Advice About Working While in Vet School (c/o 2026)

[BlueCats]

I need some advice about working while in vet school. I am a not traditional 30yr old student. CVT working towards a DVM. I applied for the first time this past cycle. I will be attending LIU.

I have the opportunity to work a remote shift at the same ER/Specialty practice I have been working at for 7 years. They would want me to commit to work one shift per week. I would be answering phones and doing phone triage from another state. My pay at this practice is pretty good ($25/hour). I doubt I would get a better paying job that’s remote with such a flexible schedule. I would work a short shift, like 6 hours. I do plan on transferring my license and becoming an LVT in NY so I could work in over the summers, but it would likely be a much bigger time commitment.

However a part of me is just ready to cut the cord after so long at the same hospital. I have lots of amazing memories. I’ve been saying goodbye to everyone all week. I’ve loved working at this hospital but I’ve experienced burn out like anyone would working nights/weekends for years mostly in the ER/ICU. I’m emotionally ready to move on, and experience how other hospitals run things.

Advice? I know I will be super busy in vet school. I want to take the time to explore new opportunities. My school is in Long Island NY so the COL is extremely high and I’m worried about surviving there on less than 30k/year. I will be supporting myself, alone. Because of that this offer is very tempting.

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[JaynaAli]

Anything is doable if you make it your priority. Whether that’s a job, hobbies, relationships, extra sleep, family, etc.

I personally did work about ten hours a week all throughout vet school. I worked on call for the path lab. My grades probably could have been better without that responsibility, but the networking and experience was worth that sacrifice to me. Most vet students I was friends with had fairly flexible jobs. My thoughts about with your specific scenario is that it may be difficult to find six hours uninterrupted where you can do only this if calls are fairly constant and weeknights are required. It if calls are intermittent and something you could do while studying it could work more easily. You have to decide if it’s worth it to you.

I usually recommend that new vet students wait 6 months or so to get a job if possible…adjusting to vet school is a lot harder than the adjustment to undergrad or other situations. Most of us had a decently easy time in undergrad and didn’t need to study much, so having to work harder to retain such a large amount of material can be a big learning curve. Don’t overtax yourself early on…make sure you have a good foundation and can handle everything.

 

[EngrSC]

Agree with Jayna, you can make it work if you’re dedicated but maybe hold off if you’re on the fence. I’ve been working as a clin path after hours tech in the teaching hospital and the extra money has been nice (pays for my horse plus some!), but I haven’t been as involved in other things because of the time commitment. I’ve managed to continue doing pretty well academically, but I’m also a non-traditional student in my 30s so I think my priorities and time management skills are just different than my early 20s classmates. It can be done

 

[that redhead]

Can you make it work? Very likely. Although definitely consider (and ask!) what happens when it’s time midterms or finals or just a big test week, are they going to accommodate that?

Should you try to make it work? That depends. It sounds like you don’t really want to do this job. I personally don’t think the money is worth the possible hit to your sanity, your grades, your precious little down time, your bonding time with your classmates or your hands-on opportunities. Even if you do decide to take the work on, absolutely give yourself a semester to adjust first, and even then, some semesters will be harder than others.