Nontraditional Pre-vet Career Advice

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callacat

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Hi everyone!

I'm a new member here and am hoping to get some advice regarding my choices surrounding my eventual application to vet school.

A bit of background info: I'm 23, have a B.S. in business management, and am currently working full time as a Human Resources consultant. In recent weeks I have thought extensively about my career and purpose in life, and have come to the realization that I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life working in HR, or in business at all for that matter. I have always held a strong bond with animals and near certain that veterinary medicine is the path I need to take for a fulfilling life. So, I have signed up for a post bacc program that offers evening classes, allowing me to work full time and complete my prerequisites simultaneously.

All this said, I'm experiencing a quarter-life crisis of sorts. I am unsatisfied at my current job, due to a few factors: 1) I do not see any future in my current profession, 2) I am spending a lot of time commuting to different client sites, which is both draining and time consuming, and 3) I feel as though my work has little meaning, and I am unsatisfied. The job pays OK - not great, but not terrible - at least for a semi-entry level role. It pays the bills, especially since I'm living in the city.

My dilemma is this - It will take me approximately 3 years to complete all the coursework required for application to vet school. I would love to move toward working in the field or in a similar field, if at all possible. I am a tolerant person, but I just can't inagine my life for the next three years staying where I am. I have considered becoming a vet tech, but am concerned about that path due to finances. I don't have any science experience. While I am shadowing a vet currently on Saturdays, I do not have other clinical experience that could qualify me for a related role.

Does anyone have any experience with this at all? Any advice or thoughts would be so appreciated. Thank you!

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It's good that you've already begun shadowing, as that was my first piece of advice before really embarking on this career change.

There are many wise non-traditional students around here, and their advice may be different than mine. But if I were in your shoes, I would hold off on abandoning ship at your current job for a little bit. It must be extremely frustrating to feel like your aren't doing what you want to do, but it makes more sense from a financial and time perspective to keep shadowing a vet and start into your pre-requisites before quitting what you do now.

Depending on where you live, becoming an actual technician may require licensing, which requires a lot of time, money and often classes specific to vet techs. If not licensed, you'd be looking at working as a veterinary assistant, which pays even less and in many cases allows even less hands-on opportunities. Even in states that don't require you to be licensed to work as a tech, not having any experience is going to make it difficult to get a job. Not to mention you may not have as much time to work on your pre-reqs, as veterinary clinic hours can be a lot more fluid than what I'm assuming is essentially a 9-5 job in HR.

I don't know if you'd be happier being a kennel attendant or vet assistant (maybe restrain some animals) or at your current job, making a presumably far more liveable wage and doing your application building on the side. It may be that now that you have a new goal, you're getting "grass is greener" feelings even more, making you feel even more miserable. If you truly are that miserable where you are now, at least shadow your current vet more often and try to build some skills; then, when you have a little more time under your belt, consult with that vet about job opportunities, or being a reference for another clinic's job opening. Good luck :)
 
It's good that you've already begun shadowing, as that was my first piece of advice before really embarking on this career change.

There are many wise non-traditional students around here, and their advice may be different than mine. But if I were in your shoes, I would hold off on abandoning ship at your current job for a little bit. It must be extremely frustrating to feel like your aren't doing what you want to do, but it makes more sense from a financial and time perspective to keep shadowing a vet and start into your pre-requisites before quitting what you do now.

Depending on where you live, becoming an actual technician may require licensing, which requires a lot of time, money and often classes specific to vet techs. If not licensed, you'd be looking at working as a veterinary assistant, which pays even less and in many cases allows even less hands-on opportunities. Even in states that don't require you to be licensed to work as a tech, not having any experience is going to make it difficult to get a job. Not to mention you may not have as much time to work on your pre-reqs, as veterinary clinic hours can be a lot more fluid than what I'm assuming is essentially a 9-5 job in HR.

I don't know if you'd be happier being a kennel attendant or vet assistant (maybe restrain some animals) or at your current job, making a presumably far more liveable wage and doing your application building on the side. It may be that now that you have a new goal, you're getting "grass is greener" feelings even more, making you feel even more miserable. If you truly are that miserable where you are now, at least shadow your current vet more often and try to build some skills; then, when you have a little more time under your belt, consult with that vet about job opportunities, or being a reference for another clinic's job opening. Good luck :)
Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the advice - I think deep down I know that I need to stay in my current role for the time being, I just needed someone to tell me. For the record - I'm not totally miserable. It's an OK gig. I can live with it, but I think I may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Do you (or does anyone else) know what vet schools see when they see nontraditional applicants? Does it look worse/better/the same if I apply while working in my current, unrelated job, as opposed to moving from that job to a more animal related, but maybe fewer educational requirements job, and applying then?

Thank you so much!
 
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non-traditional here. BS in marketing/management. i had a successful marketing career and made the decision to career change. i shadowed a large animal vet for a year before i took the plunge to go back to school. it has been a long road for me due to working, having a baby, husband deploying, etc. and i honestly don't think i am getting in this cycle even with varied animal/vet experiences and high science grades. my undergrad brought me way down.

the ONLY way i am able to make this career change possible is using my husband's gi bill. i would not be going to vet school at this point in my life if i had to take out $200k in loans. it does not make financial sense to me. no, i am not doing this for the money (i could have remained in marketing if that's what it was about), however i do deserve to have the ability to pay my bills, save for retirement, and be somewhat financially comfortable. that would not be possible without the gi bill.

i worked as a vet tech (unlicensed, trained on the job) and got a lot of experience. it was a great job, but it could not pay the bills if i was relying on it as a full-time career. depending on your location, a vet might hire you as an assistant. consider taking one class, such as biology I and see if you like it. that would be a good starting point without investing a ton of time and money into a career change that you are uncertain about.
 
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Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the advice - I think deep down I know that I need to stay in my current role for the time being, I just needed someone to tell me. For the record - I'm not totally miserable. It's an OK gig. I can live with it, but I think I may have woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Do you (or does anyone else) know what vet schools see when they see nontraditional applicants? Does it look worse/better/the same if I apply while working in my current, unrelated job, as opposed to moving from that job to a more animal related, but maybe fewer educational requirements job, and applying then?

Thank you so much!

I never worked in a vet-related job in my life prior to vet school. I was a telecommunications / security / Internet guru engineer up until ... well, about a month after I started vet school, more or less.

So obviously I don't think you <have> to go get a vet-related job, and the applications people seem to have been fine with my background. I have no idea if I was a "great" candidate or "just good enough," of course. I've heard they like candidates with some real-world experience, but I guess I don't really "know".

But what I did do is spend my pre-req time doing whatever I could to gain hours. I volunteered in a wildlife rehab place one night a week for 18 months. I volunteered at the vet school teaching hospital in canine rehab for a few years. I spent a lot of time - the better part of one day/week - shadowing at a small animal clinic. Did a few weeks of equine shadowing. Rode with a farm vet a couple days. Took a couple classes/semester while doing the 'hour building' thing, and crammed my full-time job in around the corners.

I think people have given you pretty good advice: take one or two science pre-req classes and see how you like it. The content of the classes won't be very representative of vet school, but the nature of the material is similar, so it will give you some idea of what you'll have to slog through. The Saturday experience-building thing is a great start, but try and branch out and get more variety. You don't have to have a TON of hours in every 'area' of vet med, but even a day or two here or there gives you some good exposure.

If it were me, I'd stick with the job you have, especially if it has any flexibility to it. Three years seems like a long time, but you can't change that, so just give yourself milestones to look forward to: find some way to celebrate the first semester, then the second, etc. Make a chart of all the pre-reqs and get stupidly happy when you get to cross one off - make it a wine (or beer, or whatever) affair to celebrate. You should definitely have a long-range, big-picture plan .... but you also shouldn't look at it too often. Bite-sized chunks, celebrate your accomplishments along the way, and it will go quicker than it seems reasonable. I very much remember sitting down to lunch with my dad and telling him I was considering a career change into medicine ... and that was ... geez ... 7 years ago, maybe? Feels kinda like yesterday. And now I graduate next spring.
 
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I never worked in a vet-related job in my life prior to vet school. I was a telecommunications / security / Internet guru engineer up until ... well, about a month after I started vet school, more or less.

So obviously I don't think you <have> to go get a vet-related job, and the applications people seem to have been fine with my background. I have no idea if I was a "great" candidate or "just good enough," of course. I've heard they like candidates with some real-world experience, but I guess I don't really "know".

But what I did do is spend my pre-req time doing whatever I could to gain hours. I volunteered in a wildlife rehab place one night a week for 18 months. I volunteered at the vet school teaching hospital in canine rehab for a few years. I spent a lot of time - the better part of one day/week - shadowing at a small animal clinic. Did a few weeks of equine shadowing. Rode with a farm vet a couple days. Took a couple classes/semester while doing the 'hour building' thing, and crammed my full-time job in around the corners.

I think people have given you pretty good advice: take one or two science pre-req classes and see how you like it. The content of the classes won't be very representative of vet school, but the nature of the material is similar, so it will give you some idea of what you'll have to slog through. The Saturday experience-building thing is a great start, but try and branch out and get more variety. You don't have to have a TON of hours in every 'area' of vet med, but even a day or two here or there gives you some good exposure.

If it were me, I'd stick with the job you have, especially if it has any flexibility to it. Three years seems like a long time, but you can't change that, so just give yourself milestones to look forward to: find some way to celebrate the first semester, then the second, etc. Make a chart of all the pre-reqs and get stupidly happy when you get to cross one off - make it a wine (or beer, or whatever) affair to celebrate. You should definitely have a long-range, big-picture plan .... but you also shouldn't look at it too often. Bite-sized chunks, celebrate your accomplishments along the way, and it will go quicker than it seems reasonable. I very much remember sitting down to lunch with my dad and telling him I was considering a career change into medicine ... and that was ... geez ... 7 years ago, maybe? Feels kinda like yesterday. And now I graduate next spring.

Thanks for the detailed reply and advice. I am certainly planning to get as much experience as possible during these few years. I agree - getting on board with classes is step one. After that, I can hopefully figure out when I might have time to get some varied experience.

A question for you - how did you handle balancing class and full time employment commitments? I mean, did you give your employer any indication at all as to why you were taking classes? I don't know the nature of your prior job, but there is a possibility that I may have to adjust my work schedule a tad to accommodate the evening classes, as I live about 40 minutes away from the school I plan to attend. Any advice on working around current employers?

It sounds like your hard work and dedication paid off - congrats! Wishing you all the success in the world.
 
non-traditional here. BS in marketing/management. i had a successful marketing career and made the decision to career change. i shadowed a large animal vet for a year before i took the plunge to go back to school. it has been a long road for me due to working, having a baby, husband deploying, etc. and i honestly don't think i am getting in this cycle even with varied animal/vet experiences and high science grades. my undergrad brought me way down.

the ONLY way i am able to make this career change possible is using my husband's gi bill. i would not be going to vet school at this point in my life if i had to take out $200k in loans. it does not make financial sense to me. no, i am not doing this for the money (i could have remained in marketing if that's what it was about), however i do deserve to have the ability to pay my bills, save for retirement, and be somewhat financially comfortable. that would not be possible without the gi bill.

i worked as a vet tech (unlicensed, trained on the job) and got a lot of experience. it was a great job, but it could not pay the bills if i was relying on it as a full-time career. depending on your location, a vet might hire you as an assistant. consider taking one class, such as biology I and see if you like it. that would be a good starting point without investing a ton of time and money into a career change that you are uncertain about.
Hi there,

I appreciate your reply and thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like you've overcome a lot of obstacles along the way. Keep your head up!

Financially, at least right now, it doesn't make real sense for me to move careers. My heart wants to move, but my head says no. I may consider the shift once I take classes, get more experience under my belt, etc. We'll just have to see.

I hope you get in this cycle! Keep us posted.
 
I never worked in a vet-related job in my life prior to vet school. I was a telecommunications / security / Internet guru engineer up until ... well, about a month after I started vet school, more or less.

So obviously I don't think you <have> to go get a vet-related job, and the applications people seem to have been fine with my background. I have no idea if I was a "great" candidate or "just good enough," of course. I've heard they like candidates with some real-world experience, but I guess I don't really "know".

But what I did do is spend my pre-req time doing whatever I could to gain hours. I volunteered in a wildlife rehab place one night a week for 18 months. I volunteered at the vet school teaching hospital in canine rehab for a few years. I spent a lot of time - the better part of one day/week - shadowing at a small animal clinic. Did a few weeks of equine shadowing. Rode with a farm vet a couple days. Took a couple classes/semester while doing the 'hour building' thing, and crammed my full-time job in around the corners.

I think people have given you pretty good advice: take one or two science pre-req classes and see how you like it. The content of the classes won't be very representative of vet school, but the nature of the material is similar, so it will give you some idea of what you'll have to slog through. The Saturday experience-building thing is a great start, but try and branch out and get more variety. You don't have to have a TON of hours in every 'area' of vet med, but even a day or two here or there gives you some good exposure.

If it were me, I'd stick with the job you have, especially if it has any flexibility to it. Three years seems like a long time, but you can't change that, so just give yourself milestones to look forward to: find some way to celebrate the first semester, then the second, etc. Make a chart of all the pre-reqs and get stupidly happy when you get to cross one off - make it a wine (or beer, or whatever) affair to celebrate. You should definitely have a long-range, big-picture plan .... but you also shouldn't look at it too often. Bite-sized chunks, celebrate your accomplishments along the way, and it will go quicker than it seems reasonable. I very much remember sitting down to lunch with my dad and telling him I was considering a career change into medicine ... and that was ... geez ... 7 years ago, maybe? Feels kinda like yesterday. And now I graduate next spring.

And people say LIS is a grumpy old man. Look at all that positivity! :)
 
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You work in HR... non-profits are in extreme need for someone with your type of experience. Non-profits = animal programs and agencies such as your local rescue league, etc. Apply to these places to both utilize your business background while familiarizing yourself with animals.
 
You work in HR... non-profits are in extreme need for someone with your type of experience. Non-profits = animal programs and agencies such as your local rescue league, etc. Apply to these places to both utilize your business background while familiarizing yourself with animals.
Thanks, I actually have been trying to get my foot in the door at non-profits like the ones you mentioned. It's difficult because I don't have a great deal of experience (just graduated in 2013!) and the pickings are slim, but I am definitely checking and applying to places that look promising.
 
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Thanks for the detailed reply and advice. I am certainly planning to get as much experience as possible during these few years. I agree - getting on board with classes is step one. After that, I can hopefully figure out when I might have time to get some varied experience.

A question for you - how did you handle balancing class and full time employment commitments? I mean, did you give your employer any indication at all as to why you were taking classes? I don't know the nature of your prior job, but there is a possibility that I may have to adjust my work schedule a tad to accommodate the evening classes, as I live about 40 minutes away from the school I plan to attend. Any advice on working around current employers?

It sounds like your hard work and dedication paid off - congrats! Wishing you all the success in the world.

I had it a bit easier than most people. Or maybe, really, anyone. My job was *super* flexible. Basically, as long as I got my work done, it didn't matter when I did it or how long it took. If I worked super hard, I could get most of my responsibilities taken care of in a pretty short work week, freeing myself up to do other things. I used to have 80-hr work weeks at that job, but by the time I went back to school things were more 'normal' and, with hard work, I probably kept my weeks down to 30 hours: Full time 'volume' but not full time 'time'.

So I used that flexibility... I was able to take occasional daytime classes, I could volunteer at the vet school hospital one morning/week, I could spend a day/week in a clinic, etc.

For people with more normal jobs, yeah - you just have to accept you can't keep that job, go to school, and build as much experience in the same amount of time I did. It's just life. The important thing is just that you have a general plan/goal and keep making progress toward it and keep patting yourself on the back as you go. I think even if it takes you a bit longer it's still better to stay with the secure job you know. But that's *just* my opinion. If you can get a vet-oriented job that will pay enough for you to live on, it's certainly not a BAD option since you'd be doing double-duty of paying the bills and building experience all at once.

Either way, the biggest thing is to mentally be in it for the long haul. :) It's super frustrating (for me, anyway) to make a decision about doing something, pull the trigger, and then have to sit back and be patient.
 
Thanks for the detailed reply and advice. I am certainly planning to get as much experience as possible during these few years. I agree - getting on board with classes is step one. After that, I can hopefully figure out when I might have time to get some varied experience.

A question for you - how did you handle balancing class and full time employment commitments? I mean, did you give your employer any indication at all as to why you were taking classes? I don't know the nature of your prior job, but there is a possibility that I may have to adjust my work schedule a tad to accommodate the evening classes, as I live about 40 minutes away from the school I plan to attend. Any advice on working around current employers?

It sounds like your hard work and dedication paid off - congrats! Wishing you all the success in the world.
TBH, it is just about commitment and hard work.
You are going to find when you go to vet school, that school is going to dominate your life, so you are going to need to get used to that.
If you are working a 40-50 hour week that leaves plenty of time on nights and weekends to study.
Take the number of classes that you feel you have the time to study for, for me it was never more than 2 (and usually it was 2 every quarter).

I wouldn't bother telling your current employer unless you have a good relationship ( i did).


As for not liking your job, remember it is a means to an end. You should feel excited about your career change, and I would hope that is enough to keep you going.

good luck.
 
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Ditto what everyone else said. It's possible and don't leave your bill-paying job! I work full time as an engineer with a semi-flexible schedule like LIS (I have to work a minimum number of hours but can flex them around a bit), work 6 days/month in a vet hospital (paid), go to school (1 lecture & lab per semester), and do non-profit work. I'm 2 1/2 years in and there have been rough moments but it's so completely worth it. I try to focus on small milestones rather than the big picture and remind myself that the years are going to pass regardless of what I'm doing. When I'm tired it takes a little extra mental cheering but the thrill of accomplishing so much overrides the tough spots. And I'm a high energy person in general so that helps.

It's totally doable. Take it as it comes, roll with the punches, and don't set too much in stone or you'll end up disappointing yourself.
 
I don't have a lot to say that hasn't already been said, but I wanted to let you know you're not alone! I graduated in 2010 and worked an office job for about 3.5 years before making the decision to go back to school to finish my pre-reqs for vet school.

It was a huge, scary leap since I had spent those 3.5 years building a successful career and even getting my masters in that field, but I reached the point where it felt like it was now or never. I was either going to aggressively go after my dream of becoming a veterinarian, or continue to muddle through a career that was ok, but not where my heart was. When I realized I dreaded the idea of having my boss's job, or his boss's job, I knew I needed to make a change if I wanted to be successful.

Like the others, I would recommend keeping your job while taking classes. It will make things much easier for you financially and it will give you a fall-back if, for some reason, the shadowing and/or science coursework isn't what you hoped it would be. I, too, won't be able to start vet school until Fall 2017 (if I'm admitted on my first try) and while it seems like such a long way away, it will go by faster than you think. You'll be really busy! Take the time you need to get the grades and GRE scores you want by staying focused and not rushing yourself.

As another poster said, celebrate the small wins. I'm coming to the close of my first semester of post-bacc coursework and it's going to feel soooo good to check those classes off my list!

Remember, this is just 3 years out of what could be a 40+ year career. It's an investment.

Hang in there and good luck!
 
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I'm a non-trad. I have over a decade in the Army, transferred to the Reserves, left a 100k job to pursue vet med and can only hope my efforts pay off. My job was not as flexible and there was no way I could travel out of state and country, work the hours needed and still do school. If you're able to keep your job, do a few classes and knock out your experience, go for it. Test the waters with a few classes and see if you're able to strap down and commit the hours of studying for the next 3+4(hopeful) years. Minimize your debt until you absolutely need to bury yourself in loans. I'm 1 1/2 years through my 3 year transition to finish my BS in Bio. It's stressful as a FT student with 3 PT jobs and still being active in the Army Reserves, my free time is when I'm eating or sleeping - sometimes. In my opinion, vet school admissions likely see many non-traditional applicants as potential students that should be mature enough to manage their time and make it through the program. In addition to life experience and all that other fun stuff that comes from life outside of school. This should work to your favor.

As other posters have mentioned, get your experience in as many different fields as possible. I was fortunate enough to find a SA hospital that hired me as an unlicensed vet assistant and trained me to do everything. Aside from the license, I'm a full technician. The experience is invaluable and the LORs that I will eventually need will come from vets that truly know my potential and commitment. You should also strive to find at least one place like this with people that will support you professionally.

Don't worry about the number of hours. You will be competing against a lot of applicants that have transitioned from wanting to be a doggy doc when they were 5 to pre-vet in college. There will be people with 10,000+ hours in a few areas. You need to be realistic. Diversity first, number of hours second. For me, equine will be my lacking field, but I have thousands of hours in SA and exotics, hundreds in wildlife, hundreds in zoo and a few dozen while I was deployed helping our vet with local livestock and dog spay/neuters. Put yourself out there. Once you've decided this is what you want, go for it. Many of us were where you are and haven't looked back. I apply next cycle and will see where all of this energy gets me. Good luck and ask away if you have any more questions.
 
Hi all, just wanted to say thank you for all the advice once again!! I haven't checked back on this post for a while, and was glad to see so many people were going/have gone back to school successfully without giving up their jobs.

I'm excited to say that I've just accepted a new job at the university where I am hoping to take my prerequisite classes! Now, I will not only have flexibility, but also am eligible for tuition remission where many (if not all) of my post-bacc classes will be free of charge. I think it's a win-win. Hooray!

Regarding experience, I'm now both shadowing and volunteering with a TNR program, and am hoping to diversify my experience soon.

Thank you again for all the advice and support. You guys are great!
 
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