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[Grace927]

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[JaynaAli]

There’s no shame in taking another path. It’s totally valid and maybe even wise to pursue something other than vet med, especially if it’s an opportunity you are excited about. It’s far better to make this decision now than in four years when you’ve added massive student debt and gone through the stress of professional school. I know a few vets who probably wish they had made a similar choice.

Also, if you decline, that opens up the spot to someone who really wants it. I’m not saying other people’s needs and wants should play into your decision at all, but perhaps that could help alleviate your feelings of guilt to some extent.

 

[max_wildlife]

Hey @Grace927
I'm not a vet yet, but I did start vet school at 29 after switching careers from the wildlife biology world, along with being an LVT. I'm about to be 32 in April, and just started clinical rotations. I can't speak to the debt just yet, but can tell you that I also have serious health concerns about two of my immediate family members following two emergent events in the span of three years, and very little interest going into general practice outside of relief work if needed. If you want to talk with someone about what it's like to start vet school a little older, or what it's like to be in vet school navigating those sort of situations, I'm open about it. The things that have happened are just so specific to my family that I worry about giving up my identity online at this point, but I'm happy to chat over DMs.

If not, if you're interested in pursuing a different line of work, it's totally understandable. Being 30 is weird. In some ways, it's exactly the same as my late 20s. Like I can tell you I still don't have any desire to own a house, having grown up in a fixer-upper lol. But the existential dread? Stronger than ever.

 

[battie]

I will be 5 hours away from home, which isn't bad, but I have a very close family member that has a serious health issue and I am terrified of something happening while I'm gone. This is my biggest concern.

I lived 5 hours from home for undergrad, then 16 hours away for vet school. My sister did die early into my second year, and being 5 hours away would have been much more manageable than 16 hours, but I do see where you're coming from. The logistics of being involved in an ill loved one's care is rough in general. So this is absolutely valid.

I am 26 years old and will be 27 in the fall. The last few years I have been putting off getting a house because I didn't know if I would be applying to vet school or not and I was fine with that, but now that time feels like it's going by so quickly, I really feel like I'm itching for that sense of finally having my own home and not renting anymore.

I took 3 cycles to get accepted to vet school, and 3 cycles was all I was going to go through for this very reason. I think it's absolutely reasonable to have an age boundary because there's other things you want to do. I also had a backup plan I had developed over that cycle that I would have loved to have done and would have made me just as happy as being a veterinarian. I honestly now wish I hadn't had so much tunnel vision growing up; I very likely would not be a vet right now if I had explored all the options out in the world.

I believe that I will always be involved in veterinary medicine or research, BUT I worry that if I did decide to make a career change at some point, I would be limited because I would look too overqualified in too specific of an area with that DVM degree.

A DVM degree will always get you a GP or ER job, tbh. So you would have a job somewhere as long as there's not a recession happening. Likewise, there's always the opportunity to go into industry; there are a ton of GP/ER doctors leaving clinical work to go into industry or company management (think things like pharma, VetGirl, etc).

I also wonder if I would maybe switch back from research to general practice again where I would want to work as the tech and not the vet. Maybe this isn't accurate, but it's just something that's been running through my mind.

This is honestly the only thing in your whole post I would advise against. I honestly don't even really advise most people become technicians overall unless they're going to make a living wage (i.e. ER, GP with a spouse with a good job, VTS). And my techs that I work with that are looking to move on (earning their VTS, going into human med fields, etc.), I am fully supportive of. Because the majority of techs will ultimately struggle if they don't have these life parameters. Being a technician with the debt level of a doctor? Don't do it. Absolutely don't do it.


Overall, there is nothing wrong with choosing a different career. A lot of vets wish they had the self-awareness you do cause they would have made the same choice.

 

[Cowsrcool]

Does the school you were accepted to offer deferral? Maybe ask and see? If you defer a year and take this job and then see how you feel

 

[Drjc1977]

Hi everyone,

I applied to vet school this past cycle after working in general practice as an assistant/tech for over two years and I got in to my top school which I am so proud of! However, I'm thinking I may be declining the offers I got and taking a different career path. I've weighed my options again and again, gone through pros and cons, but this is still one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

Context: through my experience in practice, I realized that I do not want to be a general practice vet. My plan was to use my DVM for the research field. Right before VMCAS apps were due last fall, I took a job at a government research facility and have recently been offered a higher up position within the facility that I'm really excited to try.

To summarize my worries regarding going to vet school, the first one is moving. I will be 5 hours away from home, which isn't bad, but I have a very close family member that has a serious health issue and I am terrified of something happening while I'm gone. This is my biggest concern. The next one is age-related. I am 26 years old and will be 27 in the fall. The last few years I have been putting off getting a house because I didn't know if I would be applying to vet school or not and I was fine with that, but now that time feels like it's going by so quickly, I really feel like I'm itching for that sense of finally having my own home and not renting anymore. I don't plan to have kids, so that does help, but I do have reservations with starting a new full blown career and just beginning to pay off debt at 31. Next is the concern of feeling stuck in a field of work. I don't have any plans to make a big career change in the future, I believe that I will always be involved in veterinary medicine or research, BUT I worry that if I did decide to make a career change at some point, I would be limited because I would look too overqualified in too specific of an area with that DVM degree. I also wonder if I would maybe switch back from research to general practice again where I would want to work as the tech and not the vet. Maybe this isn't accurate, but it's just something that's been running through my mind. Lastly, I feel that in order to accept a seat in veterinary school and make this big of a decision, I should be much more certain in my decision than I am right now. I do not want to attend veterinary school just because I can and have the opportunity. I want to do it because I feel that it is right for me and I don't know if I feel that way right now.

Mostly everyone in my life that I've spoken to about this fully understands, I have only had one family member who seems a little upset although they assured me that they will not be disappointed. I can't tell if this is just my nerves talking or if these are legitimate reasons to decline my offers, but why do I feel so guilty declining? 🙁

Thank you in advance.

As I read and reread this, you may be in analysis paralysis. Take a weekend off, go away, and give your mind a rest. You will make the right decision.