Any thoughts on choosing between med school or vet school?

Veterinary School Application Advising Ad
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I

isuckatmakingusernames

Full Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
11
Reaction score
1
Ive seen many posts like these, and Ive tried to see if any applied to my situation, none of them really do. Ive had my heart set on the medical field since I started high school. Freshman year I started volunteering at an animal shelter and it completely changed my mind. Ive always loved animals so I loved getting up to go volunteer on the days I had off from school. Many of the other threads ive seen have the issue of dealing with people, I did too actually which is why i wanted to do forensic pathology. At the shelter however, we had to deal with both potential adopters and animals, as well as adoption events and that got me out of my comfort zone and i dont mind dealing with people. Currently im working at a hospital doing interpretation for spanish patients as well as clerical work, its not so bad, i get some of the hospital experience, im still also volunteering at the same shelter. I feel like im driving my self nuts. I want to do forensic pathology but, i want to work with animals. Its so complicated and i feel like i need to decide now since im going into my sophmore year of college in the fall, the vet req my college has is a lot more than the medical reqs. I do feel like im leaning more towards pre vet than pre med but im doubting myself. Any thoughts or opinions that will help me decide what the hell i want to do
Members don't see this ad.
 
Go to med school, volunteer at the animal shelter in your free time. Vet school and med school will cost about the same, but the salaries in vet med are tiny compared to human med. You can continue volunteering at animal shelters for the rest of your life if you love it. If you'll be happy as a human doctor, do that.
 
While volunteering at a shelter on the adoption side of things is great, it is not the kind of experience that will give you a good idea of what veterinary medicine is like. For that you would need to shadow the shelter's vet, or a private practice vet, etc. Loving animals and wanting to work with them is not enough. Like Staffie said, if you love human medicine and you have goals there, then do it. You can always pick up a few volunteer shifts at the animal shelter. Meanwhile you'll be in a much better spot financially.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Actually i always had vet med as something i wanted to do, however like now i also wanted to medical. At the shelter i volunteer at we usually do experience a lot of things such as dogs/cats with behavior issues, very tramatized animals, very sick animals and such. they have a training workshop on dealing with the bigger dogs with behavioral issues so that you can handle them after you complete the workshop. Although that may not be the full vet experience but to me its kind of an intro to what the vet world might be. As for debt, i dont have any. i go to a public 4 year uni, and i qualified for a SEEK program which basically will pay for my entire undergrad since my parents make very little. Man i feel like this very simple, but im just making it harder for myself. Im not even sure if i can shadow both a doctor and a vet to see what is a better fit for me.
 
Last edited:
DVMDream said:
Why not?

You're going to have to if you want to go to either vet or med school.
Click to expand...

Yes i know i have to shadow a doc or a vet. I was planning on doing that possibly my junior year or maybe a bit earlier But i may have to start sophmore year to fit both in
 
Last edited:
medschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschoolmedschool

just do it and don't look back.
 
Shadow now so you can start getting things together. You should be ready to apply at the end of junior year, not just figuring out what you want to do.

Forensic pathology is a very niche field that is extremely hard to get into. I wouldn't hinge everything on a subspecialty that is getting smaller and smaller due to budget cuts but has more and more applicants because the number of fellowships has grown. Most people wanting to do forensic path end up in general path (if employed at all) because the job market is so bad.
 
Mad Jack said:
Shadow now so you can start getting things together. You should be ready to apply at the end of junior year, not just figuring out what you want to do.

Forensic pathology is a very niche field that is extremely hard to get into. I wouldn't hinge everything on a subspecialty that is getting smaller and smaller due to budget cuts but has more and more applicants because the number of fellowships has grown. Most people wanting to do forensic path end up in general path (if employed at all) because the job market is so bad.
Click to expand...

Yea i was actually going to ask the volunteer department that employed me in the hospital through syep for some advice on shadowing a pathologist. If not was going to ask to the pre professions advisor if he could direct me to someone or the career center of my uni. But everyone i talked to always seemed to suggest shadowing junior year because of the reccomendations ?? So i guess that advice isnt the best
 
Debt to income ratio.

Would you like to own a house, take vacations, and retire some day?

If yes, go med. Unless you luck out with low debt and a high income, you're going to be broke for a very, very long time with vet school.
 
Caiter92 said:
Debt to income ratio.

Would you like to own a house, take vacations, and retire some day?

If yes, go med. Unless you luck out with low debt and a high income, you're going to be broke for a very, very long time with vet school.
Click to expand...

I do 🙁 everything is pointing me to med school. If the salary is so bad why do some people do vet med then? Do many not know what theyre getting into debt wise?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I wouldn't ponder this decision any further until you actually get experience shadowing. Loving animals is not enough to decided to go to veterinary school. As before and I will say it again in this thread, if you can imagine yourself being happy/ fulfilled in any other career aside from veterinary medicine then do it! People like me, go into vet med because we are called to do nothing else, we have a great commitment and curiosity for animal health.
 
isuckatmakingusernames said:
Actually i always had vet med as something i wanted to do, however like now i also wanted to medical. At the shelter i volunteer at we usually do experience a lot of things such as dogs/cats with behavior issues, very tramatized animals, very sick animals and such. they have a training workshop on dealing with the bigger dogs with behavioral issues so that you can handle them after you complete the workshop. Although that may not be the full vet experience but to me its kind of an intro to what the vet world might be. As for debt, i dont have any. i go to a public 4 year uni, and i qualified for a SEEK program which basically will pay for my entire undergrad since my parents make very little. Man i feel like this very simple, but im just making it harder for myself. Im not even sure if i can shadow both a doctor and a vet to see what is a better fit for me.
Click to expand...
We're talking about debt from vet school itself, not from undergrad. I don't have any undergrad debt either. Doesn't mean I take the >200k in debt that I will likely have from vet school lightly. If I could see myself being happy doing anything else (that wasn't equally financially stupid, like writing) I would do that thing. The truth is based on your limited experience you have very little idea of what being a vet is like, and even those of us who have much more experience can't really comprehend what it is like to live with a 3:1 debt to income ratio.
isuckatmakingusernames said:
I do 🙁 everything is pointing me to med school. If the salary is so bad why do some people do vet med then? Do many not know what theyre getting into debt wise?
Click to expand...
Because we love it and can't see ourselves doing anything else. Many of us never have or never would consider doing human med. Also because we're a painfully stubborn bunch 😉
 
LuckySpartan said:
I wouldn't ponder this decision any further until you actually get experience shadowing. Loving animals is not enough to decided to go to veterinary school. As before and I will say it again in this thread, if you can imagine yourself being happy/ fulfilled in any other career aside from veterinary medicine then do it! People like me, go into vet med because we are called to do nothing else, we have a great commitment and curiosity for animal health.
Click to expand...


Youre right actually!
 
And don't think we're saying any of this to deter you from your dreams. Just to make you realize that this is a decision that you should only make with your eyes wide open, because even those who have made the decision from a very educated perspective have come to regret it. You still have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do, but you need to be out there getting experience in and researching both fields so that your decision is as informed as possible.
 
WildZoo said:
We're talking about debt from vet school itself, not from undergrad. I don't have any undergrad debt either. Doesn't mean I take the >200k in debt that I will likely have from vet school lightly. If I could see myself being happy doing anything else (that wasn't equally financially stupid, like writing) I would do that thing. The truth is based on your limited experience you have very little idea of what being a vet is like, and even those of us who have much more experience can't really comprehend what it is like to live with a 3:1 debt to income ratio.

Because we love it and can't see ourselves doing anything else. Many of us never have or never would consider doing human med. Also because we're a painfully stubborn bunch 😉
Click to expand...


Ive actually read through other treads, not on this student doctor site who started wanting to do medical but quickly changed their minds once they got experience in the medical field, and enjoy doing vet med. But ill do as many have been telling me to try to experience both through shadowing that will help me decide better
 
WildZoo said:
And don't think we're saying any of this to deter you from your dreams. Just to make you realize that this is a decision that you should only make with your eyes wide open, because even those who have made the decision from a very educated perspective have come to regret it. You still have plenty of time to figure out what you want to do, but you need to be out there getting experience in and researching both fields so that your decision is as informed as possible.
Click to expand...

I completely understand. I didnt take any of this in that way. I know that a decision like this needs to be done when youre informed, and know exactly what to do i would hate to be in even more debt because i decieded to change my mind last minute.
 
I agree with everyone above who says that you need to find opportunities shadowing a veterinarian or volunteering at an actual clinic to really see if this will all be worth to you (working your butt off in undergrad a vet school seat and then years after to get your DVM, paying off the debt, fighting through a poor job market).

In my opinion, from what you've told us, you seem to be thriving in the hospital environment and I would deeply encourage you to continue on that path if you're willing to put in the hard work and effort it takes to get into a good med school. While vet school may seem like a logical step to someone who cares about animals and medicine, the reality is that being a physician and being a veterinarian are actually very different experiences.
 
isuckatmakingusernames said:
I do 🙁 everything is pointing me to med school. If the salary is so bad why do some people do vet med then? Do many not know what theyre getting into debt wise?
Click to expand...

I definitely knew what I was getting into and if I had any desire at all to practice human medicine, I would've gone for that rather than vet med. But I can't imagine myself being happy doing anything else. Also the idea of touching other humans grosses me out. I could never touch human feces/urine, perform a prostate exam, give an enema, etc :uhno:.
 
SocialStigma said:
I definitely knew what I was getting into and if I had any desire at all to practice human medicine, I would've gone for that rather than vet med. But I can't imagine myself being happy doing anything else. Also the idea of touching other humans grosses me out. I could never touch human feces/urine, perform a prostate exam, give an enema, etc :uhno:.
Click to expand...
Say it with me everybody: humans are gross!
 
I've been thinking about this too as well recently.... I love veterinary medicine.. my favorite part is actually client communication, the business aspect, and the problem solving of a disease/problem. I can't see myself doing anything else. I'm just scared about the high debt/low salaries. I want to be able to live comfortably.. have a nice house.. kids.. not a millionaire just living comfortably in a nice environment and not selling my soul to debt for the rest of my life.. I know the sole purpose of vet medicine is not to make money.. but if you wanted to make the most in this profession what would it be? I was thinking on specializing.. but that's after working in a clinic for a few years to pay off some debt and get more experience... any thoughts?
 
Last edited:
Thanks psilovethomas for linking to my blog. I definitely agree you need to shadow both human and vet med to see what it's like. I feel like the main advantage to veterinary medicine is getting to do more as a general practitioner. Getting to work with animals is also an advantage, but it's not like you're just playing with them all day. Me personally, I could easily be as happy working on humans and just having a pet at home to play with.

So it really comes down to what you feel you want and need to do. If you absolutely cannot imagine NOT working with animals the rest of your life, or if you want to be a general practitioner who gets to do tons of stuff without always referring, go vet med. If you just simply like animals, or if you want to specialize and therefore not be a general practitioner, I'd suggest looking much more intensely at human medicine.

As an aside, I am considering doing an emergency and critical care residency later on in my career. If this is the route I take I kind of wish I'd just gone into human med; it's a lot of similar stuff but way more money.
 
Ah i never got all these notifications in my email like i got the first few ones i responded too, but thanks to everyone who gave the advice to shadow both currently, working on getting someone who i can shadow. 🙂🙂
 
Quietthinker said:
Thanks psilovethomas for linking to my blog. I definitely agree you need to shadow both human and vet med to see what it's like. I feel like the main advantage to veterinary medicine is getting to do more as a general practitioner. Getting to work with animals is also an advantage, but it's not like you're just playing with them all day. Me personally, I could easily be as happy working on humans and just having a pet at home to play with.

So it really comes down to what you feel you want and need to do. If you absolutely cannot imagine NOT working with animals the rest of your life, or if you want to be a general practitioner who gets to do tons of stuff without always referring, go vet med. If you just simply like animals, or if you want to specialize and therefore not be a general practitioner, I'd suggest looking much more intensely at human medicine.

As an aside, I am considering doing an emergency and critical care residency later on in my career. If this is the route I take I kind of wish I'd just gone into human med; it's a lot of similar stuff but way more money.
Click to expand...

I'm curious as to this thought process. I got into vet med specifically to specialize, and the species variation was one of the main draws. E.g. there is no way I would want to do pathology as a MD; they are pretty different in what types of things you typically see.
 
Last edited:
isuckatmakingusernames said:
I do 🙁 everything is pointing me to med school. If the salary is so bad why do some people do vet med then? Do many not know what theyre getting into debt wise?
Click to expand...

The reason for me is because I think animals are way cooler than people, and they keep me grounded/give me perspective about life and how to stay present.

Personal experience reaffirmed my decision to go with vet med. After dealing with some major medical issues, I spent a period of time down in the dumps. That's common amongst us humans, to wallow in self pity.

I saw a pet who had similar medical issues and was in terrible condition/pain. After life-altering surgery, a day later he was chipper and nothing but thankful.

While we have amazing abilities as humans, sometimes we can learn a lot from the animals that simply deal with the hand that's dealt and keep on trucking.

And I'd rather talk in a funny voice to patients, pet them on the head, and tell them they're cute/handsome/pretty. I'd probably get fired and deal with a lot of malpractice lawsuits if I did that in human medicine.
 
Last edited:
I've thought about this a lot too, actually. Because I just love the sciences of it all. That's what attracts me to this field. The microscopes. Surgery isn't gross or scary, a beating heart in your hand - that's cool as hell... but all the med school prereqs want honors classes, and I can't get into honors classes. So poo on them :/
Plus, after med school was over you'd have to complete an internship before you could do anything fun.

Don't Vets make about $80-85,000 a year? Sure, it's not up there in the $150-200,000 range . . . but how bad could the loan payments be?
 
Lady_Koolaid said:
I've thought about this a lot too, actually. Because I just love the sciences of it all. That's what attracts me to this field. The microscopes. Surgery isn't gross or scary, a beating heart in your hand - that's cool as hell... but all the med school prereqs want honors classes, and I can't get into honors classes. So poo on them :/
Plus, after med school was over you'd have to complete an internship before you could do anything fun.

Don't Vets make about $80-85,000 a year? Sure, it's not up there in the $150-200,000 range . . . but how bad could the loan payments be?
Click to expand...

Several red flags for me in your post - loving microscopes and basic science makes me think you might want to go into research instead of veterinary medicine. Pre-req courses for med school and vet school are pretty darn similar, so I don't think it's a good plan to aim for vet med because it seems like med school prereqs will be too difficult. If you just wanted to be a GP vet, you wouldn't need to do an internship or residency, but otherwise, you would have to do an internship and residency just like a human doctor would. And the salaries vary depending on what species you work with (small animal, large animal, zoo/wildlife), whether you specialize, and where you live and practice.
 
How bad could loans be? My standard ten year repayment (granted this includes my masters and I went OOs for vet school) is $3600/month. I could have gotten my debt down some more than we did (we lived off my husbands salary for the most part) but there are vet students with a higher principal than me.
 
Thought I would chime in here as someone who has perspectives of veterinary and human medicine, and also has significant knowledge of debt repayment. I am actually a physician, been practicing for over 30 years in various environments (private practice, University). Signed up for this forum because my daughter is applying to vet school this year and Ive been watching her wait anxiously to hear from schools, and about a month ago I thought I would look to see if there was any information out there on the student forums. And I have to admit Ive gotten interested and hopeful for some of you that are applying, so I keep logging in to see who is getting accepted!. I wish all of you the best of luck, and congratulations to all of those who have been accepted.

But regarding the two different careers: my best friend went vet met, I went human med. I think we both had very rewarding careers and loved our jobs (well most of the time anyway). She actually didn't have a lot of loans (vet schools weren't that expensive back then). I owed close to $200,000 when I finished up my fellowship. Medical school is actually the same as vet school, loans get deferred while you are in training, and you pretty much have to complete a residency, so my loans kept accruing and accruing……..(a 4 year residency and a 3 year fellowship). So what didn't look that bad while in school looked terrible when I got out. I had a lot of small loans (which I had to consolidate at a higher interest because I couldn't make the minimum payment) and ended up having to pay every extra cent I had on loan repayment (realize at this point, having completed training, most people want to have children, buy a house, at least get a car that is reliable and functional - I was 34 years old, still driving an eleven year old Honda Civic, had a 1 year old and couldn't pay for diapers never mind childcare).

This really limits your options. It honestly makes life very difficult. I had to take the first job offered and had only 10 days off after the birth of my second child because…well….we really needed the money. The career was rewarding (I hope I helped some people along the way) but financially it was not worth the cost. I did make a very nice salary, but I later figured out it took me over 20 years to catch up financially to my cousin (he was an engineer and started with a good income the day after he graduated with his bachelors). Each of you that is thinking on taking on this amount of debt needs to really think about this before you go forward.

The only reason to take on this commitment and this amount of debt is if you really do not think you will be happy doing anything else (and this applies to both human and animal medicine). It requires a true desire to help animals (or humans). You will work very long hours and often do not hear "thank you". Instead your client (or patient) will be upset (they, or their animal, is sick and hurting and even though they generally know it is not your fault the frustration, anger and pain all come out at you). I do think you can pay the loans back better in many fields of human medicine, compared to vet med, as salaries overall tend to be higher, but there are fields of medicine where the salaries are similar. Many pediatricians and family physicians make salaries in the same range as vet med. Human medicine is highly regulated and there are issues that you have to deal with in human medicine that do not exist (or play less of a role) in vet med. Insurance issues, malpractice, hospital regulations all often serve to decrease physician satisfaction. The rate of burnout is very high. Debt loads for individuals graduating from both vet and med school are substantially higher, and almost overwhelming in vet med by my calculations (and I have done these calculations with my daughter, even with me helping its going to be a rough start).

The financial benefit comes at the end of your career - once you repay those debts you are making a nice salary. And there are physicians, and even some veterinarians, that do make a lot of money. But it is a looooooong haul………

The benefit to a career in human medicine, and vet medicine, is not financial. A career in medicine gives you the ability to help others. It is always interesting, there is always something new to learn. I was never bored, there were always new challenges. I learned a lot about myself and how to interact with people as individuals and as patients. I did clinical care, research, administration, so I had a lot of variety. I feel like I did something worthwhile with my life and hope I helped many people along the way. If this is not your goal (or if you can't hold on to this goal once you begin to practice - I see many young physicians who lose the joy in medicine and the empathy and caring over time) you are going to regret your decision.

Anyway hope this perspective helps - Ive enjoyed eavesdropping on your lives for the last month (and I hope its okay with you all if I keep eavesdropping til April - I want to find out who goes where!!). Its nice to see young people who are excited about what they are doing, where they are going, and who want to make this world a better place for animals. I hope you all get accepted and someone out there wins the Powerball and pays everyones tuition!!😉
 
Lady_Koolaid said:
I've thought about this a lot too, actually. Because I just love the sciences of it all. That's what attracts me to this field. The microscopes. Surgery isn't gross or scary, a beating heart in your hand - that's cool as hell... but all the med school prereqs want honors classes, and I can't get into honors classes. So poo on them :/
Plus, after med school was over you'd have to complete an internship before you could do anything fun.

Don't Vets make about $80-85,000 a year? Sure, it's not up there in the $150-200,000 range . . . but how bad could the loan payments be?
Click to expand...

Hey, get a job/volunteer at both a hospital and a vet clinic. I was in the same boat. Do not choose your career because of debt, yea debt is scary, but it shouldn't stop you. (just a disclaimer: im not rich, my family isnt rich, so id be paying out of pocket and getting myself in debt too.) In my case i dont want kids, and i dont want to buy a house, so my debt will not ruin my dreams of a family and a house. If these things are very important to you, id say look for something else. In all honesty, take the advice given here lightly i thought that because i was already on the medical path, i should stay on it because everyone was talking about debt and how better id be off in human medicine. Allow yourself to explore, if anything you may realize you dont want to do veterinary medicine, or human medicine. There are many other jobs involving animals, which i have also looked into after i realized that the passion i thought ive had for medicine burned out. While im leaning more for vet med, after volunteering/working at a hospital and a vet clinic im also looking for other options that involve animals such as a Zoologist, and wild life biologist, marine biologist etc so that ill be sure that its what i really want to do.
 
shawarmafan said:
I see so many people bashing vet med over human med because of the debt:salary ratio, especially on this forum. I think there is a lot of naiveté in that argument. First off, nobody but you can put a "price" on working with animals or humans, and if your salary is the major motivating factor between vet vs MD/DO, I don't think you should be in the health professions field. Get a degree in engineering (do you know how many "specialties" of engineering there are?) or an MBA from a good school, because no health field is going to live up to your ideals. Between the long hours, debt, under appreciative clients, underpaid staff, working with insurance companies, malpractice, negligent owners, irrational patients, aggressive animals etc. there is an endless pile of **** to wade through in every health profession. Just pick the one you like best, even if it's really close. I have great experience in human and vet medicine (between research, volunteering, shadowing, working as a VA, international experiences), and while I'm not neck deep in debt, nor am I a doctor of either field, I can tell you that only you should decide which one you like doing more. I know I could be happy being a human doctor with a dog, but being vet just does it for me, simple as that. The monetary difference, while large, could never make up for the satisfaction gained from working with animals. One of my vets calls it an "emotional paycheck" which is corny as hell, but so true. For some, the emotional paycheck from transplanting a heart into a toddler will trump everything, while for others drawing blood and cleaning dog teeth will always win. If money is a major motivation, by all means become a physician, but for some people, it really has nothing to do with that. It's a bit disturbing how many vet students/new vets don't realize how big of a hole they've dug for themselves when they find out vets don't make $150,000 a year or their student loans are over $250,000 before interest. All they are left doing is sucking it up and telling scary tales on a pre-health forum. Educate yourself, shadow some vets and physicians, ask them about the debt/salary, and then see how big of a factor it will play into YOUR decision. I've had plenty of doctors tell me I was making a mistake wanting to go to medical school, bitching about insurance and Obamacare, ridiculous residency hours, and the ludicrous debt. Someone is always gonna try to deter you. Take all of the facts AND opinions into consideration before formulating your own. Good luck 🙂
Click to expand...

Speaking of naivete.
 
Last edited:
I guess OP can decide if they would like to give more 'value' to people who are actually in practice looking down the barrel of their loans while working in the current job market vs. those who are still vet students (or aren't even to that point yet).
 
shawarmafan said:
Yes, the irony is strong.
Click to expand...

The link was accidental. That wasn't what I was getting at.

Several significant assumptions and mischaracterizations most likely born out of inexperience in the quoted post.

I don't think you are in any position to judge who should or should not be in a health professions field based on their concern over finances.
 
cheetah cub said:
Thought I would chime in here as someone who has perspectives of veterinary and human medicine, and also has significant knowledge of debt repayment. I am actually a physician...
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! What a great and insightful post! My primary reason for picking vet med over human is definitely the scientific range among species. I love that there are so many mechanisms to life! I also thoroughly enjoy the different level of diagnostics that goes on in vet med. However, I am a large nerd and could see myself also contributing to human medicine. I love to talk to people and learn about the many perspectives on life itself. I only applied to one veterinary school this year, but next year (if I don't gain admission this cycle) hope to apply to both veterinary and medical schools to see which door opens up first. My experiences volunteering in both worlds have shown me that there are always negatives to bog people down. It is what you make of your experiences that allow them to be enjoyable to you.

I do however, think I will be the only one in my family to accumulate a large amount of debt. My cousin is just about to graduate medical school in the UK, which cost less than my undergrad education. My brother had his PhD fully funded and is probably one of the few that makes 6 figures in scientific research. My boyfriend did the engineer route and got an AMAZING job straight out of undergrad... and then there is me over here pretending to be an adult. :hello:😛
 
twelvetigers said:
I guess OP can decide if they would like to give more 'value' to people who are actually in practice looking down the barrel of their loans while working in the current job market vs. those who are still vet students (or aren't even to that point yet).
Click to expand...

Always, go with the people who haven't experienced it yet. They can stay "objective." It's no good listening to old jaded folk.
 
shawarmafan said:
I see so many people bashing vet med over human med because of the debt:salary ratio, especially on this forum. I think there is a lot of naiveté in that argument.
Click to expand...
The majority of people speaking to it are veterinarians or currently in vet school. The naivete is to not think about finances because you're so passionate about the field. That's a good way to drown in debt. It isn't "bashing" vet med. This field is an amazing field. But...if you are between human med and vet med and would be ok with either, choose the better paying job.

shawarmafan said:
Between the long hours, debt, under appreciative clients, underpaid staff, working with insurance companies, malpractice, negligent owners, irrational patients, aggressive animals etc. there is an endless pile of **** to wade through in every health profession. Just pick the one you like best, even if it's really close. I have great experience in human and vet medicine (between research, volunteering, shadowing, working as a VA, international experiences), and while I'm not neck deep in debt, nor am I a doctor of either field, I can tell you that only you should decide which one you like doing more.
Click to expand...
Actually....I don't mind the long hours, aggressive animals, and irrational owners (oh sure I gripe about it, but it's not a deciding factor for me). I mind the being unable to move forward with my life because of crippling debt.
shawarmafan said:
I know I could be happy being a human doctor with a dog, but being vet just does it for me, simple as that. The monetary difference, while large, could never make up for the satisfaction gained from working with animals.
Click to expand...
Could you be happy as a dr with a dog that volunteers as an assistant at a shelter or similar? Because you can TOTALLY do that without being a slave to debt. There are ways to work with animals that don't require 6 figures of debt. There are ways to do so, even as a human physician.
shawarmafan said:
It's a bit disturbing how many vet students/new vets don't realize how big of a hole they've dug for themselves when they find out vets don't make $150,000 a year or their student loans are over $250,000 before interest.
Click to expand...
The thing is, you don't fully understand the impact until you are paying it off. I went into this with eyes wide open. Objectively, I knew how much I was taking out and how long I would be paying it back. That doesn't mean you understand *how it feels* to be in that much debt. It feels like if you have to take time off for health reasons or whatever that you might be in too deep. That you can't afford to do that. That you can't build a solid savings account to be able to fall back on. Until you live it, the psychological implication is generally lost on people.
shawarmafan said:
All they are left doing is sucking it up and telling scary tales on a pre-health forum. Educate yourself, shadow some vets and physicians, ask them about the debt/salary, and then see how big of a factor it will play into YOUR decision.
Click to expand...
Well, we're not telling scary stories. We are telling *our stories* and what is going right and what isn't. The second sentence here is making me laugh because you are literally talking to vets and saying that our opinions are naive.
 
shawarmafan said:
@cheetah cub, It's a bit disturbing how many vet students/new vets don't realize how big of a hole they've dug for themselves when they find out vets don't make $150,000 a year or their student loans are over $250,000 before interest. All they are left doing is sucking it up and telling scary tales on a pre-health forum.
Click to expand...

I think you have this backwards. Usually these scary tales come up only because some ignorant comment is made by a prevet about how it doesn't matter how expensive vet school is because they'll live through it just fine and they'll be happy living their dreams. Or that average pay is better for a vet than for the average American, so we should suck it up cause you shouldn't have gone into the profession to get rich. There's so much wrong with these statements. That's totally independent of whether a career in human healthcare is for you or not. I don't see why it's either/or.
 
dyachei said:
The thing is, you don't fully understand the impact until you are paying it off. I went into this with eyes wide open. Objectively, I knew how much I was taking out and how long I would be paying it back. That doesn't mean you understand *how it feels* to be in that much debt. It feels like if you have to take time off for health reasons or whatever that you might be in too deep. That you can't afford to do that. That you can't build a solid savings account to be able to fall back on. Until you live it, the psychological implication is generally lost on
Click to expand...

This. I think you said it better than I was trying to express in the other thread. The despair and sinking feeling you get when you realize how much of your hard earned cash is being stolen away from you, and how little of your principal you're actually able to pay, and thus how much a slave to this you really are is a feeling I just can't describe. No matter how much you have the numbers neatly in your head, all ready, you really can't prepare for the actual emotional toll it has on you.

I hesitate to take any days off because I'm paid on production, and any day I don't work is money I don't make... I have ****ty insurance with a high deductible and high out of pocket maximum. I cringe at the thought of getting ill/injured. No way in hell I can afford a child, or even maternity leave for that matter. It's hard to imagine when you've always been a student or working full time in a step-up job cause you see yourself in a temporary situation in the order of 2-4 years at a time. Once you're a vet, it's forever. The emotional stakes are high when I'm in this scared to even take a couple days off, when the situation is for eternity.
 
Minnerbelle said:
I hesitate to take any days off because I'm paid on production, and any day I don't work is money I don't make... I have ****ty insurance with a high deductible and high out of pocket maximum. I cringe at the thought of getting ill/injured. No way in hell I can afford a child, or even maternity leave for that matter. It's hard to imagine when you've always been a student or working full time in a step-up job cause you see yourself in a temporary situation in the order of 2-4 years at a time. Once you're a vet, it's forever. The emotional stars are high when I'm in this scared to even take a couple days off, when the situation is for eternity.
Click to expand...
I worry about the day I become more disabled than I am now. Because I *have* to keep working until my debt is paid off.
 
dyachei said:
I worry about the day I become more disabled than I am now. Because I *have* to keep working until my debt is paid off.
Click to expand...

I can't even imagine. It's scary enough when you're full body abled in this profession, with a fair number of hazardous working conditions, knowing you are always one accident away from a career ending injury... Sucks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

vampyrica
Research In Vet Med (+ School)
Replies
11
Views
1K
leman1
L
M
  • Question Question
Vet Experience or Animal Experience?
Replies
5
Views
400
mnnatio
M
BigBang1234
International Students for Vet School
Replies
23
Views
2K
Minnerbelle
Minnerbelle
C
Vet School Debt and Repayment
Replies
11
Views
1K
battie
battie
M
Vet School or Med School?
Replies
22
Views
3K
twelvetigers
twelvetigers
Top