A Few Questions

[Sumatopoppih]

Allow me to begin by saying I am young and naive, so please excuse my (or so they sound to me) selfish and ignorant questions.

Most biggest fear (even though I have yet to even start a higher education, yet) of becoming a veterinarian is that I will have no life outside of work. As much as I adore animals and there wellbeing, I would not mind being able to have a family and being able to spend time with them. It's been put in my head by my siblings / friends that I would never have a waking moment without being at work (okay, that's a tad exaggerated... but I think you get the point ). Is this fear a reality?

Secondly, I'm afraid that I won't be afford this journey. My financial standings are quite dismal, being a recent high school graduate without having had the opportunity to get a real job.

I also have this thought in my head that I would like to be a vet. that helps wild animals, as well... is that possible?


I apologize for the poor format of my questions, but right now my brains just a knot of questions...

Thanks for the time, and I look forward to being a member here!

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[Otterdog]

I think that the fear that you will "have no life outside of work" is one that a lot of us have. However, think of it this way: You are someday going to have a career. Most careers leave little time anyways for fun, relaxing, spending time with your family, etc. In my opinion, I think it would be way better to work 10 hour days doing something that you enjoy and that feels like "fun" to you rather than maybe three days a week working someplace that you dread going to.

I have worked jobs where I made an insane amount of money considering I only worked 20 or 30 hours a week (4 days a week) but I hated it so much that I was always tired, grouchy, and dreaded my work days. Now, even when I put in 50 hours a week at my minimum wage job (vet assistant at a small animal clinic), it never feels hard or boring. I can work every day for two weeks and still get up and say "Yay, I get to go to work today!"

Also, your hours will depend on what you want to get into. For example, the small animal vet working at a smallish clinic like the one I work at works 40 hours a week: 4 days on, 3 days off. They are always 'on call' but we don't do emergencies so they rarely get a call! A large animal vet, on the other hand, might work the same hours but have to be on call for those late night foaling, lambing, and calving sessions. I'm sure some people who have more experience with large animals can elaborate more on this, I have not worked with many large animal vets yet.

I'm going to pass on your second question. I am so bad with dealing with financial aid and loans that I bug my financial aid advisor constantly with every little question.

For your third one, there are many different fields for veterinarians to work in, and the options will expand in the future. It's not just large or small animal anymore, there's exotics, equine, mixed animal, wildlife, shelter, lab animal and others. Start reading some of the threads here, and you'll see what I mean!

I apologize for any typos, spelling errors, or poorly worded sentences. My kitten has been at the vet's for two days (he got neutered); he is clingy and he won't get off my lap.

 

[Minnerbelle]

If you plan for all those things and choose your path wisely, and with a bit of luck, all of those things are possible!

You still have your whole pre-vet journey ahead of you, so you're not locked into a lot of things financially. You can choose to find cheap ways to go through your pre-vet curriculum and do them well. You can establish residency in a state where you have a decent shot at admissions as an in state applicant, AND has cheap tuition.

I guess you won't know how your work-life balance will be as a vet until you get there, but there are vet jobs that still leave you with time on your hands. Sometimes you have no choice, but I think there are also other times where work-life balance is more up to the individual who chooses to work too much or not enough.

And as for the wildlife thing, of course there are ways to get involved with wildlife! Different states have different regulations on what vets are allowed to do with wildlife, but it's always possible (just a matter of how many hoops you have to go through). And who knows, by the time you're a DVM, you might not even want to work with wildlife anymore.

 

[libster06]

Addressing question 1:
Be prepared to work hard in the beginning stages of your career. I would say this to ANYONE going into ANY profession out there. You can't go into a career and put in mediocre effort and work minimum hours and expect people to give you more responsibility (ie: a promotion, higher pay, their practice, etc.). Also, the debt factors into this as well. The more hours you work in the first couple of years and the more dedicated you are, the better/quicker you can pay off your loans.

Addressing question 2:
Your standings when you get out of undergrad will really determine your financial situation. I got through 4 years of college without any debt. I had my parents help a bit, but my house and school were paid for through academic scholarships. No, I did not get a full ride. I applied year after year for scholarships (sometimes different ones) through my university, my specific department within the university (they offer separate scholarships) and parents' jobs. I also went out of state (because they waived the OOS differential cost bc of my ACT scores- a 27, AND that was cheaper than the IS tuition where I had originally planned) which was a bit lonely at times but in the long run I am so grateful that I made that decision, because I had NO undergrad debt.

Therefore, it was helpful when I had to go OOS for vet school. The debt, whether it is in state or out of state, will ALWAYS be on your mind. It is do-able , since there have been tons of vets who have gone before us and have managed the OOS or IS debt. However, as I said before, you must be willing to work hard initially. But that shouldn't be because of the debt... but because you want to prove yourself in the industry.

Addressing the third question:
I worked for a vet (small animal clinic) who worked with wildlife rescue. We saw wild birds, rodents, etc. through that organization. Also you can be a specific wildlife vet, or an exotics vet also. There are almost infinite possibilities in vet med once you get here and are shown what's out there.