alternate careers

[sabriel777]

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Hi guys! Hope everyone's having a good summer so far. Sorry if this has been asked before and I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but I just have to ask. After reading some statistics and doing some research, I'm feeling less and less confident about my chances of getting into vet school for the class of 2015. A vet is pretty much all I've wanted to be since I was five; I never really considered any alternate careers. My question is, does anyone maybe know someone that just couldn't get into vet school and was forced to choose a different career path, and what was it? I've been trying to research other jobs that I could possibly get with a biology degree, but so far none of them have interested me. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!

 

[thearsonist]

A friend of mine changed his career from veterinarian to doing research in a lab. I'm not entirely sure about what he actually does, but he was able to use his education for other things besides veterinary medicine.

One thing I can say, don't let statistics get you down. Don't give up your goals just because you don't think you're good enough, based off statistics. There's proof that people with lower-end GPA's can get into vet med. It's all about your determination.

best of luck 🙂

 

[cheeto]

Hey! I think it is great that you are thinking about alternate plans but I do not think you should give up hope yet. Work as hard as you can this next year making your self the best applicant you can be! I am a student who was fortunate to be accepted with a low gpa. I had lots of experience and did very well on my interview which helped me get in. I think you need to have a positive attitude. If this is really what you want then take measures to try and get it. It may mean taking a a post bacc or a masters after undergrad, all worth it if this what you want to do. And who knows you may be suprised this year and be successful in your application! You do not know until you try! And if this year is not your year to get in you could do a file review and find out what you can improve upon to increase your chances the following cycle. Good Luck!

 

[Jamr0ckin]

If you want something bad enough... work for it!

Low stats are an obstacle, but not an impossible one!

You could always go to grad school, get a masters and raise your GPA, then apply again.

Other careers? You could always go to tech school, or do the certification for veterinary practice management, and do that aspect of vet med.

But why think about that - you want to be a vet - so do it! Set goals, work hard to achieve them, and then live your dream!

Believe in yourself, you've got to believe if you expect anyone else to believe in you.

 

[parietal]

I wouldn't give up, but I think it's always good to form a plan B. That plan will likely be very different for different people: if you love research, maybe look into doing a master's or Ph.D. If you love zoo animals, look into becoming a zookeeper. If you like teaching, maybe get certification to teach high school science. Whatever.

If you apply to vet school and don't feel confident (and really, who does?), you can progress down the path to your plan B at the same time: apply to a masters, intern at a zoo or take education classes. Then if you get in to vet school, fantastic! If you don't, you already have plans for your next year and maybe it won't be quite so depressing if you have to apply again.

If you begin to love your plan B more than the idea of becoming a vet, that's fine too. 🙂 If you want, you can always re-apply down the road once you already have amazing experience as a researcher, zookeeper, teacher or whatever. 😀

 

[alliecat44]

I agree with everyone else--it's way early in the game to give up--you haven't even tried yet! 🙂 Keep at it.

When I was at my wit's end after several application cycles and expiring pre-reqs, the careers I was considering included forensic science and science writing/journalism (vague thoughts of writing for Scientific American or Discover or something).

But--don't give up yet! You have LOADS of time! Enjoy the ride wherever it takes you. 🙂 This forum is really wonderful for helping you navigate the application process, too.

 

[badcats]

I have to agree with everyone else, give applying a shot or three if being a vet is all you want to do. Don't give up because you are scared. It's not like you are doomed to live in a van down by the river if you don't get in to vet school your first try, and maybe you will get in! And if you don't you will certainly learn a lot about the process and what schools are looking for from file reviews.

In fact, could you contact schools you are thinking of applying to to see if they would do a pre-application review or something like that for you? I know some people on here have mentioned that they felt it was part of their success in applying.

Best of luck, and don't get too down on yourself!

 

[thearsonist]

It's not like you are doomed to live in a van down by the river

This reminds me of a funny skit by Chris Farley.


Other users have also given excellent alternatives involving animals - minus vet med. It was a small desire of mine to be a zookeeper as a kid. In my clinic, I have the opportunity to work with a zoo vet on a weekly basis. great guy, unbelievably knowledgeable and talented. I even volunteered at the city zoo as part of my capstone for my Biology degree. very rewarding.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Well, I don't know how helpful I am, since it is another hard field to make a living in, but my other career choice (besides going to culinary school) was becoming a wildlife photographer. Sure, you sit for hours and hours in the blazing heat and cold, mosquitoes or frostbite, for that ONE shot....but when you get it....it's magic.....

 

[Fenlie]

This reminds me of a funny skit by Chris Farley.


That was exactly my first thought was the SNL skit with Chris Farley, he was funny!

 

[thedogisgreen]

After being rejected from all my schools my first cycle, I definitely went into a what other career should I do phase, and couldn't come up with anything else that felt right, this is what I've wanted to do all my life. It's gonna be a pain to apply and apply, but if you want it enough and build up experience each year between cycles, then you'll get it eventually. Getting through the anticipation and waiting is definitely hard, but I just have to keep on trusting that it will be worth it in the end. 🙂

 

[UFCVMhopeful]

Try hard for your dream. Give it everything you have. If you fail, get back up again and keep trying. Rinse, lather, repeat.

If after some of that you still don't get there, the worst thing that happens is you tried and failed and know you gave it your best. Trust me, that feeling still beats the heck out of having never tried and never knowing what you might have been. At least you won't have any regrets and you won't spend the rest of your life wondering "what if?"

I hated math at one time. Was no good at it. Convinced myself I just couldn't do it. But I was wrong. It was all just my attitude. I took this aptitude test at a job center when I lost a job. Scored like off the charts for vet med (and I never particularly liked math and chemistry in HS, although I loved life sciences, bio, marine bio, oceanography). They wouldn't put me in for a grant because vet med wasn't one of the most in demand professions around here. Told me if I was interested in some other health fields, computer science, etc., then maybe they could help pay for some of my college, but I stuck to my guns. Vet med had always interested me. Maybe that aptitude test flipped a switch in me and gave me the confidence I needed, maybe it was getting older and having that feeling that I had to get serious and do something and do it right now. Whatever it was, I went back to college after many years away from it and started kicking some math booty. I am feeling more and more confident I may actually be able to do this. The longest journey begins with just putting one foot in front of the other. If you've dreamed of it since you were five years old, you've got to give it a go. I am passionate about it, but even I had no idea what I wanted to do at that age. It would be a real shame if you quit now. Go for it!

I screwed up college the first time around. Spent over a decade wasting time. You don't know how much I wish I'd gone after this dream all those years ago. Once you get in there and really try hard and it see it paying off, you will get more confident. And before you know it you're reaching this and that milestone. Yes, it will be hard, but it will be worth it in the end. It's like climbing a really high mountain, but then you get that amazing view that captivates you for hours. I look back on my life and think about it - how no matter how hard it would have been, it would be way over and done with and I could have been a vet for a while now if I had only started sooner. There will be times when you question the sanity of having done it, but if you're working hard and all that, by the time you really hit the wall you will have too much time and energy invested in it to quit by then, LOL! Then one day it's over and it all flashes before your eyes and you get a feeling of satisfaction like you've never felt before. You did it, and no one can take that away from you.

 

[UM2014]

Certainly go for your dreams and don't give up before you've even tried but I personally don't think it's unwise to have your back up plans in place now.

I had two back up plans in place before I applied to vet school. One was optometry school and the other was pharmacy school. I had the experience working in both settings to back up those goals just in case and I even talked about them in one of my vet school essays. We spent several minutes of my interview discussing those career options as well in addition to my current job (Cellular Biologist). I think the adcomm kind of liked that I had other interests and options and I wasn't afraid to go for them. I made it very clear that Vet Med was what I wanted to do with my life but in the meantime I was also pursuing other career goals and broadening my skills/experience.

I'm not sure if that's what got me in or not but I did get in on my first try with a low GPA so I don't think it hurt (but who knows!). Anyway, I wouldn't be shy about having a back up plan. Especially if you don't get in your first time around. I personally didn't want to make $7/hr working in a vet clinic when I could have used my degree for a much higher salary in my time off (I graduated a semester early from undergrad) and my other work experience outside of vet med helped me land my job. You can also make 'different' experience overlap with vet med to kill two birds with one stone. Half of my pharmacy experience took place in my undergrads pharmacy at the veterinary teaching hospital. Anyway, just my $0.02.

 

[Lemming3]

Good Luck as you apply and think positive.

As far as other alternatives go check out the animal disease diagnostic lab in your state (usually there are a couple depending on the state). They have a variety of areas from histology, bacteriology, necropsy assistant, virology, serology etc. that you may find interesting related to animals, lots of veterinarians work there but also many people without their DVM. I know a few people working in diagnostic labs that didn't get into vet school their first time (they might reapply but otherwise are enjoying what they are doing). This would also give you good experience if you chose to reapply.

 

[katryn]

My best advice is examine what it is about the vet field that makes you want to go into it. Then think of other careers that would give you a similar opportunity.

For example, I dug around and figured out that I really LOVE 😍 teaching and counseling clients (even the really dumb ones that no one else will deal with). Seeing the light bulb go on, and the emotional relief it gives people is what I like, so I looked into veterinary social work.

As an aside, knowing that one aspect of vet med that really made me want to keep at it is definitely the biggest thing that I think got me in. Most interviewers are really impressed when you know what that driving motivation is (whatever it happens to be) and can talk about it for 15 minutes with a passion. It might just be what makes them look past a low score or gpa.

 

[pierlucke]

Hi guys! Hope everyone's having a good summer so far. Sorry if this has been asked before and I don't mean to sound like I'm whining, but I just have to ask. After reading some statistics and doing some research, I'm feeling less and less confident about my chances of getting into vet school for the class of 2015. A vet is pretty much all I've wanted to be since I was five; I never really considered any alternate careers. My question is, does anyone maybe know someone that just couldn't get into vet school and was forced to choose a different career path, and what was it? I've been trying to research other jobs that I could possibly get with a biology degree, but so far none of them have interested me. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you!

When I was 20 years OLD, I did not get in Vet school. My father was not too much the ''ok , just try another year and you will get in'' type. So, I decided to go in engineering. After 4 years working as an engineer, I got into vet school. I had bad grades when I was younger but I found a way to achieve that dream. What I'm trying to say is you only have one life to live, if this is your dream, you will get in somewhere. Don't back down...

I also started dreaming about that when I was 5 and even if you forgot that dream for few years , It will come back...

 

[jpeterman13]

Well, I don't know how helpful I am, since it is another hard field to make a living in, but my other career choice (besides going to culinary school) was becoming a wildlife photographer. Sure, you sit for hours and hours in the blazing heat and cold, mosquitoes or frostbite, for that ONE shot....but when you get it....it's magic.....

I have a good friend who does that. He worked on the Life series.

 

[VeganSoprano]

My first career was in the nonprofit world. If vet school doesn't happen, I'll get an MPH and go back to either an advocacy nonprofit or shelter work.

Being a tech doesn't necessarily mean minimum wage either. I make just over $20/hr as an ICU tech. I'm not getting rich, but it's not bad either.

 

[sabriel777]

Wow thanks for all the great replies! I'm definitely not giving up yet; I'm going to go ahead and apply and then do a file review if I don't get in anywhere. I do like the idea of working in a lab since microbiology was probably my favorite class in undergrad so far. Thanks so much for the encouragement and good luck to all of you!

 

[sumstorm]

I couldn't even afford to apply to vet school a decade ago when I graduated. I did a research fellowship focusing on conservation education, went on to work as a zoo curator for 5 years, then for NOAA for a couple years, then ran my own business, then came back to do vet med.

It is, in my opinion, wise to think about what else you might do, even if all it does is convince you that this really is the career and makes you work harder to get there.

I agree, if you can, apply. Otherwise I have met others who changed careers and were very happy. Many ended up with masters in biological science like marine bio, conservation bio, etc. Many work in non-profits or government. I agree with the idea that thinking about what you like about vet med may guide you.

 

[HopefulAg]

I have a good friend who does that. He worked on the Life series.

First thing I thought of when reading that, picturing the guy out there in his little tent/stand thing trying to photograph those bower birds in the down pours.

Or the people with the polar bears and below-absolute-zero temperatures.



Makes vet med look easy, what with our air conditioned and heated clinics. Though vet assisting, and having to walk dogs in the rain and cold...not so much.

 

[Packen]

A vet is pretty much all I've wanted to be since I was five; I never really considered any alternate careers. My question is, does anyone maybe know someone that just couldn't get into vet school and was forced to choose a different career path, and what was it?

I have wanted to be a vet for as long as I can remember too, well, after I stopped wanting to be a princess. Right out of undergrad I applied to vet school, got rejected, applied again, got WL and never called off. I was really upset and decide to h*ll with vet school and decided to try a different career.

I went for a graduate degree in animal behavior. The whole time I was in the program, I would constantly think of how being a DVM would benefit the animal so much more than a MS or PhD (no offense to PhD behaviorists). In reality, whether or not DVMs make better behaviorists wasn't the issue, it's that my dream was/is to be a vet, and settling for a different career doesn't make me happy. It's the same reason I would get upset when people would tell me I should just be an LVT, that it was the same thing. I have the utmost respect for LVTs, but it is not the same, and it is not what I want for me.

My undergrad grades weren't the greatest, but now I am going back and retaking a bunch of prereqs to help raise it. In my experience, I tried the non-DVM route, and it only made me regret not following my dream from the start.

 

[Minnerbelle]

I have wanted to be a vet for as long as I can remember too, well, after I stopped wanting to be a princess.

If you're going to start off your PS about how you've always wanted to be a vet, this would be the best opening sentence. 🙂

And Sabriel, even if most of the things you can do with a biology degree don't interest you (and yes, i painfully know from experience that a bachelor's degree in bio can seem quite useless), you might want to give them a try. I was gung ho about going straight to vet school after college, and became very lost the second i decided to hold off applying. I hated the idea of working in a lab, and couldn't fathom torturing little animals. Lo and behold though, I ended up taking a position as a research tech in a tumor lab where my job description was pretty much all mouse work! blech. But it turns out that my job was quite enjoyable, and if I couldn't become a vet, then i wouldn't mind pursuing research at all. I don't get the "zest for life" feeling in the morning that I do when I work in a vet/shelter setting... but it would be a perfectly fine *job* that I would be good at, and I think I would be passionate doing it.

 

[Armymutt25A]

My question is, does anyone maybe know someone that just couldn't get into vet school and was forced to choose a different career path, and what was it?[\QUOTE]
Um...yup. I graduated with an outright rejection and so I continued on to grad school because I saw no alternative - mistake 1. I tried to squeeze a 3 semester MS in Physiology into 2 semesters - mistake 2. My heart really wasn't in it, but I plodded along anyway - mistake 3. Applied to vet school again, received an interview and was wait listed. At that point, I was out of money and steam. I got offered what sounded like a great job, moved out to DE and ended up working for minimum wage. Three months later, I was back in my "home town" (military brats usually lack something like this in the fullest description; it's more like the town where our parents came from). I worked at Sam's Club and finally got on at the county jail as a corrections officer. I got tired of baby sitting adults all day and went to see the Army recruiter. Seeking a job where I could just relax and have fun, I enlisted in the infantry as an E-4 (since I had a bachelors) on 5 SEP 2001. 5 years later, I was a second lieutenant in the signal corps. I now have a bunch of experience under my belt, be it leadership, team work, different cultures (both foreign and domestic), and just life in general. Right now, I lead a small team of people with different training disciplines and different backgrounds. I'm extremely successful at my job, despite my educational background.

So, why this long tale? Well, it shows that even if you don't get into vet school, there is always a fall back career if you are willing to make sacrifices and throw some enthusiasm behind your move. Hopefully, I can also show that taking a break from the pursuit of a DVM, in order to regroup and regain focus and stamina, can result in admission. We shall see what March brings.

 

[AprilShowers]

I agree with many of the others here. Don't let worry get the best of you. There is always another option. I actually know a veterinarian who got into veterinary school on her second try, graduated, and practiced for several years before deciding she would rather not deal with silly clients. So now she does volunteer work for rescues and shelters while teaching at a local college. She doesn't regret having gone through vet school. She still loves the work, but she's found she enjoys other things too that still allow her to use her scientific knowledge.

 

[that redhead]

There are a bunch of things you can do with a degree in biology, so no worries! If you want to keep working with animals, you can look into lab animal, veterinary technician (in a variety of fields, not just small animal), barn/farm manager, training or research. I wouldn't give up just yet, though.

 

[pdjy]

If Vet School is something you really really REALLY want, be mentally and emotionally prepared that you may have to re-apply. This summer, I met a recent US Vet School graduate who applied to Vet School 5 times. Also met a student who went to Vet School overseas for a year, then got into her dream school in the US ... she's doing year 1 all over again as her dream school doesn't accept transfers.

On the flipside, it's always good to have a backup plan. Use this time to think about what else interests you. You've got an entire lifetime ahead of you. I think you'll find that having a good backup plan will help to reduce the anxiety.