How did you decide?

[livestockdream]

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I hope it is ok to as this here, I looked and I didn't see any rules against it...

How did you decide to go to vet school?

I would LOVE to be a food animal/large animal veterinarian. I have worked with horses, cows and sheep before and I am drawn to being a veterinarian. The problem is that information regarding salaries often contradicts and the cost of vet school is very high. I am a single mother and I know I can do the academic part but I am not sure I can afford it. I know there are loan forgiveness programs but I have heard stories where they were unable to find a job. I do not plan on getting rich but I need enough to pay off loans and support my son.

 

[katryn]

It's honestly a tough decision, and requires a lot of personal thought.

I looked at as many other careers as possible, and couldn't find one that fit well. Before I got married, I would have been able to live at home and attend my IS school. Now that I'm married I have someone else to pay living expenses, and I'm not stuck on my own with student loans afterwards. I looked at OOS schools, wasn't comfortable with the difference in debt, and only applied in state. After much discussion with the hubby, we decided to give applications three shots before I reexamined other career options.

Thankfully, I got in to my IS school on the third try, but if it hadn't happened, finances would have dictated me moving on to something else.

How you decide really does depend on where you are in life and what your comfort level is.

 

[Nekkid]

Don't let all the bad hype get you down. If you can do an in state school and minimize your loans, it's doable. There are jobs...just not everywhere. I just looked and saw a couple dozen jobs posted for Virginia. It's true that you need to be wary of too much debt and worry about jobs, but if you're willing to go where the jobs are, you can do it.

On the other hand, being a large animal vet is a fairly high risk job. As a single mom, that should be part of the consideration. It's being out in blizzards and 100+ degree heat. Being woken up at 3 am for farm calls. Terrible pay and worse hours. Also, unless you have somebody helping you raise your kids, it's not worth it. I'm in vet school now, and my mom went through vet school with a 4yo and an 8yo. She couldn't have done it if it weren't for having my dad around and my great grandparents. And I mean couldn't. You need help. She still feels like a failure as a mom because she wasn't around much. I think she's silly because I'm super proud and impressed with her.

So...there's no good answer. There are lots of Carter's working with animals that might be better in your situation, but there's nothing more inspiring to your kids than fighting to pursue a difficult goal. Just make really sure that you know what you're getting into. Also, read the ny times article and thread.

 

[livestockdream]

Don't let all the bad hype get you down. If you can do an in state school and minimize your loans, it's doable. There are jobs...just not everywhere. I just looked and saw a couple dozen jobs posted for Virginia. It's true that you need to be wary of too much debt and worry about jobs, but if you're willing to go where the jobs are, you can do it.

On the other hand, being a large animal vet is a fairly high risk job. As a single mom, that should be part of the consideration. It's being out in blizzards and 100+ degree heat. Being woken up at 3 am for farm calls. Terrible pay and worse hours. Also, unless you have somebody helping you raise your kids, it's not worth it. I'm in vet school now, and my mom went through vet school with a 4yo and an 8yo. She couldn't have done it if it weren't for having my dad around and my great grandparents. And I mean couldn't. You need help. She still feels like a failure as a mom because she wasn't around much. I think she's silly because I'm super proud and impressed with her.

So...there's no good answer. There are lots of Carter's working with animals that might be better in your situation, but there's nothing more inspiring to your kids than fighting to pursue a difficult goal. Just make really sure that you know what you're getting into. Also, read the ny times article and thread.

I have a great family that will help me out during vet school. If I become a vet they would still help me raise him unless I needed to move to another state for a job (which I would be willing to do if I needed to). If the worst were to happen my mother and sisters are willing to raise him, we talked about that before he was even born. If I were not to become a vet I would still do something with food animals, probably farming, so many jobs would be just as risky.

The pay does not bother me as long as it is enough to support my son and pay my debts. According to the bls and AVMA the average starting salary is about 74k. That is enough to support my son but I don't know about the debt. I wish I knew someone who could explain the numbers to me. My dad is an accountant but he hasn't been much help.

In the NY times thread people pointed out that all jobs are experiencing the same problem. I don't know how many have the same debt problem vet do (other than doctors and lawyers).

 

[Nekkid]

74k is a lie. 48k is what most stats say for LA vets. Really.

 

[livestockdream]

74k is a lie. 48k is what most stats say for LA vets. Really.

So the AVMA and the BLS isn't accurate? Many people on this site say this, how can I know for sure?

https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Statistics/Pages/Market-research-statistics-First-year-employment.aspx

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm#tab-5

EDIT- I just noticed that the BLS quoted AVMA's data. So is the AVMA not conducting proper surveys?

 

[Nekkid]

THis is from the AVMA: The average starting salary for all students accepting employment was $45,575, down 3 percent from $46,971 in 2011. When excluding graduates entering advanced education, the average starting salary was $65,404, down 1.6 percent from the average starting salary of $66,469 in 2011. (that includes internships so is lower due to that, but 45k is more like reality for food animal)

I will agree that the AVMA SAYS that it's much higher, but if you go looking for a food animal job, you won't be finding jobs paying that much. I have no idea how they manage to say it's that high, but it just isn't.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Don't just look at what the salary might be, look at whether there will be any jobs at all.......That salary quoted might be accurate for the few grads that got full time jobs, but don't forget to look at how many only got offered part time jobs, or no job at all. Take a look at various ad sources to see if there are available large animal or food animal jobs, and when you're thinking about risk, consider the risk that there may not be a job in that area available.

 

[livestockdream]

Don't just look at what the salary might be, look at whether there will be any jobs at all.......That salary quoted might be accurate for the few grads that got full time jobs, but don't forget to look at how many only got offered part time jobs, or no job at all. Take a look at various ad sources to see if there are available large animal or food animal jobs, and when you're thinking about risk, consider the risk that there may not be a job in that area available.

Thanks. I didn't even think to do that. I am willing to move to find a job but only so far.

 

[Saffine]

, but don't forget to look at how many only got offered part time jobs, or no job at all. Take a look at various ad sources to see if there are available large animal or food animal jobs, and when you're thinking about risk, consider the risk that there may not be a job in that area available.

When looking at jobs you would have to guess how many applicants you would be competing with and whether they have more experience/what your chances are of getting the job.