Career advice, please help!

[Bridgetrw]

Hey! Brand new member here So here's the situation:
I'm a 16 year old junior currently enrolled in full time PSEO which means I take college courses at a college for college credit and high school credit at the same time for free. So by the time I graduate high school I will have an AA degree. This is awesome cause free college credit, but also sucks cause I have way less time to figure out what I'm doing with my life after I graduate as most people have 4 years but I only have 2 or I could apply for vet school right away if I complete my prereqs SOOOO I'm trying to decide if I want to become a vet. I'm doing shadowing at some local clinics to see what it's like to be a vet but I'm still unsure of my path. I've always wanted a career with animals, but I'm not super into science and math is just boring. I thought my dream job was to be a vet that's part of an animal rescue team at a non profit that travels and helps to rehabilitate emergent animals. But again, I'm not sure if I have an interest in the medical field or not. Also, the student debt is a huge problem and I don't think I could deal with that debt for my whole life. I'm a good student with a 4.0 GPA unweighted and I took as many honors classes as I could before leaving high school, I have a ton of volunteer hours, and a huge passion for animals. Hopefully someone has actually read all my ramblings and has some insight into what I should pursue as a career. Thank you for your help and time!

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[Emily Faith]

Welcome to SDN, Bridget! You're on the right path by shadowing a veterinarian. Since you are unsure (and that's okay!) you can search around online for other careers involving animals. Is there a program at your local zoo that you can volunteer with? Maybe try some research later in your college career? You have a very cool opportunity as far as earning your associates right out of high school and obviously you are handling your coursework very well with a 4.0.

With that said, there's no need to rush! You have your whole life ahead of you and even if you were to complete the prereqs in a short amount of time, you do not have to apply to vet school right away. It is perfectly reasonable to take a gap year or two to work on your experience, GRE, etc. and make some money before diving into vet school. Take all the time you need to decide whether you love veterinary medicine enough to work through all the science and debt (and tears) that comes along with it, but for now enjoy being a highschooler!

 

[that redhead]

Hopefully someone has actually read all my ramblings and has some insight into what I should pursue as a career.

You should pursue a career that interests you. Sure, you like animals (most people do ) but that doesn't need to be your career. You can still volunteer with animals in so many ways, even outside of a regular job. Considering the debt that a veterinary student accrues during school, I would really encourage you to keep an open mind right now. You don't care for science or math - what subjects in school do you like right now? What have you enjoyed learning about?

 

[Jess Monster]

Were I you, and I had the foresight/ability to knock out a few years of college early, I would start looking at 3+2 programs at colleges that allow you to seamlessly transition from a bachelor's to a master's degree. Depending on the program and how many credits you already have towards a BS/BA once you graduate and get your associate's, you might be able to get two degrees in four years. Give yourself those years to think about your career and to build your resume. Find a major or minor that incorporates the pre-vet coursework and when you're done, evaluate if veterinary medicine still interests you enough to apply to vet school. If not, you'll come out with an advanced degree and, hopefully, some better job prospects. If you're still interested, you'll hopefully have some interesting experiences and some advanced coursework/research that will make you stand out to admissions committees.

Right now you need to find out what you like doing, so continue to experiment with different jobs, volunteer activities, etc.

I would caution that you need a healthy level of interest in the biological sciences to succeed in the schooling required to be a veterinarian. That's the backbone of the vet school curriculum - physiology, anatomy, histology, cell biology, immunology, virology, etc. That interest is something that might take some time and experience to flourish so if you don't have it right now, that's not a deal breaker.