I really need to hunt down an opportunity to shadow...I keep going back and forth on whether or not I want to be a vet or just a vet tech. I don't know which I would like better. These are the pros and cons I have been able to see and are as follows. PLEASE POINT OUT ANY UNREALISTIC PERCEPTIONS THAT I MAY HAVE.
For years now I have had this inhuman lust and obsession over learning anatomy and physiology down to the most minute details nobody cares about. Both jobs would definitely cater to this, but I am unsure if being a vet tech wouldn't require enough anatomical knowledge for me to feel challenged and satisfied or if being a DVM would have anatomical knowledge demands that feel like overkill even to me!
I like chemistry, I like genetics, I like public speaking... I'm scared of math. Nonetheless, I want to excell in math (I've failed so many math classes, it would be proving something to me to ace a hard math class, and perhaps with a tutor I could do it). I have so many academic interests. Pursuing the DVM prerequisites would give me a reason to achieve knowledge in a wide range of areas.
I'm in community college right now. I feel unused and unneeded, much like the most well bred Border Collie would feel in the city. Compared to the average person I have so much knowledge about animals, genetics, anatomy, veterinary medicine...I learned just because it was fun. But sometimes I sit, and I think, what was the point of it all?
I like to write, I like to communicate, I like to teach. I like people! My friends get endlessly badgered with anatomical facts they couldn't care less about (but, they have to admit, I sure make it easy to understand). Sometimes I can't understand why other people don't get enthused about it like I do.
The academic side of veterinary medicine aside (all the facts) I like the application of it too: the actual, physical care and helping of animals. My vet really likes me. He really approves of how I've cared for wounds, stitches, and the like. I'm evil to infection, absolutely evil...I keep my wounds clean, trim the hair away, and put ointment and stuff on them. Dr. Ahmed tells me he likes it when people don't let their animal's wounds become an infected, puss-laden, dirty mess! I'm really good at giving pills, I can give shots, ear medicine, trim nails, express anal glands, all that stuff! I like doing it.
Being a vet tech seems to me like you're more involved with each animal than the vet. The vet seems like just the one who does surgery and tells everybody else what to do. It seems like the techs make the magic happen. True, maybe the vet got to learn a heaven worth of knowledge, and he does get to solve the puzzle of reaching a diagnosis, but it seems like the techs have the more fun job.
Problem is, though, those poor techs spent 40-80k on their education (depending if they got a two or four year degree) and they're not making enough money to even support themselves much less pay those student loans off! The vet can support themselves and thensome, albeit, at a cost. It seems that vets work long hours only to go home and get called out on three emergencies. How does a (read: female) vet make time for getting pregnant and having kids, having a husband (and an actual relationship with them), parenting, leisure... Is their life nothing more and nothing less than their job? Is their job all they are and all they can be? Can a vet not wear multiple hats (e.g. mother, wife, vet, horseback rider, etc.)
So maybe, maybe, being a tech would be better for me... but because of what I'd spend on student loans (when you think about it I'm paying to have a job not the other way around) I would definitely need to have a husband making a decent income (30k+ a year) so I could support myself. I don't have that at the moment but I hope it won't always be this way!
What do you all think?
Ok some of this has already been addressed, but bear with me.
I've been working as a vet tech for a couple years now. I'm unlicensed, but, welcome to new hampshire, there. Frankly, if you love anatomy that much, I don't think you'd feel challenged by being a tech. Even if you learn all of it through schooling, or just for your own benefit, the technical aspects of it really don't come into play on a day to day basis. The doctors need to know the nitty gritty details for surgery, but honestly, for the longest time I didn't know the name of the vein I was getting blood from. I could hit a vein with my eyes closed--doesn't mean I had to know the name of it and everything else nearby!
As a tech, there is a salary issue. Starting salary in this area is 9-10 $ an hour. Incredibly hard to make a living off of. I was lucky to start higher, but I came in with a good deal of hands on experience. There are techs in my clinic who have been there 5+ years, 15+ years, etc, and they are STUCK where they are. Why? Because they can't afford the salary drop that would come with starting over in a new hospital. Maybe it's different in other states, but here, it's horrible. And licensed/unlicensed techs make the same amount, providing they have the same amount of experience and skills.
Vets may make more, however, but their loans are also much higher. Think 150K plus in some cases.
I love what I do, working as a tech, and yet, here I am, pursuing the vet dream as well. I spend probably 50% of my day restraining animals for the vets to examine and work up.
In a small hospital, like the one I was previously at, techs don't have a lot of responsibilities--why? Because if there's one doctor, and one tech, SOMEONE's gotta hold the animal and restrain, and clean cages, and take pooches out for walks. And chances are, that won't be the vet! The days vary as a tech, and some days, you don't get to use your skills and be the best tech you can be.
As for the emergencies, not all hospitals do emergencies. Many small animal hospitals shy away from doing their own emergencies, simply because the current standards of care require that critical cases be in a 24hour, fully staffed facility. Most general, small animal practices don't have that kind of staffing. My hospital recently moved away from it, as well. It's too hard on the patients to be alone all night if they truly came in for an emergency. Sure, we still see farm animal emergencies, but dogs and cats get reffered to the wonderful 24hour facilities in the area. We are lucky to have 4 excellent emergency clinics within 20minutes away, so the transition to not doing small animal emergencies was a simple one for us. That being said, even when we did do all emergencies, yes, some nights the doctor was called out 6 or 7 times. Other nights there would be no calls. In the larger hospitals though, like ours, the vet is only on call once or twice a week, and maybe one weekend a month. I live five minutes from my clinic, and as a tech, only once have I gotten called in after hours. It certainly doesnt stop our vets from having families, horses, dogs, cats, etc. In a strictly small animal hospital that doesnt see emergencies, I imagine it's even easier to balance your time.
I don't know if I'd say the techs have a more fun job. That depends on your opinion of fun. Unless you are in a hospital with its own kennel staff, you do spend a good deal of time cleaning cages, walking animals, etc. Yes, it's time spent with the animals and its in their best interest, but I don't know if I'd call that "more fun". The doctors get to do surgery...the tech stands there watching the patient breath making sure he's still alive. Doctors see appointments...techs clean up the anal gland mess. Doctors get to diagnose...techs shove pills down the fractious cat's throat. Personally, I love the diagnosing, and the mysteries and intracicies there. That's why I'm hoping to go to vet school, honestly.
Anyway, hope this makes sense, and I hope with some more experience in a hospital setting, you'll be able to decide which career is right for you. Hope this gives you some insight and that it makes sense!
Edit to add: I wouldn't say a vet's hours are any longer than a techs. It really depends on the situation. I generally work the same hours as one of the vets. 7:30 to 6 is our general hours. There have been nights both the vet and I have been there past 11. So yes, the hours are long for a vet, but the techs have the same issue. Either way, in a clinical setting, chances are you'll run into your share of 12+ hour days.
No, not too young. I didn't start "getting ready until I was 24 and I was still active duty military. I had to go to school for 4 years and then after I got out I still had 2 1/2 yrs. of undergrad before I was able to get all of my prereq's done. By goinig to school part time and being in the military full time, I was unable to have time to shadow until after I got out of the military. I didn't start shadowing until I was about 3 yrs. out from applying. I finally got in around my 31st birthday, and won't be starting until after I turn 32. I had to defer my seat from last year due to a military deployment. There are plenty of others on here that are applying in their 40s and later. Just be expected to explain what you have done with your life prior to 25. Life experience and diversity helps too. So there is nothing wrong with the age your start at, so long as you have something to show for it.
