Would you do it over again?

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This is so sad...
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http://blog.vetprep.com/vet-school-would-you-do-it-again-why-so-many-are-saying-no

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I am a first year vet student looking for advice on wether to stay in school or not. I am a slightly older student,
I will be 31 when I graduate and worry about trying to have a family post vet school while also trying to start a career. I am an out-of-state vet student and will have close to $300,000+ of debt when it is all said and done. I fear that I wont ever make enough money to pay that back, especially if I work part-time while raising a family. My partner is an MD and has offered to allow me to quit school and be a stay at home parent. I am curious how other parents have dealt with a career and family. I never wanted to be a clinical vet, I am interested in pursuing lab animal medicine or research, but I realize now these careers probably don't have many part-time opportunities. These paths would also require residency or further schooling...

Do you have to go to residency right after school? Do people ever take some time off? I know for MDs you are expected to go right away. Any and all advice would be helpful. I dont know any female vets with children...so I am seeking thoughts from you all!
 
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I am a first year vet student looking for advice on wether to stay in school or not. I am a slightly older student,
I will be 31 when I graduate and worry about trying to have a family post vet school while also trying to start a career. I am an out-of-state vet student and will have close to $300,000+ of debt when it is all said and done. I fear that I wont ever make enough money to pay that back, especially if I work part-time while raising a family. My partner is an MD and has offered to allow me to quit school and be a stay at home parent. I am curious how other parents have dealt with a career and family. I never wanted to be a clinical vet, I am interested in pursuing lab animal medicine or research, but I realize now these careers probably don't have many part-time opportunities. These paths would also require residency or further schooling...

Do you have to go to residency right after school? Do people ever take some time off? I know for MDs you are expected to go right away. Any and all advice would be helpful. I dont know any female vets with children...so I am seeking thoughts from you all!
I have known some female vets who works as a relief vet or part time in small animal clinic, for lab animal medicine you can have some experience and work in research facility so many universities have a research place dont stress yourself out for a specialty in that matter
 
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I am a first year vet student looking for advice on wether to stay in school or not. I am a slightly older student,
I will be 31 when I graduate and worry about trying to have a family post vet school while also trying to start a career. I am an out-of-state vet student and will have close to $300,000+ of debt when it is all said and done. I fear that I wont ever make enough money to pay that back, especially if I work part-time while raising a family. My partner is an MD and has offered to allow me to quit school and be a stay at home parent. I am curious how other parents have dealt with a career and family. I never wanted to be a clinical vet, I am interested in pursuing lab animal medicine or research, but I realize now these careers probably don't have many part-time opportunities. These paths would also require residency or further schooling...

Do you have to go to residency right after school? Do people ever take some time off? I know for MDs you are expected to go right away. Any and all advice would be helpful. I dont know any female vets with children...so I am seeking thoughts from you all!
While it does seem to be trending towards residency, not all lab animal vets go that route. In fact, I was just chatting with one at UMN who was telling me a lot of smaller biomedical companies prefer non-boarded lab animal vets (because they can pay them less). A lot of those smaller places also don't have the need for full time vets and hire out consultant vets in order to meet the vet requirements. So, yes it would be possible to become a part-time non-boarded lab animal vet. Now, how easy it would be to find a job like that may be an entirely different story...

On another note, even if you don't pursue a residency you could still shoot for boarding as there is an experience route you could pursue. You have to work in the field for some time (6 years I think?) and have a publication, but if you meet those requirements you could still sit for boards without doing a residency.

Finally, I also know some people who had a child during their residency. While they didn't recommend it, it is doable.
 
I am a first year vet student looking for advice on wether to stay in school or not. I am a slightly older student,
I will be 31 when I graduate and worry about trying to have a family post vet school while also trying to start a career. I am an out-of-state vet student and will have close to $300,000+ of debt when it is all said and done. I fear that I wont ever make enough money to pay that back, especially if I work part-time while raising a family. My partner is an MD and has offered to allow me to quit school and be a stay at home parent. I am curious how other parents have dealt with a career and family. I never wanted to be a clinical vet, I am interested in pursuing lab animal medicine or research, but I realize now these careers probably don't have many part-time opportunities. These paths would also require residency or further schooling...

Do you have to go to residency right after school? Do people ever take some time off? I know for MDs you are expected to go right away. Any and all advice would be helpful. I dont know any female vets with children...so I am seeking thoughts from you all!

I'm certainly no expert, but I would expect PT lab animal jobs to be few and far between. Also, lab animal jobs in general are very limited and therefore you basically have to be willing to travel to wherever you get a job offer.

If you only plan to work PT, and your partner is going to be an MD, the reality is that you will be the "trailing spouse." In other words, it will only make sense in that situation that you will live where your husband has the best job offer and you'll just have to work at whatever job you can find in that location. I wouldn't say that finding a PT lab animal job in that situation would be impossible, but I would say that it is EXTREMELY unlikely. If working PT and being more committed to your family is your primary goal, I think you need to be prepared to do clinical practice. If your primary goal is lab animal medicine, then you will need to consider other possibilities such as whether your partner will follow you and be the "trailing spouse," whether you would be okay with living apart and not having kids, etc. You may luck out and be able to get all of your needs met, but it isn't likely. If it happens, yay! But you need to be prepared for if it doesn't and make sure that you're still comfortable with Plan B.

ETA: Sorry to be so practical and such a downer, but this two-professional family thing is really difficult. We make it work with both of us working full-time, but only because we have family in the area that can watch our daughter on short notice. And even with both of us working full-time, we still have to balance whose career comes first.... right now it's my husband's, so we're staying in an area with few opportunities for me so that he can work in a job that we feel passionate about.
 
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I'm certainly no expert, but I would expect PT lab animal jobs to be few and far between. Also, lab animal jobs in general are very limited and therefore you basically have to be willing to travel to wherever you get a job offer.

If you only plan to work PT, and your partner is going to be an MD, the reality is that you will be the "trailing spouse." In other words, it will only make sense in that situation that you will live where your husband has the best job offer and you'll just have to work at whatever job you can find in that location. I wouldn't say that finding a PT lab animal job in that situation would be impossible, but I would say that it is EXTREMELY unlikely. If working PT and being more committed to your family is your primary goal, I think you need to be prepared to do clinical practice. If your primary goal is lab animal medicine, then you will need to consider other possibilities such as whether your partner will follow you and be the "trailing spouse," whether you would be okay with living apart and not having kids, etc. You may luck out and be able to get all of your needs met, but it isn't likely. If it happens, yay! But you need to be prepared for if it doesn't and make sure that you're still comfortable with Plan B.

ETA: Sorry to be so practical and such a downer, but this two-professional family thing is really difficult. We make it work with both of us working full-time, but only because we have family in the area that can watch our daughter on short notice. And even with both of us working full-time, we still have to balance whose career comes first.... right now it's my husband's, so we're staying in an area with few opportunities for me so that he can work in a job that we feel passionate about.


No, I appreciate the honesty. I think my biggest concern is that I will never make enough money to pay off the extreme debt. Especially if I am working part time and don't do a residency. I have my doubts wether paying $350,000 for school is really worth it. My partner is totally willing to help pay off the debt but I feel like I should at least make enough money to pay off the debt and contribute to the family for it to be worth it.

But it is good to know that there are options for working part time in lab animal medicine. I think part of my doubt is I know clinical practice probably makes the most sense in my case, with my concerns about having children and having a somewhat flexible schedule, but I never had an interest in being a clinical vet and therefor have my doubts about paying so much to become one.

How have other people handled the debt?













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Ok.

I'll say this honestly @shipm724 , and please don't take offense because it isn't how this is intended.....but I absolutely couldn't fathom paying $350,000 to get a job I will only work part-time at.

I'm certainly no expert, but I would expect PT lab animal jobs to be few and far between. Also, lab animal jobs in general are very limited and therefore you basically have to be willing to travel to wherever you get a job offer.

If you only plan to work PT, and your partner is going to be an MD, the reality is that you will be the "trailing spouse." In other words, it will only make sense in that situation that you will live where your husband has the best job offer and you'll just have to work at whatever job you can find in that location. I wouldn't say that finding a PT lab animal job in that situation would be impossible, but I would say that it is EXTREMELY unlikely. If working PT and being more committed to your family is your primary goal, I think you need to be prepared to do clinical practice. If your primary goal is lab animal medicine, then you will need to consider other possibilities such as whether your partner will follow you and be the "trailing spouse," whether you would be okay with living apart and not having kids, etc. You may luck out and be able to get all of your needs met, but it isn't likely. If it happens, yay! But you need to be prepared for if it doesn't and make sure that you're still comfortable with Plan B.

ETA: Sorry to be so practical and such a downer, but this two-professional family thing is really difficult. We make it work with both of us working full-time, but only because we have family in the area that can watch our daughter on short notice. And even with both of us working full-time, we still have to balance whose career comes first.... right now it's my husband's, so we're staying in an area with few opportunities for me so that he can work in a job that we feel passionate about.

I very much agree. I can't think of any lab animal positions that are "part-time", even if you chose to take the experience route over the residency route.

That being said, working part-time isn't a necessity with kids. Of course, if that is your decision and you want to do that, I respect that - but it doesn't have to be that way. Millions of people work full-time and have perfectly well-adjusted kids.

Chickenlittle's mention of the "trailing spouse" is important. If you were to go lab animal, the places where you would work would be much more limited than your husband, who could likely work at any hospital anywhere as long as there is a job (I assume). I'm in a similar situation - I'm in pathology, and my husband is a computer engineer/software developer. My job prospects are much more limited than his because simply because my field is smaller, so more times than not he is the "trailing spouse." Luckily when we moved so I could do my research fellowship, he found a wonderful job that he loves...but it may not always be the case in the future. Like CL said, the dual-career relationship is always one where there needs to be lots of give and take.

You mention research - have you considered the PhD route? Graduate school, while very stressful and taxing, does have a bit more flexibility than other things. Of course, a PhD doesn't guarantee you a job anywhere either, and I've become a bit bitter over the entire degree itself, but that might also be a lower-cost option that could still provide you with a similar career with lab animals and such.
 
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No, I appreciate the honesty. I think my biggest concern is that I will never make enough money to pay off the extreme debt. Especially if I am working part time and don't do a residency. I have my doubts wether paying $350,000 for school is really worth it. My partner is totally willing to help pay off the debt but I feel like I should at least make enough money to pay off the debt and contribute to the family for it to be worth it.

But it is good to know that there are options for working part time in lab animal medicine. I think part of my doubt is I know clinical practice probably makes the most sense in my case, with my concerns about having children and having a somewhat flexible schedule, but I never had an interest in being a clinical vet and therefor have my doubts about paying so much to become one.

How have other people handled the debt?

I didn't say there ARE options for working PT in lab animal medicine. I said there might be. I live relatively close to one of Greer's facilities... they don't employ a FT vet and contract with a vet who comes in periodically to do health checks on their animals. Still, that vet only comes in once a month or so, so it's not like you could even make a dent in student loans with that. There are no other lab animal medicine employers in my area.

So, while I'm not going to say it's impossible, I would say that it is INSANELY unlikely that you'll find a PT lab animal medicine job. If working PT is your primary goal (which, again, is not a requirement for parenting, but seems to be something you're passionate about and I certainly understand that), you're more likely to end up working for Banfield. In my area, they tend to be the only ones who will hire new grads for anything less than a FT role.

If you don't want to be a clinical vet, don't go to vet school. I'm sure plenty of people will disagree with me, but I think there are too few non-clinical roles in vetmed to ever guarantee that you won't get stuck in clinical medicine... ESPECIALLY if you have limitations like a spouse's career or you wanting PT work. The people I know who ended up with the cool jobs (and really, there were very few who did... most of us with nontraditional dreams still ended up in clinical practice) had absolutely nothing tying them down - they could relocate anywhere, were willing to work any schedule, etc.
 
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I am still in undergrad and have been having doubts as to is vet school really worth it...just because of the debt to income ratio. I work as a PT receptionist at a small animal clinic since I'm in school full time. I have spoke with other vets as well and they say go for it anyway. Thoughts on this?
 
I am still in undergrad and have been having doubts as to is vet school really worth it...just because of the debt to income ratio. I work as a PT receptionist at a small animal clinic since I'm in school full time. I have spoke with other vets as well and they say go for it anyway. Thoughts on this?

I think a common piece of advice around here is that if there is something else you could be equally happy doing, then pursue that instead. The debt:income ratio is a big deal and it is wise to consider all of your options before committing to it.

I don't think it's wrong at all to look around and see if there is something else you are equally interested in. If not, then vet school could be the right path, debt and all. Take some time and do your due diligence. That's what I would recommend.
 
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I am still in undergrad and have been having doubts as to is vet school really worth it...just because of the debt to income ratio. I work as a PT receptionist at a small animal clinic since I'm in school full time. I have spoke with other vets as well and they say go for it anyway. Thoughts on this?
Vet school being 'worth it' is a highly individual opinion. Overall, we all deal with the stress/debt/poor salary, but one person may think it was worth it while another may not. It requires a bit of foresight on your part to determine if you're willing/able to deal with student debt and a high stress job for little pay. I agree with the due diligence part. Crunch numbers and find out what student loan payments are really like and how long you could be making them, and determine if it's worth it to you.
 
I love being a small animal vet and I would certainly do it all over again, but ONLY if I had the same financial help and in-state tuition that I received 6 years ago. I work in NYC and had just under $100k in student loan debt when I got out of school 2.5 years ago. I knew debt would affect my ability to live a comfortable life so I took a GP job that required one night a week overnight emergency work. I was paid more than double what I would have made as an intern, but I still worked with several very experienced specialists and had time to learn on the job and I managed many hospitalized cases from blocked cats to GDVs to bloats, etc. It was a hard year and I had to leave that job because I was getting burnt out. Still, even with a decent salary, paying close to $1000/month in loans (because I don't want to be paying those off for more than 12 years) it was barely enough to get by with the high cost of living.

A little more than 2 years out and I'm doing slightly better and I know my loans will be paid off some time in the next decade allowing me to invest in a home (but not in NYC!) or consider ownership opportunities for investment. As much as I love vetmed, if I was facing $250,000+ in debt after graduation without some sugar momma hooking me up, I'd certainly think twice about this field because having job satisfaction is great and all, but that doesn't pay the bills. If you are thinking about starting a family, owning a home, or buying your own clinic, make sure you're not deep in the hole or you will be living like a college student for a looooongg time, unless you live in a very low-cost part of the country. Some of my colleagues had their parents pay for all of their education and I'm a little jealous that they can start investing years before I can ever afford to do so.

As doctors we should be able to live comfortably, save for retirement, go out to eat on occasion, and go on vacations when we need them. If you can't do that with all that education then you're going to resent all the hard work you do day-in and day-out and all the years of school you put into your dream only to barely scrape by. I feel like that is a recipe for disaster and there's already enough compassion fatigue in our field. You gotta think of your future happiness long and hard before you commit yourself to something this big.
 
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Note: Have graduated, haven't started working yet.

I would probably do it over again if I had no debt coming out. I would still probably go straight into practice after graduation. Reasons being, I have a couple specialties that I would be interested in. I would also prefer to start working and making a decent salary. And it would also just come down to the fact that I was so over the academic side of medicine and I was just ready to get out of there and to private practice (and yes, I know internships can be done at private practice specialty clinics, I still just, I dunno, just got tired of the constant ivory towerness of specialty med).

:laugh:

Updating this......there isn't enough money in the world that you could pay me to do it again.
 
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I would do it all over again. But I'm very lucky in that I got matched to a residency program that I love (so actually enjoy coming to work most days), have a supportive husband (both emotionally and financially), have a pretty solid 8-5 work schedule (with some after-hours reading and rarely on call) and did not have to do an internship (plus this field has higher paying residencies than others). A lot of my current life would not be at all possible if I didn't have my husband's support and I fully recognize that.
 
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I'm getting to the point where I really don't know anymore. I really don't. I'm very tired (mentally, emotionally, physically), very poor, and most of the time feel like a half-paralyzed, starving horse slinging itself futilely up a hill that it doesn't even particularly want to go up anymore.
 
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Still wouldn't do it again.

On the plus side, my side hustle income is gradually becoming ever-closer to my FT job income.... so the ability to quit clinical practice and focus on writing and consulting is actually starting to seem within grasp!! (Well, as long as the ACA sticks around... so we have an option for getting health insurance without me working full-time. If the ACA goes away and the AVMA doesn't hop back into offering a group plan, we'll be screwed and I'll be stuck in practice indefinitely. Or at least until we can afford for me to quit vet work and take a job as a middle-school science teacher.)

The DVM is what has helped me get the writing/consulting jobs, so at least it wasn't a complete waste.
 
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There are days I joke how I'd like to go back to vet school or especially undergrad where there were less responsibilities, but I don't think I would do it again at this point either. I feel like I could find a job outside of vet med that I enjoyed or tolerated well enough and made a decent living with better quality of life/work-life balance. I'm quite burned out by residency right now too and feel really poor since I burned through most of my savings on medical expenses for my dog (which I don't regret at all), so that may contribute. Residency has lost its luster, but I still want to be a clinical pathologist so I'll stick it out.
 
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Not done 4th year yet but so far, I'd tell my 17 yr old self to pick something else to do. I doubt practice is going to be awesome enough to change my mind at this point.

Enjoying animals without being a veterinarian seemed impossible back then but I really wish I would have taken that route instead.
 
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Wow, I had no idea this thread was 2 years old! Interesting to read the responses now.
 
I'm pretty down on it. I love the medical aspect of it, and I really enjoy emergency medicine and critical care. And I'm not half bad at it, whereas I would suck at a LOT of other veterinary disciplines (especially anything requiring intricate surgery - fortunately, all of the ER surgical procedures are pretty amenable to no-finesse types like me - or anything requiring actual smarts.).

But I find the discouraging aspects too discouraging. Too many dickhead owners who are just so sure that "doing their research" (code for "I googled") makes them more knowledgeable. Too many ***** breeders telling people vets don't know anything. Too many entitled folks who feel we somehow "owe" them free/discount care or else we are only in it for the money (even though saving money for THEIR pet's animal care doesn't seem to be a priority). Too many veterinary practices that talk the talk about quality of life, but still don't do fundamental things like offer paid vacation. Too many veterinarians committing suicide. Too many people wanting me to give them free advice the SECOND they find out I'm a veterinarian - even if they don't know me from Adam. Too many high school classmates I haven't talked to in 20 years sending me PMs with "Hey, so I have a question about my cat....." (and they can't even be bothered to say "Hey! LIS! How are you doing?" first.) Too many "check ear" presentations at 4-****ing-AM when I FINALLY got to sleep after one last check on my inpatients so I can try and catch at least an hour or two before getting up to deal with morning emergencies + rounds + calling owners of inpatients.

Meh. The medicine is cool. The things we can do are amazing. But the overall culture/environment/quality of life ... not really worth it.

And that's coming from someone making easily twice the average out of school. So it's not just the money.

Wow, I had no idea this thread was 2 years old! Interesting to read the responses now.

For sure. And the longer I do it, the more I wish I hadn't, so my opinion has evolved. I definitely needed a career change - I don't regret leaving my last career - but more and more I wish I had done something entrepreneurial (I'm just not sure what).

But, yanno, there are some people who really love this field, love doing it, and wouldn't change a thing. So. *shrug*
 
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I'm pretty down on it. I love the medical aspect of it, and I really enjoy emergency medicine and critical care. And I'm not half bad at it, whereas I would suck at a LOT of other veterinary disciplines (especially anything requiring intricate surgery - fortunately, all of the ER surgical procedures are pretty amenable to no-finesse types like me - or anything requiring actual smarts.).

But I find the discouraging aspects too discouraging. Too many dickhead owners who are just so sure that "doing their research" (code for "I googled") makes them more knowledgeable. Too many ***** breeders telling people vets don't know anything. Too many entitled folks who feel we somehow "owe" them free/discount care or else we are only in it for the money (even though saving money for THEIR pet's animal care doesn't seem to be a priority). Too many veterinary practices that talk the talk about quality of life, but still don't do fundamental things like offer paid vacation. Too many veterinarians committing suicide. Too many people wanting me to give them free advice the SECOND they find out I'm a veterinarian - even if they don't know me from Adam. Too many high school classmates I haven't talked to in 20 years sending me PMs with "Hey, so I have a question about my cat....." (and they can't even be bothered to say "Hey! LIS! How are you doing?" first.) Too many "check ear" presentations at 4-****ing-AM when I FINALLY got to sleep after one last check on my inpatients so I can try and catch at least an hour or two before getting up to deal with morning emergencies + rounds + calling owners of inpatients.

Meh. The medicine is cool. The things we can do are amazing. But the overall culture/environment/quality of life ... not really worth it.

And that's coming from someone making easily twice the average out of school. So it's not just the money.



For sure. And the longer I do it, the more I wish I hadn't, so my opinion has evolved. I definitely needed a career change - I don't regret leaving my last career - but more and more I wish I had done something entrepreneurial (I'm just not sure what).

But, yanno, there are some people who really love this field, love doing it, and wouldn't change a thing. So. *shrug*

All of the bolded above. I also make well above the average for a GP recently out of school, but I don't think it is worth it. I really don't. However I am in the middle of changing jobs currently and we'll see how the new one goes. Hopefully well, if not have some other ideas within vet med still but I've seriously thought about jumping ship completely, don't know to what but I do know I can't just keep plugging away as I am now if I don't start enjoying it more because I will spiral further into depression. Loans are keeping me tied to vet med currently but I might have to take a leap of faith and try something else despite that.

For all the "there is no vet shortage" we've mentioned.... there is a serious small animal vet shortage in this region, places are desperate for vets... which is good for finding jobs, bad for work balance.
 
I'm still a few months away from graduation so I have yet to experience what being a veterinarian is actually like, but at this point in time - yes I would do it all over again. I can't imagine myself doing anything else. But I'm also fortunate enough to have gotten into my in-province school so my student debt is pretty insignificant ($45k for undergrad and vet school) compared to a lot of Americans/students who went abroad.

I totally forgot that I had posted in this thread before 2 years ago. I would still do it again but only if I was guaranteed the same route (vet school->internship->residency). These past 2 years have only shown me that I have zero desire to be a GP nor do I think I have the mental fortitude to be one.
 
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Out of curiosity, I popped over to a thread similar to this one on the human medicine side of SDN, and the general consensus there was that they wouldn't do it over again, either.
My SO a year ago quit his job as a software developer for a larger company to pursue his dream of starting his own tech company. While they've had an overall successful first year, he frequently expresses regret over the salary cut he took to do it, and how often it's required him to work multiple days straight with no sleep.

I've had more days than I can count that I regretted choosing vet school. These 2 years have been the most demoralizing years of my life so far, hands down. But, I think it's easy for us to slip into a "grass is greener" outlook when we look at the other careers we could have pursued, when IMO the reality is that it's just grueling, exhausting work to be successful in any field. I like to think I would have been happier pursuing something else, but the more people I meet that are my age and *did* pursue something else, and are equally as stressed, poor, and depressed, the more doubtful I am that it's my specific field to blame.
 
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Out of curiosity, I popped over to a thread similar to this one on the human medicine side of SDN, and the general consensus there was that they wouldn't do it over again, either.
My SO a year ago quit his job as a software developer for a larger company to pursue his dream of starting his own tech company. While they've had an overall successful first year, he frequently expresses regret over the salary cut he took to do it, and how often it's required him to work multiple days straight with no sleep.

I've had more days than I can count that I regretted choosing vet school. But, I think it's easy for us to slip into a "grass is greener" outlook when we look at the other careers we could have pursued, when IMO the reality is that it's just grueling, exhausting work to be successful, in any field.
Problem is those fields don't accuse day in and day out of not loving animals since we charge a fee and the other blatant, purposeful ignorance people shove down a veterinarian's throat. I think most people here have expressed they love the medicine side of the job, but the human element turns it sour quickly.
 
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Problem is those fields don't accuse day in and day out of not loving animals since we charge a fee and the other blatant, purposeful ignorance people shove down a veterinarian's throat. I think most people here have expressed they love the medicine side of the job, but the human element turns it sour quickly.

Interestingly, those actually were similar to the complains from the human med side. People sanctifying nurses but demonizing doctors, or people claiming that doctors are in it for the money while XYZ natural treatment they found on Google is worth more than the expertise of someone with 10+ years of training, people refusing to pay copays when they're already sheltered from a lot of the true costs of medicine thanks to insurance...the list goes on.
 
Interestingly, those actually were similar to the complains from the human med side. People sanctifying nurses but demonizing doctors, or people claiming that doctors are in it for the money while XYZ natural treatment they found on Google is worth more than the expertise of someone with 10+ years of training.
Yes, I certainly understand that. But that is why I am saying the medical field has the regrets that don't match what you are saying about the greener pasture necessarily. Pretty sure most knew it would be hard work and long hours to be successful, but underestimated the powerful role people have in turning something you love into something you hate and would not do over again.
 
Out of curiosity, I popped over to a thread similar to this one on the human medicine side of SDN, and the general consensus there was that they wouldn't do it over again, either.
My SO a year ago quit his job as a software developer for a larger company to pursue his dream of starting his own tech company. While they've had an overall successful first year, he frequently expresses regret over the salary cut he took to do it, and how often it's required him to work multiple days straight with no sleep.

I've had more days than I can count that I regretted choosing vet school. These 2 years have been the most demoralizing years of my life so far, hands down. But, I think it's easy for us to slip into a "grass is greener" outlook when we look at the other careers we could have pursued, when IMO the reality is that it's just grueling, exhausting work to be successful in any field. I like to think I would have been happier pursuing something else, but the more people I meet that are my age and *did* pursue something else, and are equally as stressed, poor, and depressed, the more doubtful I am that it's my specific field to blame.

Statistics actually show this (the part I bolded) isn't true. Veterinarians have a suicide rate 4x higher than the general public and twice as high as MDs. It really is specific to this field.
 
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Statistics actually show this (the part I bolded) isn't true. Veterinarians have a suicide rate 4x higher than the general public and twice as high as MDs. It really is specific to this field.
My comment was more intended to discourage people from looking at other fields with rose-colored glasses just because they're doubting their current career choice. Like someone earlier posted about wishing they'd done something more entrepreneurial instead, as if that's somehow less miserable, and all I can think about is my SO taking the entrepreneurial route, losing 20 pounds in a year because of the stress, and worrying about reaching the end of his company's funding in 2 days for the nth time this year. All I meant to point out was that I found it interesting that regret over career choice (in more than just vet med) is more widespread than I expected it to be. It was not my intention to belittle the mental health issues in our profession.
 
Interestingly, those actually were similar to the complains from the human med side. People sanctifying nurses but demonizing doctors, or people claiming that doctors are in it for the money while XYZ natural treatment they found on Google is worth more than the expertise of someone with 10+ years of training, people refusing to pay copays when they're already sheltered from a lot of the true costs of medicine thanks to insurance...the list goes on.

Exactly. Similar complaints: 2-5x the money.

I'm not saying that would make it worth it, but it at least makes it a bit better over there. The grass may not be green enough over there, but it certainly is greener. Given the money, the higher suicide rate in vet med ... I think it's pretty hard to argue otherwise.

(Just as one totally random data point, my MD sister says if she was to do it all over again, she'd be an RN.)
 
My comment was more intended to discourage people from looking at other fields with rose-colored glasses just because they're doubting their current career choice.

I'm the one who said something about doing something entrepreneurial. I don't think I said anything anywhere that could have reasonably been interpreted as saying "gosh, everything would be wonderful in any other career" or anything remotely like that. Keep in mind, I come FROM another career of 17 years. So I'm pretty sure I know a thing or two about non-medical careers, and I'm pretty sure I understand the concept of rose-tinted glasses.

I think you kinda missed the point overall. People were asking about whether practicing vets would do vet med all over again. Not whether every (or any) other career was necessarily better.
 
I think you kinda missed the point overall. People were asking about whether practicing vets would do vet med all over again. Not whether every (or any) other career was necessarily better.

Sorry, that was definitely the impression I was getting after stumbling on this thread for the first time. Didn't mean to make people get defensive, I honestly found it encouraging that career regret isn't unique to the field I chose.
 
Exactly. Similar complaints: 2-5x the money.

Exactly. Hence my surprise at the discovery that most of them still said they'd say "no" to medicine if given a re-do.
Granted, I don't know what the sample size of a single SDN forum post is worth, but it was still more than I expected when I clicked on it.
 
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Exactly. Hence my surprise at the discovery that most of them still said they'd say "no" to medicine if given a re-do.
Granted, I don't know what the sample size of a single SDN forum post is worth, but it was still more than I expected when I clicked on it.

Yeah. It goes a long ways towards supporting the old "money isn't everything" bit .... I mean, even my sister says "nope" to doing it again as an MD.

All in all, I think medicine is becoming a bum deal.

In <vet med> specifically, I wonder what the "no thx!" rate would look like if it were subdivided out into GP, boarded specialists, etc.
 
Sorry, that was definitely the impression I was getting after stumbling on this thread for the first time. Didn't mean to make people get defensive, I honestly found it encouraging that career regret isn't unique to the field I chose.

Hell no it isn't - I completely agree with you. I mean, I left my old non-medicine career. But for completely different reasons. I mean, it was pure boredom. I got paid really well, had 7 weeks vacation a year, could work from home, pick 'n choose my projects, wear what I wanted. Sounds pretty damn nice, eh? I'd show up to work around 9-10AM, "work" a few hours (check email, chat with a buddy), go out for a long lunch, come back, putter around on the Internet for a couple more hours, and then leave.

I wanted to pull my hair out it was so boring. The job was cool the first decade or so when we had funding to do development and we were creating cool new Internet-related stuff and I was traveling around the U.S. giving talks on developing some of these engineering projects. But then once the focus shifted and money went away and it became lifecycle management (i.e. "keep the lights on") .... holy cow, literally a day didn't go by where I kept asking myself "is this really what I want to look back on when I'm 70?"

Every career can have regret. But I think the percentage in vet med - not to mention the suicide rate - is startling and discouraging compared to other careers.

I think the takeaway for someone like you who is in the pipeline (assuming your profile is accurate) isn't "oh my god, run away and quit while you can." It's be pretty focused on finding a spot in vet med that <really> agrees with you that you really like. Consider specializing (they seem to enjoy their lives a bit more - probably because their client headache rate is somewhat lower than the rest of us, and because in the long run they make more money).
 
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Man it's been a long time since I've checked in here, but kind of timely since this was the exact thread I was looking out for to see how everyone was doing. I think my answer at this point is yes I would do it over again.

It's been a whirlwind the past 3 years since graduation, but I've settled into a career and am mostly preoccupied with figuring out planning my life and secondarily what I want to do with my career.

I'm feeling pretty good about things in terms of my competence overall as a GP. My intentions were never to go into private practice because I never wanted to really deal with clients, but I've been amazed at how much I actually enjoy client interactions. There's maybe one client a week that annoys me enough to really bother me, but a vast majority of my interactions are very positive. It's pretty rare that a client pisses me off. Many older wiser vets have told me that something happened around 3 yrs of practice that made them feel settled clinically, and it's totally been the case for me. I don't think I was ever truly incompetent or anything, but over the past 6 months or so I've really gotten to the point that I don't feel any sort of anxiety going into any sort of appointment. I've gotten to the point where I feel like I could be the only dr on and I would be totally comfortable dealing with whatever is thrown my way. I feel like a pretty good doctor (and no longer an imposter), and that's a ****ing awesome feeling.

That being said, it's certainly not all sunshines and roses. I kind of hate my current hospital, and wish I could be elsewhere. The quality of medicine at this hospital is phenomenal, but management sucks. We are so short on techs, and the front desk is incompetent as ****. Like legit awful. It's kind of like when you go to a chain restaurant and get the stupidest waitress on the face of the planet, and you wonder how this level of incompetence is possible. That's my reception team in a nutshell. The whole management team also consists mostly of members that do not deserve much respect from the rest of the employees. It's bad. So for these reasons, the inefficiencies of this hospital really limits the number of patients I can see in a day. I actually switched jobs for a shorter commute and I highly regret it. And it turns out I ended up taking a pretty steep pay cut for it. Unfortunately it's way too far to go back. I come in every day fantasizing about putting in my notice.

I only work 4 days a week, but I literally live at the hospital for super long shifts that never end. And it's exhausting. I don't know for how long I can keep that up. And that's where the question comes in... what am I going to do? I'm at that point where I am ready to start popping out kids. I kind of need to before my biologic clock runs out. But I can't entirely stop working. Do I suck it up and continue at this place I don't want to be, possibly part time? Do I end up just doing relief? Or do I try to pursue something I really enjoy like dentistry and try to do a residency? Who knows, but money has to factor in somewhere...

Speaking of money, honestly that's probably one of the biggest reasons I can say I would do it over again. I have to admit, I've been quite fortunate financially, so while I'm dependent on working to stay afloat, it's not a huge stress for me. My parents footed roughly half of my vet school bills, and I had no undergrad debt. I'm not earning nearly as much as my friends who are also GPs in a similar location, but I'm still doing okay and earning >$100k in a semi-high cost of living area (pretty high overall but not like SF or NYC crazy). And my fiancé also has a substantial income, though it's less than mine. So while living a super modest lifestyle for 3 years, I was able to pay $156k back on my student loans since graduation. By paying waaay more than required each month I was able to pay $125k in principle, and have just $32k left. I totally could have just paid that all off, but I ended up buying a $400k house instead with 20% down (that cash came from my fiancé as my bank account is perpetually empty). So I'm beyond comfortable. But with how much I'm putting into my mortgage, student loans, car payments, home renovations, utilities, and all the insurances (car, home, life, disability, malpractice)... my monthly expenses BEFORE other ancillary living costs are >$6000/month. (If we really wanted to, we could lower it to $3500-4000/month) So I need to continue working. The crazy thing is, we are by no means living an extravagant lifestyle. Like, this is the crappy house in the neighborhood... it's just a high cost of living area. Cable TV is likely a luxury we will never have. And the cost of adding a child is daunting. As is the knowledge that I'm way behind on my retirement account. So the finances are stressful for sure, but compared to where things could be, I'm quite well off. It's the struggle of the upper middle class in America, which really isn't a horrible place to be. My income as a vet is high enough that I can't think of too many other things I would rather be doing at the same income level or higher, and my debt burden isn't high enough for me to have serious regrets.

Overall i am so into being a veterinarian that it's the core of my being. likely unhealthy, but it is what it is. I live and breathe it. Aside from the poor management/staff issues, and work-life balance issues to an extent, I actually really enjoy what I do. I honestly don't know what I would be doing if I weren't a vet.
 
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Man it's been a long time since I've checked in here, but kind of timely since this was the exact thread I was looking out for to see how everyone was doing. I think my answer at this point is yes I would do it over again.

It's been a whirlwind the past 3 years since graduation, but I've settled into a career and am mostly preoccupied with figuring out planning my life and secondarily what I want to do with my career.

I'm feeling pretty good about things in terms of my competence overall as a GP. My intentions were never to go into private practice because I never wanted to really deal with clients, but I've been amazed at how much I actually enjoy client interactions. There's maybe one client a week that annoys me enough to really bother me, but a vast majority of my interactions are very positive. It's pretty rare that a client pisses me off. Many older wiser vets have told me that something happened around 3 yrs of practice that made them feel settled clinically, and it's totally been the case for me. I don't think I was ever truly incompetent or anything, but over the past 6 months or so I've really gotten to the point that I don't feel any sort of anxiety going into any sort of appointment. I've gotten to the point where I feel like I could be the only dr on and I would be totally comfortable dealing with whatever is thrown my way. I feel like a pretty good doctor (and no longer an imposter), and that's a ****ing awesome feeling.

That being said, it's certainly not all sunshines and roses. I kind of hate my current hospital, and wish I could be elsewhere. The quality of medicine at this hospital is phenomenal, but management sucks. We are so short on techs, and the front desk is incompetent as ****. Like legit awful. It's kind of like when you go to a chain restaurant and get the stupidest waitress on the face of the planet, and you wonder how this level of incompetence is possible. That's my reception team in a nutshell. The whole management team also consists mostly of members that do not deserve much respect from the rest of the employees. It's bad. So for these reasons, the inefficiencies of this hospital really limits the number of patients I can see in a day. I actually switched jobs for a shorter commute and I highly regret it. And it turns out I ended up taking a pretty steep pay cut for it. Unfortunately it's way too far to go back. I come in every day fantasizing about putting in my notice.

I only work 4 days a week, but I literally live at the hospital for super long shifts that never end. And it's exhausting. I don't know for how long I can keep that up. And that's where the question comes in... what am I going to do? I'm at that point where I am ready to start popping out kids. I kind of need to before my biologic clock runs out. But I can't entirely stop working. Do I suck it up and continue at this place I don't want to be, possibly part time? Do I end up just doing relief? Or do I try to pursue something I really enjoy like dentistry and try to do a residency? Who knows, but money has to factor in somewhere...

Speaking of money, honestly that's probably one of the biggest reasons I can say I would do it over again. I have to admit, I've been quite fortunate financially, so while I'm dependent on working to stay afloat, it's not a huge stress for me. My parents footed roughly half of my vet school bills, and I had no undergrad debt. I'm not earning nearly as much as my friends who are also GPs in a similar location, but I'm still doing okay and earning >$100k in a semi-high cost of living area (pretty high overall but not like SF or NYC crazy). And my fiancé also has a substantial income, though it's less than mine. So while living a super modest lifestyle for 3 years, I was able to pay $156k back on my student loans since graduation. By paying waaay more than required each month I was able to pay $125k in principle, and have just $32k left. I totally could have just paid that all off, but I ended up buying a $400k house instead with 20% down (that cash came from my fiancé as my bank account is perpetually empty). So I'm beyond comfortable. But with how much I'm putting into my mortgage, student loans, car payments, home renovations, utilities, and all the insurances (car, home, life, disability, malpractice)... my monthly expenses BEFORE other ancillary living costs are >$6000/month. (If we really wanted to, we could lower it to $3500-4000/month) So I need to continue working. The crazy thing is, we are by no means living an extravagant lifestyle. Like, this is the crappy house in the neighborhood... it's just a high cost of living area. Cable TV is likely a luxury we will never have. And the cost of adding a child is daunting. As is the knowledge that I'm way behind on my retirement account. So the finances are stressful for sure, but compared to where things could be, I'm quite well off. It's the struggle of the upper middle class in America, which really isn't a horrible place to be. My income as a vet is high enough that I can't think of too many other things I would rather be doing at the same income level or higher, and my debt burden isn't high enough for me to have serious regrets.

Overall i am so into being a veterinarian that it's the core of my being. likely unhealthy, but it is what it is. I live and breathe it. Aside from the poor management/staff issues, and work-life balance issues to an extent, I actually really enjoy what I do. I honestly don't know what I would be doing if I weren't a vet.

Good to hear from you, been a while! Glad things are going well for you. :)
 
.....the front desk is incompetent as ****. Like legit awful. It's kind of like when you go to a chain restaurant and get the stupidest waitress on the face of the planet, and you wonder how this level of incompetence is possible. That's my reception team in a nutshell.
I did relief in one clinic where I was thought surely the assistant must be having an affair with the boss......because that was the only reason I could think of that a vet would keep someone so incompetent and stupid working there. LOL. (In actual fact, I have no idea if she was having an affair or not.)

I'm glad you're happy as a vet. I too found client interactions much better than I ever expected them to be.
 
Man it's been a long time since I've checked in here, but kind of timely since this was the exact thread I was looking out for to see how everyone was doing. I think my answer at this point is yes I would do it over again.

It's been a whirlwind the past 3 years since graduation, but I've settled into a career and am mostly preoccupied with figuring out planning my life and secondarily what I want to do with my career.

I'm feeling pretty good about things in terms of my competence overall as a GP. My intentions were never to go into private practice because I never wanted to really deal with clients, but I've been amazed at how much I actually enjoy client interactions. There's maybe one client a week that annoys me enough to really bother me, but a vast majority of my interactions are very positive. It's pretty rare that a client pisses me off. Many older wiser vets have told me that something happened around 3 yrs of practice that made them feel settled clinically, and it's totally been the case for me. I don't think I was ever truly incompetent or anything, but over the past 6 months or so I've really gotten to the point that I don't feel any sort of anxiety going into any sort of appointment. I've gotten to the point where I feel like I could be the only dr on and I would be totally comfortable dealing with whatever is thrown my way. I feel like a pretty good doctor (and no longer an imposter), and that's a ****ing awesome feeling.

That being said, it's certainly not all sunshines and roses. I kind of hate my current hospital, and wish I could be elsewhere. The quality of medicine at this hospital is phenomenal, but management sucks. We are so short on techs, and the front desk is incompetent as ****. Like legit awful. It's kind of like when you go to a chain restaurant and get the stupidest waitress on the face of the planet, and you wonder how this level of incompetence is possible. That's my reception team in a nutshell. The whole management team also consists mostly of members that do not deserve much respect from the rest of the employees. It's bad. So for these reasons, the inefficiencies of this hospital really limits the number of patients I can see in a day. I actually switched jobs for a shorter commute and I highly regret it. And it turns out I ended up taking a pretty steep pay cut for it. Unfortunately it's way too far to go back. I come in every day fantasizing about putting in my notice.

I only work 4 days a week, but I literally live at the hospital for super long shifts that never end. And it's exhausting. I don't know for how long I can keep that up. And that's where the question comes in... what am I going to do? I'm at that point where I am ready to start popping out kids. I kind of need to before my biologic clock runs out. But I can't entirely stop working. Do I suck it up and continue at this place I don't want to be, possibly part time? Do I end up just doing relief? Or do I try to pursue something I really enjoy like dentistry and try to do a residency? Who knows, but money has to factor in somewhere...

Speaking of money, honestly that's probably one of the biggest reasons I can say I would do it over again. I have to admit, I've been quite fortunate financially, so while I'm dependent on working to stay afloat, it's not a huge stress for me. My parents footed roughly half of my vet school bills, and I had no undergrad debt. I'm not earning nearly as much as my friends who are also GPs in a similar location, but I'm still doing okay and earning >$100k in a semi-high cost of living area (pretty high overall but not like SF or NYC crazy). And my fiancé also has a substantial income, though it's less than mine. So while living a super modest lifestyle for 3 years, I was able to pay $156k back on my student loans since graduation. By paying waaay more than required each month I was able to pay $125k in principle, and have just $32k left. I totally could have just paid that all off, but I ended up buying a $400k house instead with 20% down (that cash came from my fiancé as my bank account is perpetually empty). So I'm beyond comfortable. But with how much I'm putting into my mortgage, student loans, car payments, home renovations, utilities, and all the insurances (car, home, life, disability, malpractice)... my monthly expenses BEFORE other ancillary living costs are >$6000/month. (If we really wanted to, we could lower it to $3500-4000/month) So I need to continue working. The crazy thing is, we are by no means living an extravagant lifestyle. Like, this is the crappy house in the neighborhood... it's just a high cost of living area. Cable TV is likely a luxury we will never have. And the cost of adding a child is daunting. As is the knowledge that I'm way behind on my retirement account. So the finances are stressful for sure, but compared to where things could be, I'm quite well off. It's the struggle of the upper middle class in America, which really isn't a horrible place to be. My income as a vet is high enough that I can't think of too many other things I would rather be doing at the same income level or higher, and my debt burden isn't high enough for me to have serious regrets.

Overall i am so into being a veterinarian that it's the core of my being. likely unhealthy, but it is what it is. I live and breathe it. Aside from the poor management/staff issues, and work-life balance issues to an extent, I actually really enjoy what I do. I honestly don't know what I would be doing if I weren't a vet.

Thanks for the update Minner - good to hear that overall you're happy with life
 
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I would do it again right now.

With big disclaimers: I'm remarkably lucky. I'm paid fairly and have a partner who makes a titch more than me, so together we're very financially secure. We have a nice townhome, I have a modest but new car (that I love stupidly) and don't really worry about money. I have less debt than most new grads and am paying it off easily on a 10y repayment. I don't like or want children. My work - renewed at the same clinic a year out - is decently scheduled and I'm constantly making small changes to make it better. I like my bosses (most days) and they let me do what I want medically as long as I own up to it; which I do. They know I'm not unreasonable and if I want something changed or a day off or whatever, it's because I think it's necessary.

Our staff members are nice. My clients rarely have all the money in the world, but the vast majority care and do what they can. And they come to our clinic not because we're cheap - because we're not - but because we take time with them (and because we'll see them... only clinic in the city that sees exotics, which was one of my hard requirements for a job when I was searching). Everything isn't perfect, but I'm really pretty happy where I am and what I'm doing.

So yeah, I'd do it again right now. But I'm malleable and could have definitely done other things in my life. And if my choice was $200-300k in debt to do it, I wouldn't have, because I'm probably not going to do this forever just because of my personality. But I knew that when I applied to only my IS and it hasn't changed.
 
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I’d still do it over again. The debt thing has gotten suckier and more of a PITA than it was last time I posted in this thread. But I still enjoy what I do on a day to day basis, and honestly, the majority of my clients are great so I try not to let the bad ones drag me down.


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Every now and then I have days where I think "If I could go back in time, I'd tell high school me to ignore university, go to community college and learn a trade." Same per hour rate around here, barely any debt, start my life at 20 instead of 30.

Or I'd try for an MD instead of a DVM. Higher pay, more available debt relief.

But on the whole, I love what I do and I would do it again, especially since I quit the toxic job and moved back home. I make a decent income and I am steadily paying off my debt. But I'm definitely behind the eight ball in some aspects. I'm really only starting to date now (partially due to the time suck of vet school and the first two years working, and partially due to personal reasons), so if I get married and if I have kids, it's going to be much later than most people. And I live in a higher cost of living area, so buying a home will be way down the road, and kids won't be financially feasible for awhile either. So yes, I'd still do it again, but I'd make some different choices along the way.
 
I'd do it again. However, there are a lot more things to consider than only the financial aspect. What are the career goals, GP / ER or aiming at board certification? Family situation? why do you want to be a veterinarian? do you really need to be a vet to do the type of work you want? some people get into vet school only to find out they could be doing something else. How do you feel about the constant stress and the fact the profession has one of the largest suicide rates?

All these and others must be considered and are highly variable between individuals .
 
I am speaking from an Australian perspective and I say yes. It is because the veterinary degree is truly a jack of all trades degree, it puts you in a unique position that is not afforded to the typical Bachelor of Science degree. You learn anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, anesthesia, internal medicine, surgery, public health, pathology, etc which other degree gives you so many insights? Even if being a small animal clinician sucks (I am now a government vet) you can still do so many things with it, it is up to you to get creative.

Dont limit yourself to clinical practice, step out and try something else. Vets are found in almost all kinds of industry, even the ones not remotely related to animals
 
I am speaking from an Australian perspective and I say yes. It is because the veterinary degree is truly a jack of all trades degree, it puts you in a unique position that is not afforded to the typical Bachelor of Science degree. You learn anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, anesthesia, internal medicine, surgery, public health, pathology, etc which other degree gives you so many insights? Even if being a small animal clinician sucks (I am now a government vet) you can still do so many things with it, it is up to you to get creative.

Dont limit yourself to clinical practice, step out and try something else. Vets are found in almost all kinds of industry, even the ones not remotely related to animals

So by knowing a little about a lot it makes you knowledgeable and employable in every field that does not require a license like being a practitioner of medicine (human or veterinary) or dentistry etc. Your argument and the argument advanced by every veterinary school in the world is full of BS because honestly every field in veterinary medicine advances because people decide to concentrate their intellectual efforts(and time) in one field instead of spreading their time and effort over all of those fields you mentioned. And it makes no sense spending 150-200K to get essentially a BS degree in general animal studies when the marketplace of jobs more often than not requires specialized knowledge and skill. The jack of all trades curriculum of veterinary schools makes no sense today, especially when every veterinary professor teaching this gained their position in the academia by becoming a specialist.
 
So by knowing a little about a lot it makes you knowledgeable and employable in every field that does not require a license like being a practitioner of medicine (human or veterinary) or dentistry etc. Your argument and the argument advanced by every veterinary school in the world is full of BS because honestly every field in veterinary medicine advances because people decide to concentrate their intellectual efforts(and time) in one field instead of spreading their time and effort over all of those fields you mentioned. And it makes no sense spending 150-200K to get essentially a BS degree in general animal studies when the marketplace of jobs more often than not requires specialized knowledge and skill. The jack of all trades curriculum of veterinary schools makes no sense today, especially when every veterinary professor teaching this gained their position in the academia by becoming a specialist.
Welp, not going to try and convince you otherwise. I have done work 3 years as a small animal clinician then went on to work for the government part time and engaging in research which is where I am now. I quite enjoy the diversity and once I get bored of government and research work, I would probably like to go into pharmaceutical sales or maybe large animal work.

The thing with specialized knowledge and skill is that it makes you marketable in only a niche area. In Australia where we used to have problems with TSE, Brucellosis and bovine TB there used to be many vets that were employed in eradication program and vet pathologists working in the DPI. However fast forward to today, those vets are out of work because the eradication program worked so well, these vets became victims of their own success. It was quite sad to see the DPI close the biosecurity lab in Toowoomba, we lost alot of talented vets that day. For this reason, I prefer to acquire a diverse skill set as it is more interesting and you get to make contacts from people in a wide variety of field.
 
No.

Here's a tip for those lurking. If you think you want to be a veterinarian, work at least part-time for at least two years in at least two practices as staff in a general practice companion animal clinic/hospital. Because like it or not, that is the most readily available job in this profession. And I don't mean as the kennels kid or the receptionist. You need to work not only with the doctors, but the clients, in the exam/treatment/surgical suite rooms. Live the life, as they say.

If I had done so I would not be typing this today.
 
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Welp, not going to try and convince you otherwise. I have done work 3 years as a small animal clinician then went on to work for the government part time and engaging in research which is where I am now. I quite enjoy the diversity and once I get bored of government and research work, I would probably like to go into pharmaceutical sales or maybe large animal work.

The thing with specialized knowledge and skill is that it makes you marketable in only a niche area. In Australia where we used to have problems with TSE, Brucellosis and bovine TB there used to be many vets that were employed in eradication program and vet pathologists working in the DPI. However fast forward to today, those vets are out of work because the eradication program worked so well, these vets became victims of their own success. It was quite sad to see the DPI close the biosecurity lab in Toowoomba, we lost alot of talented vets that day. For this reason, I prefer to acquire a diverse skill set as it is more interesting and you get to make contacts from people in a wide variety of field.

Just as an aside....I've never heard of veterinary pathologists being "out of work" or "victims of their own success" in Australia. There are always posts on the ACVP and ASVP websites for Gribbles, Massey, etc. Pathologists have some of the most diverse skill sets/knowledge bases of any specialty out there.

Perhaps things are different in Australia, but in the US, vets often have to pursue additional certification or degrees in order to work outside of clinical medicine (e.g. if you want to work in high level biomedical research, 99 times out of 10o you are going to need a PhD to be even remotely competitive).
 
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Just as an aside....I've never heard of veterinary pathologists being "out of work" or "victims of their own success" in Australia. There are always posts on the ACVP and ASVP websites for Gribbles, Massey, etc. Pathologists have some of the most diverse skill sets/knowledge bases of any specialty out there.

Perhaps things are different in Australia, but in the US, vets often have to pursue additional certification or degrees in order to work outside of clinical medicine (e.g. if you want to work in high level biomedical research, 99 times out of 10o you are going to need a PhD to be even remotely competitive).
Consider this scenario. You are employed for the past 10 years in an area but one fine day they shut down your lab and relocate the equipments some place else. So for the past 10 years you work, you make friends, you brought up your family in that area but suddenly its all gone as your work is no more. What will you do then? True, there is work for vets all around but it requires you to relocate but that may not be possible because of your family ties or whatever reasons.

This scenario is again repeated with the current Minister for Agriculture relocating the APVMA to Armidale, we lose alot of talented people because they cant move to such remote areas for whatever reasons.

I am now working as a part time abattoir vet, we used to employ thousands of vets in the meat industry but that number has dwindled to just less than a hundred. You can imagine it will be disheartening to specialize in food safety after graduation only to be made redundant after years of service
 
Consider this scenario. You are employed for the past 10 years in an area but one fine day they shut down your lab and relocate the equipments some place else. So for the past 10 years you work, you make friends, you brought up your family in that area but suddenly its all gone as your work is no more. What will you do then? True, there is work for vets all around but it requires you to relocate but that may not be possible because of your family ties or whatever reasons.

You could apply that scenario to ANY kind of vet, not just specialists.
 
I guess what I am trying to get at is, discouraging people from "niches" or "specialties" in vet med because of some fear that someday they will all be out of a job is a bit silly. Hell, small animal general practice is a niche itself.

While it's great in theory that vets have such a diverse skillset, in reality we only use a small part of it and, inevitably, neglect the rest. We can't help but fall into niches; there is simply too much we learn and are expected to know.
 
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