My Back-Up Plan... Sound Reasonable?

[168135]

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I am going into my second year of university.

I am having a very very difficult time getting volunteer experience. Here is what I've done so far:

Grade 12:
-Volunteered at an animal shelter shelter on average once every two weeks for 5 monthes.
-Volunteered once a week at a vet clinic for 10 monthes. Did a little bit of job shadowing. Got about 250 hours of small animal experience.

University:
- Got a volunteer position at a brand new vet clinic. Only ended up going twice before I went home, but I will be going back there next year. Vet took the time out to show me things and I learned alot on my two visits.
- This summer I'm walking dogs at the local animal shelter. I've only been there four times so far because of my work schedule and my parents work schedule.

To make a long story short, I can't get ANY vet clinic in my home town or university town to take me in! I've been trying! In my home town and university town, I can't volunteer at a shelter at all or that often because of transportation issues.

My plan:

I'm going to apply for an internship at Farm Santuary to get my large animal experience in. I will be doing that for a month if I get accepted. I have an aunt in BC who has dogs. If she can get me a volunteer position out there, I will go. If I can find someone to live with in my university town, I will stay and volunteer at the new clinic. If none of this happens and I come home and do not have a place to volunteer, I'm going to go to the vet tech program at the agriculture college next year. It is a two year program and is to my knowledge, the best in the country because you get a ton of hands on experience. It is very difficult to get into. I got accepted into it, but decided to do pre-vet instead. I will do that for two years, maybe work for a year, and then if I decide that I still want to be a vet, I will finish my BSc. Becoming a vet tech will give me the experience that I am lacking.

Does this sound like a good idea?

I could finish my BSc first and then do vet tech... but what if being a vet tech satisfies what I want to do? Well, then I have wasted two years of university. It just sounds easier to do it now, and then finish my BSc. My mom wants me to get my BSc, but she is supportive of my decision so far. She is outraged at the fact that all the vet clinics I have talked to are refusing my free help. The vet tech program will give me the experience.

 

[PrimalMU]

Try to get a job as a veterinary assistant before entering a vet tech program. I was initially going to enter a vet tech program after I worked at a animal hospital last summer, but after much thinking, I opted against it. In the past year I discovered that I couldn't be a "helper" for the rest of my life (no offense to any techs out there, trust me, I KNOW how difficult your job is, but its the same reason I'd rather be a doctor than a nurse). Plus, I really don't feel that the majority of techs are paid what they are worth, which is a real shame.

I'd advise you to keep volunteering at an animal hospital and once you've gotten to know the doctors see if you can get a job. I can sympathize with being unable to find a job at an animal hospital. The only reason I got my first job was that one of the vets was a family friend. It also really depends on the clinic. Some just don't want to hire pre-vet students for some reason. I applied to a dozen clinics around my area and only one of them was interested in hiring me. Unfortunately they couldn't hire me this summer, but I'm pretty much guaranteed a job next summer. You just gotta get out there and do your best!

 

[jkq202]

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[168135]

I agree with above- also you still have some summers. One summer could be spent at farm sanctuary, and another at BC for small animal work. Do you have any other relatives you could stay with for a month or two over the summer and ask vet clinics near them? I'm nowhere near any horses so I stayed with my aunt in maryland to get some equine experience. Also, I applied to Farm Sanctuary and am probably doing it next summer. Just keep in mind that they want people who are supportive and interested in their cause, not just people who are trying to tally up some hours for vet school.

I have some relatives in Ontario, but I'm not sure if they will take me in. I didn't want to spend all summer at FS because I do need to make some money to put towards university. I'm a vegetarian and I was an active member in my high school's animal rights group. I discovered FS through the group. In the past, the group has visited there, and I have heard nothing but excellent things about them. They told me to apply in February if I want to work for the summer, but I'll probably apply earlier. I would much rather get my large animal experience through them and not by visiting farms where people raise animals for food. I went on a farm call once... you think getting small animal experience is hard, large animal is worse. I have like 4 hours 😛

 

[jkq202]

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[168135]

Jkq202, you helped a lot 🙂

Have you interned or even visited FS yet? I can't wait to go and see what it is like.

All of my family lives in the province. I have two uncles out in Ontario... one wants us to come out and visit next summer. I have family out in BC too who would give me a place to stay. They have cocker spaniels and I am hoping that maybe they could hook me up with a clinic. My other option is to find a place to stay in the area where I go to university... right now, it is a 45 minute bus ride to the clinic that I volunteer at... if I could find a place closer to live AND get a job, it would be awesome. Everything is up in the air right now. I am hoping to solve my problem by December... and if I wasn't having any luck by then, I was going to apply to the vet tech program to be on the safe side.

 

[jkq202]

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