Wildlife and Zoo Vet vs Vet Tech

[treeko]

I have been considering vet school for a long time and I'm currently half-way through my undergraduate degree at a university. I am very interested in working with zoo animals and/or wildlife. But lately I have been rethinking vet school because of the debt, work/life balance, competition in zoo and wildlife medicine, and many other reasons. I don't know if I want the responsibility of diagnosing. I've been considering becoming a vet tech instead. I have not been able to shadow a zoo or wildlife vet, but I have volunteered at a zoo for several years and have worked closely with a wildlife rehabilitator in the area. I'm hoping to speak with someone about how much hands-on work is done in wildlife or zoo, vet vs vet tech: how much responsibility are the vet techs allowed to have? (In my experience: small, small animal practice = doctors perform "tech" responsibilities, large, small animal practice = techs perform "tech" responsbilities, large, small animal emergency facility = techs perform "tech" responsibilities). Not sure if there is such a variation in zoo or wildlife medicine!

I still want to work in veterinary medicine and with animals but at this point I'm not sure if I want to pursue veterinary school, or complete a vet tech program in my area. I've read a lot on this forum about vet vs vet tech but I'm really looking for more information about zoo and/or wildlife medicine!

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[<3Ivy<3]

I am currently in vet school and have been considering becoming a zoo vet. They lady I talked to had to do an internship for 3 years before being accepted for a 3 year residency and she kinda of turned me away from wanting to do that because of the lack of work/life balance. But I love veterinary medicine regardless of what vet I become. So I wouldn't turn vet school away just because of not wanting to do one job but if its wildlife or nothing then maybe consider vet tech?

 

[pp9]

I have been considering vet school for a long time and I'm currently half-way through my undergraduate degree at a university. I am very interested in working with zoo animals and/or wildlife. But lately I have been rethinking vet school because of the debt, work/life balance, competition in zoo and wildlife medicine, and many other reasons. I don't know if I want the responsibility of diagnosing. I've been considering becoming a vet tech instead. I have not been able to shadow a zoo or wildlife vet, but I have volunteered at a zoo for several years and have worked closely with a wildlife rehabilitator in the area. I'm hoping to speak with someone about how much hands-on work is done in wildlife or zoo, vet vs vet tech: how much responsibility are the vet techs allowed to have? (In my experience: small, small animal practice = doctors perform "tech" responsibilities, large, small animal practice = techs perform "tech" responsbilities, large, small animal emergency facility = techs perform "tech" responsibilities). Not sure if there is such a variation in zoo or wildlife medicine!

I still want to work in veterinary medicine and with animals but at this point I'm not sure if I want to pursue veterinary school, or complete a vet tech program in my area. I've read a lot on this forum about vet vs vet tech but I'm really looking for more information about zoo and/or wildlife medicine!

1. Ask to shadow the vet at the zoo you volunteer at. You'll find that probably 70-80% of their time is paperwork and research. Make sure you think you could live with the day-to-day even though you're paid crap considering the level of training.
2. Zoo med is probably one of the most competitive areas of vet med, not even considering residency competition. There aren't a lot of jobs.
3. Residency competition is insane. Last year, there were 69 applicants for 4 open residencies. There haven't been any new residencies and there has been one that has been killed within the last several years. The zoo med boards exam is probably one of the top two hardest boards exams, although you don't have to be board-certified to work as a zoo vet.
4. Any vet can get wildlife time. Many local wildlife rehab centers would be head over heels if a vet volunteered a few hours a month, offered to see their patients at low/no cost, etc. That's a way to get your wildlife fix.
5. Shadow both techs and vets to determine which career might be the better fit for you. Also, the responsibilities of a tech can vary from place to place.
6. Have you considered a zoo tech? The competition is a bit less fierce, but the odds are still not all that great.

Ultimately, you need to decide if being a vet is right for you. Then you need to decide if you'd be okay doing anything but zoo/wildlife medicine. There are a lot of threads on this topic if you wanted to hear more opinions (search for them).