confused_vet
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2018
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Hi fellow DVMs and future DVMs,
I recently finished my 2nd year of veterinary school. I am not failing, in fact I'm doing quite well. I don't currently have any debt either but I will if I continue. I am seriously considering leaving and have been for the past year or so (started having doubts last summer, decided to tough it out for another year). When I decided to go for this career I was 20, and nearly 6 years later I have changed and matured a lot and have lost (or have realized that I never had) my passion for vet med. While I enjoy working at a vet hospital to a degree (1.5y experience prior to vet school and now currently working at a vet hospital over the summer), every day I think to myself how miserable I will probably be if I have to do this for the rest of my life. I love dogs and think they're cute, and I do like to see animals get proper care and help them be healthy, but it doesn't ignite a fire in me or bring me a sense of satisfaction. I am relieved at the end of the day when I get to go home and do something else.
In the past year I have done some soul-searching and I have realized I am a more artistic and social person than I used to be, and I think I've really suppressed my true self by forcing myself to go into the sciences. I switched to pre-vet in my 2nd year of undergrad (I'm seeing a trend here!) because I was unhappy in economics and wanted to work with animals. I'm really good at academics, essays, and interviews, and got into vet school the first time I applied. First year was very challenging, but I felt accomplished because I pulled a 4.0 and seemed to be good at vet med. However, I think after completing my second year and realizing just how much work and debt goes into this career, and how little financial return you get when you graduate, it just doesn't seem worth it to me anymore. We always say "we don't do it for the money", and now, I hate to admit it but being a veterinarian is not financially or emotionally rewarding enough for me. I hate the idea of potentially being injured every time I examine a patient, the long hours, the lack of gratitude from clients....
Although it seems I am pretty sure of my decision here, I still am having trouble committing to it. It's extra difficult for me because I'm pretty good at my job as a vet assistant and I'm pretty good at vet school (grade-wise, at least). So it's not like I'm incompetent or failing. I am also worried about the social stigma of being a drop-out, and of my parents being disappointed in me. However, I want to do something that makes me happy and fulfilled. I don't want to be 35-40 and regretting my choices when I was 25, when I was young and single and still had the freedom to do something else.
I think I want to pursue something like PR, Marketing, social media management, event management, etc. I love working with people to create something that provides an experience for other people or for a company. I love photography (pets, portraits, events, fashion), makeup, travel, and other creatively-minded things, and I'd love to find a career that could help me combine those. However, given that my past experience involves nearly only vet-med related jobs, internships, etc., I'm really not sure where to even begin.
Any advice, personal anecdotes, or anything you have that might be useful to me would be appreciated. I am pretty terrified of this whole situation and it would be a huge leap for me if I decided to leave. I've never been a failure or a quitter before, and I know if I were born in my parents' generation this would never be a possibility. But as a millennial, I want to do what I love, not do something to support what I love. Of course I still love animals, especially dogs, but I think that owning my own dogs would be enough. I don't think I need to be surrounded by them every day to be happy.
Thoughts!?!? I'm honestly filled with self-loathing for even considering this, but after a year of having second thoughts every day...I think I need to face this head-on.
I recently finished my 2nd year of veterinary school. I am not failing, in fact I'm doing quite well. I don't currently have any debt either but I will if I continue. I am seriously considering leaving and have been for the past year or so (started having doubts last summer, decided to tough it out for another year). When I decided to go for this career I was 20, and nearly 6 years later I have changed and matured a lot and have lost (or have realized that I never had) my passion for vet med. While I enjoy working at a vet hospital to a degree (1.5y experience prior to vet school and now currently working at a vet hospital over the summer), every day I think to myself how miserable I will probably be if I have to do this for the rest of my life. I love dogs and think they're cute, and I do like to see animals get proper care and help them be healthy, but it doesn't ignite a fire in me or bring me a sense of satisfaction. I am relieved at the end of the day when I get to go home and do something else.
In the past year I have done some soul-searching and I have realized I am a more artistic and social person than I used to be, and I think I've really suppressed my true self by forcing myself to go into the sciences. I switched to pre-vet in my 2nd year of undergrad (I'm seeing a trend here!) because I was unhappy in economics and wanted to work with animals. I'm really good at academics, essays, and interviews, and got into vet school the first time I applied. First year was very challenging, but I felt accomplished because I pulled a 4.0 and seemed to be good at vet med. However, I think after completing my second year and realizing just how much work and debt goes into this career, and how little financial return you get when you graduate, it just doesn't seem worth it to me anymore. We always say "we don't do it for the money", and now, I hate to admit it but being a veterinarian is not financially or emotionally rewarding enough for me. I hate the idea of potentially being injured every time I examine a patient, the long hours, the lack of gratitude from clients....
Although it seems I am pretty sure of my decision here, I still am having trouble committing to it. It's extra difficult for me because I'm pretty good at my job as a vet assistant and I'm pretty good at vet school (grade-wise, at least). So it's not like I'm incompetent or failing. I am also worried about the social stigma of being a drop-out, and of my parents being disappointed in me. However, I want to do something that makes me happy and fulfilled. I don't want to be 35-40 and regretting my choices when I was 25, when I was young and single and still had the freedom to do something else.
I think I want to pursue something like PR, Marketing, social media management, event management, etc. I love working with people to create something that provides an experience for other people or for a company. I love photography (pets, portraits, events, fashion), makeup, travel, and other creatively-minded things, and I'd love to find a career that could help me combine those. However, given that my past experience involves nearly only vet-med related jobs, internships, etc., I'm really not sure where to even begin.
Any advice, personal anecdotes, or anything you have that might be useful to me would be appreciated. I am pretty terrified of this whole situation and it would be a huge leap for me if I decided to leave. I've never been a failure or a quitter before, and I know if I were born in my parents' generation this would never be a possibility. But as a millennial, I want to do what I love, not do something to support what I love. Of course I still love animals, especially dogs, but I think that owning my own dogs would be enough. I don't think I need to be surrounded by them every day to be happy.
Thoughts!?!? I'm honestly filled with self-loathing for even considering this, but after a year of having second thoughts every day...I think I need to face this head-on.