Working During Vet School

[Aqua_girl87]

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Hey guys,

I was just wondering how many of you worked or did not work during vet school? If you did work, did you find it hard to balance work and school?

I worked full-time during my undergrad, but am not planning on working while I'm in vet school (except over breaks, of course) so I can focus on my studies. I had a hard time balancing studying and homework while keeping a full-time job while I completed my undergrad, so I was curious of everyone's thoughts and experiences on this for vet school. 🙂

 

[Lab Vet]

Hi OP,

I worked part-time during vet school beginning the summer of my first year. This job continued weekends/holidays throughout years two and three (went off-site for experience the summer of my second year, and began in-house clinical rotations the summer of my third year). There are multiple options for employment throughout veterinary school- as technicians in the teaching hospital, as well as in administrative and research support roles. Many of my classmates held part time jobs, either at the veterinary school or at practices scattered throughout the surrounding area, during the pre-clinical years. My advice re: working is not to sacrifice your academic performance for the sake of a part time job. Find out how well you fare with the academic curriculum before committing to a job (i.e. wait at least until the end of your first semester). Once you've got a good feeling for what the curriculum is like and how best to study in vet school, by all means go ahead and seek out part-time employment. If you find that the commitments of a job would compromise your academic performance, I strongly advise against it. Any others want to chime in here (this appears to be a question that comes up repeatedly here on the pre-vet board). Good luck 🙂

 

[supershorty]

I've worked part-time since first year. I didn't work at all during first semester of first year and I'm glad - I needed to figure out how I was going to study and be successful first, but I picked up a job over winter break that year. I have 3 part-time jobs at this point. It's not enough to live on, but it's nice to have some extra spending money.

 

[Coopah]

There are a lot of jobs offered through the school itself that take into consideration your schedule so it's not unreasonable to work, but most places recommend waiting a semester before jumping in to give yourself time to acclimate. Also, a mentor of mine told me to not work more than 5 hours a week because more would start to affect my grades. I personally do not work during school right now but am considering getting a part time job associated with the school. I might work on research or something, but nothing too time consuming. Keep in mind you will need extra time for extra-curricular activities. Your life can't revolve around school 🙂, even if it seems like you need to do that. I am active in several clubs which allow me to get experience with the hands-on stuff but allow me to shut down and focus on school when the going gets tough.

td;lr wait a semester to see how you do with school, then look for work if you still want it at the school itself.

 

[Lupin21]

There are a lot of jobs offered through the school itself that take into consideration your schedule so it's not unreasonable to work, but most places recommend waiting a semester before jumping in to give yourself time to acclimate. Also, a mentor of mine told me to not work more than 5 hours a week because more would start to affect my grades. I personally do not work during school right now but am considering getting a part time job associated with the school. I might work on research or something, but nothing too time consuming. Keep in mind you will need extra time for extra-curricular activities. Your life can't revolve around school 🙂, even if it seems like you need to do that. I am active in several clubs which allow me to get experience with the hands-on stuff but allow me to shut down and focus on school when the going gets tough.

td;lr wait a semester to see how you do with school, then look for work if you still want it at the school itself.

This does not compute! lol

Yup. Some folks can work no problem, others not so much. Most schools have plenty of opportunities as mentioned, and this can include ambassador duties, tutoring, hospital/lab positions, product reps etc. Get there, get a feel, then adjust accordingly.

 

[supershorty]

There are a lot of jobs offered through the school itself that take into consideration your schedule so it's not unreasonable to work, but most places recommend waiting a semester before jumping in to give yourself time to acclimate. Also, a mentor of mine told me to not work more than 5 hours a week because more would start to affect my grades. I personally do not work during school right now but am considering getting a part time job associated with the school. I might work on research or something, but nothing too time consuming. Keep in mind you will need extra time for extra-curricular activities. Your life can't revolve around school 🙂, even if it seems like you need to do that. I am active in several clubs which allow me to get experience with the hands-on stuff but allow me to shut down and focus on school when the going gets tough.

td;lr wait a semester to see how you do with school, then look for work if you still want it at the school itself.

Lol I wouldn't even be able to work 1 shift at one of my jobs if I followed your mentor's advice

 

[JaynaAli]

I worked 10 hours a week on average. Sometimes weeks it was more, some it was less. I probably could have made better grades without the job, but it turned out that that job set me on my current career path and gave me wonderful connections in my chosen specialty so I don't regret it at all.

 

[Coopah]

This does not compute! lol

Yup. Some folks can work no problem, others not so much. Most schools have plenty of opportunities as mentioned, and this can include ambassador duties, tutoring, hospital/lab positions, product reps etc. Get there, get a feel, then adjust accordingly.

I suppose you're right, what I meant was assist on someone else's research for exposure limited by my schedule and what opportunities there are.

 

[Coopah]

Lol I wouldn't even be able to work 1 shift at one of my jobs if I followed your mentor's advice

It's definitely different for everyone and what you're aiming for after school 🙂.

 

[supershorty]

It's definitely different for everyone and what you're aiming for after school 🙂.

Depends on when you work, too. 8.5 hour shifts at normal person hours are a little hard to coordinate. Mine are overnight, so don't conflict with anything other than sleep.

 

[cheathac]

I currently have a part time job on the weekends checking on the research animals (mainly pigs) that have undergone surgery during the week. I love it. It's only like 4 hours or so a week but its decent grocery money and it's tied to what I love doing. I think it's doable, just make sure you leave time for your studies. Just don't overwork yourself.

 

[kaydubs]

Worked several jobs often at the same time throughout vet school (started fall of my 1st year). Big picture wise, my smattering of jobs allowed me to meet a LOT of people as well as reach this current destination, so I’d still do what I did, which isn’t for everyone. I’m the kind of person who needs to do work (volunteer and paid, usually a combo of the 2), but I have been this way since middle school so at least I’m consistent.

 

[finnickthedog]

I intended to take advantage of one of the student job opportunities which would have been a few hours here and there in the clinic, but through some conflicts I had to skip out on it first semester and by the time second semester rolled around I was firmly not interested in working a job while being in school. There are times I could manage it just fine but there are other times that it would be rough so it just didn't seem worth it to me.

I'll work during the summer, but that's about it for me. I know some people definitely do work jobs during school though so it works for some people. I agree with the recommendation of waiting a semester to see if you want to add that responsibility.

 

[Aqua_girl87]

Wow. Thank you all for the enlightening responses.

I plan on just focusing on school to start with to see how I handle the curriculum load without worrying about balancing a job on top of it. As a non-traditional student, I've worked full-time for the past 12 years so it's gonna be a big adjustment for me to not work. I honestly think I'll fare better for now if I just have school to concentrate on and see how that goes first. 🙂

I didn't realize that school had employment opportunities, so I'll remember to possibly explore that option later on.

Keep in mind you will need extra time for extra-curricular activities. Your life can't revolve around school 🙂, even if it seems like you need to do that. I am active in several clubs which allow me to get experience with the hands-on stuff but allow me to shut down and focus on school when the going gets tough.

I'm involved in dog sports (obedience, agility, nose work) with my 2 dogs and plan on keeping that up while I'm in school. It's a great way to help me destress and keeps me sane.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I worked 10 hours a week on average. Sometimes weeks it was more, some it was less. I probably could have made better grades without the job, but it turned out that that job set me on my current career path and gave me wonderful connections in my chosen specialty so I don't regret it at all.

Worked several jobs often at the same time throughout vet school (started fall of my 1st year). Big picture wise, my smattering of jobs allowed me to meet a LOT of people as well as reach this current destination, so I’d still do what I did, which isn’t for everyone. I’m the kind of person who needs to do work (volunteer and paid, usually a combo of the 2), but I have been this way since middle school so at least I’m consistent.

Same. I worked anywhere from 10-20 hours during the first three didactic years of school (note that this included weekends, I don't think I could have swung 20hrs/week M-F). I took care of lab/teaching animals on the weekends and worked as an overnight/emergency technician in the diagnostic lab.

I was a B student and fine with that...perhaps if I had worked less I could have made As; however, the jobs I worked definitely helped me with my specialty connections.

I also waited my first semester to see how things went before I started looking for opportunities - definitely nothing wrong with that!

 

[Coopah]

Wow. Thank you all for the enlightening responses.

I plan on just focusing on school to start with to see how I handle the curriculum load without worrying about balancing a job on top of it. As a non-traditional student, I've worked full-time for the past 12 years so it's gonna be a big adjustment for me to not work. I honestly think I'll fare better for now if I just have school to concentrate on and see how that goes first. 🙂

I didn't realize that school had employment opportunities, so I'll remember to possibly explore that option later on.


I'm involved in dog sports (obedience, agility, nose work) with my 2 dogs and plan on keeping that up while I'm in school. It's a great way to help me destress and keeps me sane.

That sounds like a lot of fun! I am also a non-traditional student so it was a bit of an adjustment. The thing to keep in mind is now school is your job. You will be working probably a bit more than 9-5, because everyday you are responsible for more than just going to class. It can be exhausting which is why the money has to come later. I wish you nothing but the best, good luck with school.

 

[jaboo]

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've had jobs during school since high school. Had 2 jobs during college--one I went back to on breaks and one on campus during classes for 8-10 hours a week.

From what I've learned, the work environment is a bit different for each school. Cornell vet students I've asked recommend not taking on a job until the second semester because the first semester your first year is pretty brutal. I'd say to poll some of the students from the school you are going to.

I will say that having a job during school helped me immensely in tackling my time management skills (or lack thereof) and also taught me things about the professional world that a classroom never taught me. For reference, my job in HS and on breaks was at a grocery store and my on campus job was at the college's career center. The grocery job was a huuuuuuge help in teaching me how to deal with customers/clients, especially angry ones. I also had some experiences with some not-so-great bosses there, so I learned how not to treat people in my future career. The career center job really showed me how important making connections is in the professional world. If you can learn to network wisely and also make connections between your previous experiences on your resume and relate them to what you want to do, you become such a confident advocate for yourself.

Rambling aside, I think the benefits of taking on a job <10 a week in school are really valuable. But do what's right for you!

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

I will say that having a job during school helped me immensely in tackling my time management skills (or lack thereof) and also taught me things about the professional world that a classroom never taught me. For reference, my job in HS and on breaks was at a grocery store and my on campus job was at the college's career center. The grocery job was a huuuuuuge help in teaching me how to deal with customers/clients, especially angry ones. I also had some experiences with some not-so-great bosses there, so I learned how not to treat people in my future career. The career center job really showed me how important making connections is in the professional world. If you can learn to network wisely and also make connections between your previous experiences on your resume and relate them to what you want to do, you become such a confident advocate for yourself.

So much this.

I worked the night shift at a convenience store during college and honestly learned quite a bit from it in terms of standing up for myself and not taking ****. In general, work experience teaches you things that a school/academic experience cannot.

 

[pp9]

I don't think anyone mentioned this yet, but don't forget about company rep opportunities. I'm a rep for a food company and there are no set hours or anything, I get paid on a semester basis for coordinating food orders/keeping students connected to the brand. Not everyone can land one of the rep spots, but they're definitely low-key ways to get some sort of income.

Illinois has a lot of on-call jobs for students (ER/ICU, radiology, clin path, surgery suite) but those have pros/cons for sure. I feel like we didn't actually have many job opportunities that had set hours (or at least weren't on an on-call basis). I'd reach out to current students at MSU and see if they can give you info on what jobs students typically get emailed about.

 

[battie]

Currently manage tours and work in parasit/main office of our Diagnostic Lab doing an average of 10-12 hours a week, depending on what's going on. Because of how our exams work, I can max out the 20 hour limit we have because I go into work Friday afternoon and Saturday day to churn out as many hours as I can for that week. Then on sunday, I go in for as long as I can. Starting the following monday, I go back to doing 1-2 hours every day. I'm also an ICU on call tech, but I have yet to be called in.

I think 10 hours a week is doable, depending on what you're willing to give up. I'm nowhere near an A student. But I do think part of my academic improvement over last year stems from my much better time management skills. I also specifically picked jobs that were flexible timewise.