Okay, take two.
Hi, kudos to you for exploring research as a possible career path. Speaking as a techie in an animal research facility, there is a shortage of vets in research (at least here anyway). Apart from doing the PhD and actually being involved in the research itself, vets can also work as practicing veterinarians in animal research facilities. Other people have talked about the vets former, and since I am more familiar with the latter I'll talk about that.
The research facility I am currently working in employs a full time vet (and a handful of part time vets) so we have a vet on call 24/7. She assists us whenever there is a problem with the animals in our facility (which are used for teaching and research) in the traditional vet role of diagnosis, treatment and euthanasia as required. At a herd level she is involved in developing/improving herd health monitoring through routine testing and preventative medicine. She is also involved in the development and implementation of our standard operating procedures, which includes maintaining a high standard of animal welfare.
The opportunities for vets in this field are extremely broad. Our vet works with mice, rats, rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, sheep, alpacas, macropods, a variety of production and ornamental avian species, ratites, arthropods and reptiles. And that is always changing, new species are continually entering the facility as projects conclude and new projects begin.
And she is part of something that really makes a difference in the world. Our mice are helping us look for a cure for azheimer's disease. Our sheep are involved with preventing premature birth in humans, and developing new and better techniques of caring for neonates. Our sheep are also yielding information for the agriculture industries, in the fields of nutrition and also emerging/cottage industries (sheep milk and cheese). Our ratites and birds are trying to improve subsistance agriculture and help feed the third world population. Our pigeons are also helping blind children.
So I think at times the role can be very challenging, you are required to work with a large range of animals which you may not have experienced before (out of our whole team we dont have anyone with prior emu experience) and/or in a situation in which you are not familiar with (some of our sheep are rumen canulated, our mice are immuno suppressed, so in these situations a traditional sheep vet or exotic pets vet will be off balance). However, I see that as an opportunity to widen your knowledge base and ultimately that will strengthen you as a vet. But having said that, with those challenges, it is also a very rewarding system to be a part of.
