of academia entirely for over three years, I'm extremely hesitant to pursue more schooling at this time. Ultimately, I don't think vet med was the career for me to begin with---I have certain psychiatric concerns and personality traits that just don't mesh well with the demands of the profession, particularly in the realm of GP/ER (likely where I would have ended up with my grades being what they were)---and it sucks that I only learnt that after I already had sunk so much time and money into the vet school thing. But I honestly should have left before I was too deep into the hole; I began having reservations as early on as the first semester.

Anyway, if I could do it all over again, knowing what I know now... I probably would have still gotten my BS in biology, but would have very strongly considered doing a minor or possibly even a second major in computer science, then pursue graduate school in biostatistics, computational biology, or bioinformatics instead. I've been coding as a hobby since before high school, so I honestly don't know why that career route never crossed my mind in the first place. It can be about as lucrative as vet med with an MS or PhD with considerably less financial investment.

I have so many regrets that I kick myself for. Every. Day. I'm glad that you're considering backup careers in case things don't turn out the way you're hoping for vet school; many pre-vets don't, unfortunately. Sometimes life throws us curve balls, so it's always apt to be prepared for such things.

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

A friend and I were discussing this the other day.

My official backup plan was finishing my degree except switching to geography, and working in GIS or the coast guard with that degree. If I hadn't gone to vet school I would not be working in the veterinary field at all.

I am the type of person who would have been happy doing a lot of different things. Still happy with vetmed and glad I chose it, but I definitely didn't only have one "true calling" or any of that jazz.

 

[Yaya_Cat]

I don't realllllly have a backup plan. . I will have my masters before I have to make a decision about what offers (if any) I get. I did do a minor in Cinema Studies in my undergrad but TBH I don't think I am revolutionary enough to do anything with that minor. I mean it would be so cool to work for like the Discovery Channel or Animal planet. But I would not expect that to pay off any of my loans either T_T . My advisor suggested nursing but I cannot imagine having to care for those furless beings called humans.

 

[Lupin21]

Don’t be afraid to simply earn a paycheck until you hopefully find a more lucrative job is what I say. Job being the operative word here. A vet is a job. Most hate their job because you have to do it. The end. Find out what keeps you happy otherwise, but realize money is what a job is in the end no matter what.

 

[that redhead]

I would have continued as a lab animal technician and worked my way up that ladder.

I always wanted to be a judge but you have to be a lawyer first and that field is beyond saturated so I think it’s for the best I never pursued that dream

 

[DVMDream]

Stay at home pet mom is my number one pick for a job.

Oh--- money making job, erm, ehhh. I'd possibly consider going down the route of some sort of engineering, especially doing sound/lighting for events/venues and then doing stuff with animals on the side.

 

[mackdelraye]

Similarly, is it a good idea to apply to masters programs or vet tech school while also applying to vet school so I don’t waste a year if I am rejected from all the schools I applied to?

 

[battie]

Similarly, is it a good idea to apply to masters programs or vet tech school while also applying to vet school so I don’t waste a year if I am rejected from all the schools I applied to?

Would you use the masters or become a vet tech if you never went to veterinary school? If yes, then sure. If not, it's a waste of time and money. There are other ways to spend a gap year that add to an application without blowing that much money.

If anything, you should be working on your application for next year *right now*. You're rejected until you have an acceptance in hand. If you haven't been doing anything the last few months, consider picking something up asap.

 

[SkiOtter]

Similarly, is it a good idea to apply to masters programs or vet tech school while also applying to vet school so I don’t waste a year if I am rejected from all the schools I applied to?

Don’t waste your money unless it’s something that will further your career or you could use that masters if you never get into vet school. Tech school
Would be a waste of money unless you want to be a technician and not a veterinarian.
Keep bulking up your app NOW with work experience or shadowing before you even hear back so you have months of extra experience in case you need to apply again.

 

[Teepster87]

After finishing my BS I ended up working for Idexx in a histopathology lab for a year. I really liked it and was pretty good at it. I was seriously considering going into a clinical laboratory scientist program and working in a human hospital or something where the money's at. I think Idexx paid pretty well for the amount of training I had coming into the job, but I don't think they can compete with human lab salaries.

 

[twelvetigers]

I have no idea, but maybe something microbiology related. It takes some time to realize that, in most cases, your dream job still just becomes a job with time. The goal is to make enough money to do some nice stuff otherwise and save for the future. I think there are lots of ways to accomplish that for someone smart enough to get into vet school, but of course it's not always some sort of clear and well laid out thing.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I have no idea, but maybe something microbiology related. It takes some time to realize that, in most cases, your dream job still just becomes a job with time. The goal is to make enough money to do some nice stuff otherwise and save for the future. I think there are lots of ways to accomplish that for someone smart enough to get into vet school, but of course it's not always some sort of clear and well laid out thing.

Omg I totally forgot your initial love for microbiology. Such nostalgia from our young’n days