About to apply for Vet school but having second thoughts.

[Kafka11]

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I have started my application for this application period but I have started to have second thoughts. I graduate with a bachelor's of biology in December. I have worked as a zookeeper and found I really like the wild/ zoo vet path, but I am also aware that it is the most competitive field. I started shadowing a vet at a small dog and cat vet clinic in September and assisted the vet techs and the vet during surgeies. In January I was offered a part time vet tech position. I have be doing that every Saturday (only day school allowed).

So with that build up, now to why I'm having second thoughts.

I hate being a vet tech. I don't like what I do as a vet tech. The Saturdays I work are both surgery days and so all I do is take tpr's and patient histories. The vet the works on Saturday (he owns the clinic but isn't that one I initially shadowed) doesn't like to do anything on Saturdays. For example there is a blanket no x-ray rule on saturday. Anything that involves more than a blood draw he has then schedule for a different day. So all I am able to do is blood draws at the most. I don't know if I would like it more if we did more on Saturdays. My main question is can a vet hate the vet tech work aspect?

The other part that is giving me second thoughts is I feel burnt out on school. I am so tired of school. The thought of signing up for 4 more years is giving me pause. I know I can do it if I started it but I am having trouble haveing the desire to do it.

I'm also worried I will get though vet school and find I don't like being a vet. I don't know how to solve that worry.

If anyone has any insight on either of my to main issues I would love to hear your opinion.

 

[Chili_Cat]

I have started my application for this application period but I have started to have second thoughts. I graduate with a bachelor's of biology in December. I have worked as a zookeeper and found I really like the wild/ zoo vet path, but I am also aware that it is the most competitive field. I started shadowing a vet at a small dog and cat vet clinic in September and assisted the vet techs and the vet during surgeies. In January I was offered a part time vet tech position. I have be doing that every Saturday (only day school allowed).

So with that build up, now to why I'm having second thoughts.

I hate being a vet tech. I don't like what I do as a vet tech. The Saturdays I work are both surgery days and so all I do is take tpr's and patient histories. The vet the works on Saturday (he owns the clinic but isn't that one I initially shadowed) doesn't like to do anything on Saturdays. For example there is a blanket no x-ray rule on saturday. Anything that involves more than a blood draw he has then schedule for a different day. So all I am able to do is blood draws at the most. I don't know if I would like it more if we did more on Saturdays. My main question is can a vet hate the vet tech work aspect?

The other part that is giving me second thoughts is I feel burnt out on school. I am so tired of school. The thought of signing up for 4 more years is giving me pause. I know I can do it if I started it but I am having trouble haveing the desire to do it.

I'm also worried I will get though vet school and find I don't like being a vet. I don't know how to solve that worry.

If anyone has any insight on either of my to main issues I would love to hear your opinion.

My advice would be to wait an application cycle (or two). See if you can shadow a zoo vet since that’s what you’re more interested in. Also once you graduate, are you able to tech on other days? That way you could see if being able to do more makes you like the tech stuff more. In general, I wouldn’t be super worried if you don’t like the tech stuff, because you’re not going to be a tech after vet school. But I’d encourage you to start paying attention to what the doctor is doing and see if you think that would be a good fit for you.
Bonus of this is you also get a break from school, can save up money, and potentially ease your worries of not liking being a vet after vet school, or decide it’s not for you altogether.

 

[twelvetigers]

I have started my application for this application period but I have started to have second thoughts. I graduate with a bachelor's of biology in December. I have worked as a zookeeper and found I really like the wild/ zoo vet path, but I am also aware that it is the most competitive field. I started shadowing a vet at a small dog and cat vet clinic in September and assisted the vet techs and the vet during surgeies. In January I was offered a part time vet tech position. I have be doing that every Saturday (only day school allowed).

It's good to realize that zoo med is really, really hard to get into. I'm glad you've acknowledged that going to vet school *only* because you want to do that one specific thing is probably not wise.

I hate being a vet tech. I don't like what I do as a vet tech. The Saturdays I work are both surgery days and so all I do is take tpr's and patient histories. The vet the works on Saturday (he owns the clinic but isn't that one I initially shadowed) doesn't like to do anything on Saturdays. For example there is a blanket no x-ray rule on saturday. Anything that involves more than a blood draw he has then schedule for a different day. So all I am able to do is blood draws at the most. I don't know if I would like it more if we did more on Saturdays. My main question is can a vet hate the vet tech work aspect?

Being a vet isn't really too much like being a vet tech. I mean, I draw blood and I help with radiographs, but that's not really 'my job' - the vet's job is the critical thinking part. Looking at the animal, deciding what tests to run, knowing what to look for, going through the list of differentials and trying to narrow it down. The vet is also in charge of relaying this information to the owner. The vet is also (unfortunately) in charge of talking to the owner about what they would like to do and then trying to get the owner to agree to do it. Inevitably, money comes in - and this is the part of our jobs that we all hate the most. So, no, hating tech stuff doesn't mean you'd hate vet stuff, but being in the environment is really important to figure out if you DO like the vet stuff.

The other part that is giving me second thoughts is I feel burnt out on school. I am so tired of school. The thought of signing up for 4 more years is giving me pause. I know I can do it if I started it but I am having trouble haveing the desire to do it.

This is the most concerning part. If you aren't burnt out, vet school will burn you out. If you are already burnt out, vet school will take your soul and eat it for breakfast and leave you in a shivering heap. Like, you want to have the best mindset possible going in, because it's gonna be way harder than anything you've done before. This will require a lot of thought on your part.

I'm also worried I will get though vet school and find I don't like being a vet. I don't know how to solve that worry.

Shadowing vets is the very best way to try and figure that out. You need to spend time at the clinic, talk to vets, and really see if it seems like something you want to do. If it's hard to do that while working, try to arrange some time to shadow (at the clinic you work at, or somewhere else even) so that you can observe the vets and ask questions (when appropriate) without having to go clean cages or draw blood or whatever.

 

[DVMDream]

My advice would be to wait an application cycle (or two). See if you can shadow a zoo vet since that’s what you’re more interested in. Also once you graduate, are you able to tech on other days? That way you could see if being able to do more makes you like the tech stuff more. In general, I wouldn’t be super worried if you don’t like the tech stuff, because you’re not going to be a tech after vet school. But I’d encourage you to start paying attention to what the doctor is doing and see if you think that would be a good fit for you.
Bonus of this is you also get a break from school, can save up money, and potentially ease your worries of not liking being a vet after vet school, or decide it’s not for you altogether.

I agree with this. I think you should take a year to gather some more experience on other days to see if you like it better when more is going on. Also get some experience with a zoo vet. The other thing to remember is that you are shadowing a small animal GP, there are many other possibilities within veterinary medicine including equine, food animal, lab animal, public health as well as specializing. You can specialize in anything: surgery, internal medicine, ophthalmology, dermatology, dentistry, etc. You are just getting a slight scratching of the surface with the possibilities. Take a year and explore other option, see what the vet actually does vs the techs and then decide if this is still something you wish to do.

 

[CoffeeQuestionMark]

I likely will be going into a second gap year. Really do not regret it; my finances are recovering from not bring able to work much my junior/senior years and have gotten a decent amount of new experiences built up.

I would look for another job personally. I was a veterinary assistant/receptionist combo but what I got to do as an assistant was pretty limited, so I also didnt enjoy it much. I've also worked with lab animals vets and loved it, as well as now a vet pathologist and love it. You don't need to love everything about the vet world. You can also try to find a place that will let you be more involved-it varies so much clinic by clinic. Several people on these forms swear that Banfield offers excellent training (how they operate as a corporation is another thing)

 

[Conure13]

I second looking for a new job. I worked at a clinic and hated it. I thought that I didn't want to go to vet school because I didn't like that clinic and how it was ran. Then I got a new job and absolutely fell in love with the medicine side of vet med.
I just finished my first year at MU and now am already in second year classes. We we from IP3-IP4-IP5 with only spring break for a break. BURN OUT IS REAL. I love what I am learning, but I am so looking forward to summer break. You definitely need to take time off before going into vet school. If you think a spring and summer term will be that time off, then do that. If not, sitting out a couple cycles would a good idea. Vet school is the hardest thing I have ever been through and I have friends that just took out $80,000 in loans that are second guessing their choice. So be sure this is what you want before you set yourself in more debt!

 

[Polocrosse2017]

I'm still undergrad but I agree to take a year and find another job to try. I worked for a year at a small animal hospital (part time) as a vet assistant/tech trainee and was not that thrilled. I did fell like I could do what the vet did in the future. Now I work for an equine vet that specializes in sports medicine for the equine athlete. He travels all over. I LOVE my job with him. He teaches me, treats me as a vet tech and lets me see what he does. He is very into the critical thinking end of things. You need to see other types of vets. I'm going to shadow an emergency vet and hopefully a vet specialist for a few days this summer too just to see what their typical day is like.

 

[PigFarmer25]

This is the most concerning part. If you aren't burnt out, vet school will burn you out. If you are already burnt out, vet school will take your soul and eat it for breakfast and leave you in a shivering heap. Like, you want to have the best mindset possible going in, because it's gonna be way harder than anything you've done before. This will require a lot of thought on your part.

I don't think I've ever seen a more accurate description of vet school! I wasn't burnt out before starting last year but part way through fall semester it ate my soul. Thankfully, I got it back over winter break!

Like everyone else said, Kafka11, I'd take a year off to make sure this is really what you want to do! Part way through first year, several people in my class questioned if this was for them (not being fully serious but it still made them think about it). If you're already questioning it, you'll really be questioning it and hating it when you have 8 tests in one week.

 

[deleted676737]

You do NOT want to start vet school already feeling burnt out. Seriously. Trust me personally on that one.

If you have any doubts that you can handle the load of vet school right now and are starting to feel weary of school by your own admission, I urge you to hold off for at least a cycle or two. My biggest regret was not taking a gap year; for all I know, if I had had that mental and physical break, maybe I'd still be in vet school and wouldn't have crashed and burned as badly as I did.

I agree with everyone else, by and large. I would take a break, look for a new job, and get some exposure to other areas of vet med. See if you enjoy those. Reevaluate. Decide if the costs of vet school (not just financial) are ultimstely still going to be worth it for you.

 

[mmmdreamerz]

I have started my application for this application period but I have started to have second thoughts. I graduate with a bachelor's of biology in December. I have worked as a zookeeper and found I really like the wild/ zoo vet path, but I am also aware that it is the most competitive field. I started shadowing a vet at a small dog and cat vet clinic in September and assisted the vet techs and the vet during surgeies. In January I was offered a part time vet tech position. I have be doing that every Saturday (only day school allowed).

So with that build up, now to why I'm having second thoughts.

I hate being a vet tech. I don't like what I do as a vet tech. The Saturdays I work are both surgery days and so all I do is take tpr's and patient histories. The vet the works on Saturday (he owns the clinic but isn't that one I initially shadowed) doesn't like to do anything on Saturdays. For example there is a blanket no x-ray rule on saturday. Anything that involves more than a blood draw he has then schedule for a different day. So all I am able to do is blood draws at the most. I don't know if I would like it more if we did more on Saturdays. My main question is can a vet hate the vet tech work aspect?

The other part that is giving me second thoughts is I feel burnt out on school. I am so tired of school. The thought of signing up for 4 more years is giving me pause. I know I can do it if I started it but I am having trouble haveing the desire to do it.

I'm also worried I will get though vet school and find I don't like being a vet. I don't know how to solve that worry.

If anyone has any insight on either of my to main issues I would love to hear your opinion.

I genuinely enjoy school and was excited to start vet school (and on balance love being a vet student), but still experienced my fair share of burnout in about Feb/March. I have no idea how I would have survived going into vet school already burnt out...you might really think hard about taking a gap year to explore if this is really what you want to do.