career alternatives??

[sunnex3]

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i'm trying to come up with a list of career alternatives for me, in the event that i don't end up making it to vet school 😱

i'd like to stay in the animal field, and plan on getting a Masters/PhD in some field of Animal Science (probably from UMd or Va Tech) if i don't get in to vet school.

i'm maybe interested in entering research, but i'm not sure yet.

but i'm just trying to think of some creative alternatives in an animal related field, since i'm looking into master's/PhD programs as well.

 

[koerwk49]

I've always had an interest in observing mammal behavior, like going to Africa to study lions or stay in North America to study grey wolves or something. But I figure those jobs are few and far between. I've always been more interested in mammals than other classes of life (exceptions for marine mammals) I've always thought of mammals of more complex creatures than lets say fish.

 

[TSUJC]

If you do decide to enter the research field make sure that you get to know your primary investigator before committing. Your PI will teach you to either love research or hate research, depending on their personality. I know many grad students (including myself) that have gotten stuck with workaholic, sociopath advisors and it has really turned them off to research.

Also be sure you get a good idea of the type of work you will be doing. If you are not interested in the project, it makes it hard to devote your every waking minute to researching it!

Will your research be applied or molecular?
How many graduate student committees have you served on?
Will your research require you to work weekends and holidays?

These are basic question you want might want to ask.


Like koerwk49 said, field research is hard to come by. Most of the funding that is available right now is mainly geared toward molecular (bench-type) research. The bigger universities are mostly funded by NIH, which is predominantly molecular grants.

I think graduate work is a great alternative just make sure you know what you are getting in to.

 

[sunnex3]

i just don't know what i'll do with my life if i don't become a vet!
grad school i'm looking at because it gives me more than just a bachelor's in biology, and i can still at least work in an animal related field...

i just don't know what i'll do other than practicing veterinary medicine 🙁

 

[TSUJC]

It is simple, you will go to vet school and practice veterinary medicine. DON'T give up on your dream, you WILL get there.

No matter what you think your shortcomings are, you can overcome them and get accepted. TRUST ME!

Have faith in yourself, don't think about the alternatives, because their shouldn't be alternatives....Just the ultimate goal of vet school.

I know where you are coming from, I thought that I would never get accepted, but I did and so will you.

 

[DocDVMD]

Public health is another great related field.

 

[rachroo]

Have faith in yourself, don't think about the alternatives, because their shouldn't be alternatives....Just the ultimate goal of vet school.

I am all for not giving up on one's dream....but I think it's important to have both short term alternatives and long term alternatives in the event that it may take a few cycles or that one may not be accepted or in the case that other life events happen.

I know where you are coming from, I thought that I would never get accepted, but I did and so will you.

Ditto. Don't give up and don't let someone tell you can't do it. But, I think it is important to have a backup plan (or more than 1).

Good luck!

 

[justinpaws]

I've always had an interest in observing mammal behavior, like going to Africa to study lions or stay in North America to study grey wolves or something. But I figure those jobs are few and far between. I've always been more interested in mammals than other classes of life (exceptions for marine mammals) I've always thought of mammals of more complex creatures than lets say fish.

I guess I never thought about this before, but maybe it's strange to me now...I really have almost zero interest in marine mammals, haha. I think fish and marine invertebrates are so much more interesting than marine mammals and would a million times over rather study them.

Also I just loathe killer whales. They are so destructive. A lot of marine mammal decline is blamed on humans, but not many people consider that orcas eat giant whales and furry critters and aren't preyed upon themselves by anything else in the ocean, ever. So they just decimate one species/population and move on to another.

...end rant...


As to what the thread actually addresses, I've always wanted to do natural history museum work. I love museums and science centers and aquariums, and teaching little/curious minds about cool science stuff. Unfortunately people are all willing to do it for free, so there aren't many paid positions to do museum stuff as the turnover rate is terribly low (unless you want to sell tickets or work in the gift store or something).

 

[UPenn Groupie]

I've been rejected for the second time, so I'm not giving up but I need to find a career that I could see myself doing long term while at the same time will help my application. I was going to look into doing equine dentistry, but there's too many debates about it right now (I had posted about this under the UPenn thread) and I don't want to end up wasting time and money on a job that gets banned. So now I'm seriously considering equine AND canine massage.....there's a duel program in Virginia that you do a mere week-long program and get the certificate to go into it.

I hate gimmicky programs - those commercials on TV that say "get your degree in as little as 6 months...ONLINE!" just make me want to call them and scream at them to go to college already (as a side note, my undergrad is a BS in chem engineering). However, something like animal massage therapy, with an actual on-site course (sadly they do offer a home study course), well that has some potential to me. The fact that they don't require prior knowledge of physiology is a little sketchy to me....but nonetheless, it could be a good and educational experience to do the course. It would be fun, possibly decent income if I get good at it and market properly, and I think it would look good on my resume.

 

[athane960]

If you want to do a masters in Public Health that is an awesome alternative if you are interested in disease epidemiology in the slightest. I did an MPH and now work with animals in the field and veterinarians and doctors actually call me and my office up to consult with them on cases (infectious disease related of course). I also get to work with the USDA with livestock herds in preventative medicine and when they might have outbreaks there, so I get the full range, LA, SA, and wildlife.

Also an alternative is to get a masters in Wildlife Biology. I know serveral people that work with the USDA and my state's Parks and Wildlife with wildlife and research and wildlife disease biology and that is basically all they do is work with animals or give talks on animals. It is a pretty neat field, one that I would be doing if I wasn't on the career path I am on right now.

 

[cuitlamiztli]

Also I just loathe killer whales. They are so destructive. A lot of marine mammal decline is blamed on humans, but not many people consider that orcas eat giant whales and furry critters and aren't preyed upon themselves by anything else in the ocean, ever. So they just decimate one species/population and move on to another.

What, exactly, are you basing this on? The fact that orcas are rather large predators and have to eat? It just seems that you're completely disregarding the fact that humans nearly hunted several baleen whales to extinction for oil/blubber and baleen in favor of placing the blame on one of their natural predators. Great whites and lots of other marine critters eat whales (and other marine mammals), too. And the only orcas who even regularly prey on other marine mammals are transients... occasionally residents, and maybe offshore, but it's mostly transients. Just one of the species/subspecies.

That whole argument ("let's blame the apex predator!") is prevalent in the pro-whaling world, the numerous anti-predator worlds, and even the fisheries collapse debate. And I'm sorry if that came out a little harsh... you just hit a nerve.

[end hijack]

To the OP: It really just comes down to your particular interests in the animal world. Do you want to better understand the relationships between organisms and their environment? Ecololgy. Organisms and each other? Animal ecology. How diseases affect populations? Epidemiology. And so on... there are tons of possibilities.

Like rachroo said, backup plans are nice, but don't give up! Good luck!

 

[cozycleo]

If you want to do a masters in Public Health that is an awesome alternative if you are interested in disease epidemiology in the slightest. I did an MPH and now work with animals in the field and veterinarians and doctors actually call me and my office up to consult with them on cases (infectious disease related of course). I also get to work with the USDA with livestock herds in preventative medicine and when they might have outbreaks there, so I get the full range, LA, SA, and wildlife.

Sorry to hijack, but I wanted to comment because public health is my Plan B and I'd really love to hear more about what you're doing with your MPH. I'm really interested in epidemiology, whether I get into vet school or not. Care to elaborate on your experience? Or you can feel free to PM me too. Thanks!

 

[xl3000]

i'm trying to come up with a list of career alternatives for me, in the event that i don't end up making it to vet school 😱

Goat farming.

 

[sunnex3]

If you want to do a masters in Public Health that is an awesome alternative if you are interested in disease epidemiology in the slightest. I did an MPH and now work with animals in the field and veterinarians and doctors actually call me and my office up to consult with them on cases (infectious disease related of course). I also get to work with the USDA with livestock herds in preventative medicine and when they might have outbreaks there, so I get the full range, LA, SA, and wildlife.

Also an alternative is to get a masters in Wildlife Biology. I know serveral people that work with the USDA and my state's Parks and Wildlife with wildlife and research and wildlife disease biology and that is basically all they do is work with animals or give talks on animals. It is a pretty neat field, one that I would be doing if I wasn't on the career path I am on right now.

i completely forgot about the MPH option! i remember that tufts offers a dual DVM/MPH program...MPH would definitely be an interesting alternative, it sounds really interesting to me - especially the work you've described doing.

what other schools offer good MPH programs?

 

[DocDVMD]

Many vet schools offer joint MPH programs. University of Minnesota has a very well-renowned program, and even if you attend a vet school that doesn't have a joint MPH program, you can apply for the U of MN program and take online courses as well as attend their summer public health institute.

Note: Some vet schools, such as Tufts and University of Illinois, offer joint MPH programs, but you have to travel to another campus in order to take classes. Just something to consider.

 

[aspiringDVM]

Goat farming.

Yes!!!
Also, cat herding (search "cat herding commercial" in youtube and you will see what I mean 😀).