Your 2nd choice - if vet school wasn't a possibility?

[athenaparthenos]

Electrophile -- I don't have any medical illustrations, I just like to draw and am pretty good at translating reality into easily-memorized 2-D. I do have a crapload of birds I drew, field-guide style, for my ornithology class (I drew every one of the 200+ birds we had to know, and colored them too) a few months ago... this is my style, very round and cartoony but still very representative of the thing I'm trying to get across. Here's a Downy Woodpecker I drew recently.

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[lailanni]

Wow! I just have to comment on what an awesomely cool diverse group of people we are!

I mean foodies, artists, science fans, and even someone flying a freakin' helicopter!!

My friends, you rock!

 

[runnerDC]

carpenter/builder specializing in the restoration of older homes in historic urban neighborhoods. think of all of the great stuff you'd find and learn!

 

[NoleDevil]

carpenter/builder specializing in the restoration of older homes in historic urban neighborhoods. think of all of the great stuff you'd find and learn!

That sounds like a really awesome job idea! I didn't even realize you could specialize in something like that.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I would also consider being an editor of some sort. I've always enjoyed writing papers in school and proofreading/editing others people's papers. I'm a big fan of grammar and eloquent writing... although I have to admit I love "lolCats!"

 

[FelineFanatic]

I always enjoyed writing papers in school and proofreading/editing others people's papers. I'm a big fan of grammar and eloquent writing... although I have to admit I love "lolCats!" [/QUOTE]

HeeHee! Me too!

 

[ratbandit]

1) professional violist
2) zookeeper

or both

 

[WishingnHoping]

Compete in upper level eventing/dressage and buy horses, train them, sell them and make money. And breed some high quality horses with great rideable, quiet temperaments (there are too many looneys out there). I'm doing that now and love it (except for the breeding) and don't want to give it up but ... hopefully I can still do it after getting my vet degree. Maybe hubby will make enough $$ that I can just do my own vet work and concentrate on the horses. Hey, it's okay to dream, right?

 

[RazorDoc2010]

1) professional violist
2) zookeeper

or both

you play violin?! I never knew...

 

[Electrophile]

Electrophile -- I don't have any medical illustrations, I just like to draw and am pretty good at translating reality into easily-memorized 2-D. I do have a crapload of birds I drew, field-guide style, for my ornithology class (I drew every one of the 200+ birds we had to know, and colored them too) a few months ago... this is my style, very round and cartoony but still very representative of the thing I'm trying to get across. Here's a Downy Woodpecker I drew recently.

Awww, I love the woodpecker! It's adorable!

You may enjoy doing that with anatomy too. I finally figured out second semester that I can learn stuff MUCH better (especially the skeleton) if I can draw it out. I think I was probably the only one still trying to draw everything out with pen and colored pencils in my sketchbook in class when our anatomy professor drew something on the board. Everyone else just sat around in sighing and rolling their eyes because he drew and spoke at the same time, but never labeled anything except with numbers, which he would say outloud what the number were. Here's one I did, which the scanner promptly screwed up the colors on (all the blues look alike and the greens look alike and the orange looks brown, even though that's not what it actually looked like in color pencil). I need to work on cows.

 

[wi girl]

Oh, god ..... memorizing all of the names we'll need to know for anatomy is already giving me panic attacks ... you mean we need to draw too?? crap .... hmmm ... must learn to draw this summer ....

 

[Electrophile]

Be afraid...be very afraid! Nah, just kidding, you don't need to know how to draw. Our anatomy professor has just been teaching it that way since before God made dirt. He would draw almost all of it from scratch on the board in chalk and I guess expect everyone to keep up? I don't know. I certainly didn't get stellar grades in anatomy, so it didn't exactly help me to keep up. He did say at Family Day that there were something like over 2000 anatomical terms to know over the course of two semesters? Maybe I'm remembering what he said wrong because it didn't seem *quite* that many, but I dunno...

With the other main professor who taught it, we got helpful handouts of the structures with figures already labeled that you may just have to draw in just a little. That was more tolerable to most people. I would still recommend getting a set of colored pencils and a 4 color pen to color in your dissection guides and handouts. Gray scale and black and white diagrams can be annoying to look at after a while when trying to figure stuff out.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

Awww, I love the woodpecker! It's adorable!

You may enjoy doing that with anatomy too. I finally figured out second semester that I can learn stuff MUCH better (especially the skeleton) if I can draw it out. I think I was probably the only one still trying to draw everything out with pen and colored pencils in my sketchbook in class when our anatomy professor drew something on the board. Everyone else just sat around in sighing and rolling their eyes because he drew and spoke at the same time, but never labeled anything except with numbers, which he would say outloud what the number were. Here's one I did, which the scanner promptly screwed up the colors on (all the blues look alike and the greens look alike and the orange looks brown, even though that's not what it actually looked like in color pencil). I need to work on cows.

why must you show this now? the wounds are still fresh!!! ahhh!

 

[nyanko]

Oh we're doing fantasy too? In that case, I want to be on Broadway! Or in a punk band.

 

[RemyRipper315]

Oh, god ..... memorizing all of the names we'll need to know for anatomy is already giving me panic attacks ... you mean we need to draw too?? crap .... hmmm ... must learn to draw this summer ....

don't worry. you don't need to know how to draw! it depends on your learning style! i sometimes drew out vessels/nerves, but that only requires you to draw lines (and they don't even have to be straight ones)!

i second the colored pencils and 4-color pen!

 

[Tiraka]

Freelance illustrator! I used to make extra money in high school by selling horse portraits to people on the local hunter jumper circuit, but decided I'd rather keep art as a hobby

Or wildlife biologist, doing field work in remote locations would be pretty awesome too

 

[ShelterGirl]

Fantasy: one of those "mountain host" people at the big resorts like Vail who just rides around all day on a snowboard showing people powder stashes and other fun stuff

Reality: I guess I'd probably go back to being an IT project manager

 

[PAThbrd]

Just have to say Im extraordinarily impressed with everyones artistic abilities. I would be mortified if my pathetic attempts to draw in anatomy were in public view

And if we doing fantasies - I would be extraordinarily rich, wouldn't have to work (unless I wanted to), and would spend my free time riding (reining and eventing), skiing, and traveling the world.

 

[Kylana]

I would be a wildlife rehabilitator, high school science teacher, or teach harp and play at people's weddings!

 

[TrocarKarin]

I would be a wildlife rehabilitator, high school science teacher, or teach harp and play at people's weddings!

Only if you enjoy playing Cannon in D non-stop.


If it paid better, I'd love to go into paleontology/geology.

At one point (before I messed up my hand) I would've loved to be a professional musician (bass, guitar, harp and cello,) but the my fingers no longer wish to cooperate with me.

 

[Electrophile]

Freelance illustrator! I used to make extra money in high school by selling horse portraits to people on the local hunter jumper circuit, but decided I'd rather keep art as a hobby

Excellent job!!! Really nice job on the eye, in particular. It has a lot of horse-like expression. Sometimes that is difficult to do. I suck at shading. I never took any art classes except one required on in 9th grade. Maybe one day I'll take one to hone some techniques. I'd really like to learn Photoshop really well. Some of the creations on there are just mind blowing that people have done with a graphics tablet. Mine are...eh...not that great. I do mostly Harry Potter and other fantasy art (I love mythical creatures!) on the graphics tablet. I'm a geek.

 

[Kylana]

Only if you enjoy playing Cannon in D non-stop.

Cannon in D is probably my favourite song to play! Well that tied with Pasacaille and Silent Night

I'm guessing you play(ed) harp too?

 

[VAgirl]

Freelance illustrator! I used to make extra money in high school by selling horse portraits to people on the local hunter jumper circuit, but decided I'd rather keep art as a hobby

Or wildlife biologist, doing field work in remote locations would be pretty awesome too

Really, truly beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Falconidae]

1) professional violist
2) zookeeper

or both

Woohoo! Let's here it for a fellow violist! Now, that's not something you come across often! I've played the viola for many years, and came very close to pursuing it professionally. How long have you played, and in what orchestras? Zookeeping would also be on my 2nd career list, as it's something I enjoy doing as a volunteer. Realistically, I would probably pursue either a PhD in entomology and teach at a university, or become a forensic anthropologist. I think paleontology would also be fascinating. Unrealistically, I would like to be a fighter pilot, an astronaut, a famous ballerina...the list goes on.

 

[weirdhobo]

traveling chef hybrid of Huel Howser on a world scale
stunt double of the veterinarian on a show about animal hospitals (Muppet Show anyone? lol)

 

[TrocarKarin]

Cannon in D is probably my favourite song to play! Well that tied with Pasacaille and Silent Night

I'm guessing you play(ed) harp too?

Used to. I'll probably pick it up again after I can get the surgery to fix my left hand. My harp teacher always ranted about Canon. I think she got annoyed that people always defaulted to that one, when there's so many other beautiful pieces that would work for weddings.

 

[lailanni]

Used to. I'll probably pick it up again after I can get the surgery to fix my left hand. My harp teacher always ranted about Canon. I think she got annoyed that people always defaulted to that one, when there's so many other beautiful pieces that would work for weddings.

Cool! Fellow harpists!!

I'm not a Cannon fan, mostly because everyone wants to hear it and I got tired of playing it a long time ago. There are so many other songs that are fantastic on the harp...but no, everyone wants to hear Cannon.

The usual reaction I get when people find out I play ..."Wow! I didn't know you play the harp! Hey, can you play that one song.. dun dun dun dun (humming cannon)"

Y'all might get a kick out of this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM funny rant about Cannon in D

 

[pupsforseeing]

Just have to say Im extraordinarily impressed with everyones artistic abilities. I would be mortified if my pathetic attempts to draw in anatomy were in public view

as i sit here staring at my representations of ascending and descending tracts for my neuroanatomy final i'm taking in a little over an hour (can we say procrastination?), i am thinking the same exact thing! they make sense to me, but my cross sections of the spinal cord and brain stem leave *much* to be desired in the way of artistic abilities. haha.

 

[Hobiecat1642]

Probably an EMT and go to grad school for microbiology or parasitology. I also like to make my own cartoons.

 

[westpoloplayer]

If vet school hadn't worked out, I would've probably joined the Foreign Service and spent my life living abroad in exotic places in a diplomatic capacity!

 

[greenie53]

At one point (before I messed up my hand) I would've loved to be a professional musician (bass, guitar, harp and cello,) but the my fingers no longer wish to cooperate with me.

Me too! I just don't really bring up that whole side of my life anymore.. I played Clarinet (still have about 5 stashed under my bed) and tried to double major because I was very serious about having be a part of my career, but I developed some strange hand problem that no doctor could figure out. Eventually I had to give up playing because I couldn't even take notes in class anymore. Damn music being so wonderful and yet so tortuous to the body! My dream (5 yrs ago) was to be a researcher by day and jazz clarinetist by night!! hehe

It does seem to be a trend with everyone here that most of us are very interested in the fine arts and science...

 

[ratbandit]

Woohoo! Let's here it for a fellow violist! Now, that's not something you come across often! I've played the viola for many years, and came very close to pursuing it professionally. How long have you played, and in what orchestras? Zookeeping would also be on my 2nd career list, as it's something I enjoy doing as a volunteer. quote]

Hello there Falconidae, way to play the best and most UNDERATED instrument ever! I played in a bunch of places in PA, since you're from Cali I'm sure you've never heard of them! I played professionally in a local city's pop's orchestra, in a local town's symphony, and in a quintet where we did weddings and parties. I did some just for fun stuff with a community orchestra which was probably my favorite group and also some pit orchestra stuff and a lot of things that I can't even remember. Now I hardly have any time at all to play, I hear there is a really good community orchestra in Columbia that I may join next year after I quit my job! What kind of groups have you played in? It's totally possible to have a day job and play professionally since most concerts are on weekends and nights, most of the people in the professional groups were music teachers but one of the violinists was actually a vet!

Razordoc I can't believe that professional tuba player was not one of your top 4!?!?!

 

[SillyFilly]

Hey I played viola too! Woot woot! I played in my city's youth orch, but had to stop playing when I broke my arm riding... I can play for about 15 mins max now.

I'd be a barn manager of an OTTB farm - rehabing off the track thoroughbreds for a new discipline. Or work for a big sales agency, or for a thoroughbred agency of some kind. Baking professionally, teaching up downers and beginning lessons...

Or fall into a lot, lot, lot of money and give philanthropically and travel. And write about it.

 

[Orthonut]

Wow! I just have to comment on what an awesomely cool diverse group of people we are!

I mean foodies, artists, science fans, and even someone flying a freakin' helicopter!!

My friends, you rock!

Oh, I wasn't the pilot (yet) I was the guy hanging out the door (the crew chief)

 

[lailanni]

Oh, I wasn't the pilot (yet) I was the guy hanging out the door (the crew chief)

Hanging out the door!?! Wow!! Still equally freakin' awesome!!!

 

[Poke]

I've just decided I love this thread.

Now, don't be mean... Honestly, I'd love to be a housewife. A family has always been a big thing for me, and I'd love to have kids and always be there for them. It's actually quite depressing sometimes when I think of how busy I'm going to be in the future, but I don't think this is an option for me, financially.

Realistically.. erm.. I could see myself doing a lot of things: accountant, animal trainer/keeper, anything with computers, work with SO on the business he wants to start, etc etc.. Had another freakout this week on wondering if I'm really headed into the right field, but I think that was mainly because this was the last week of classes (finals are next week), and I'm stressed out about grades. Ugh.

 

[pressmom]

Stay-at-home Mom--just seeing how much my best friend enjoys it and how much my mom enjoyed it makes it very tempting. Who knows? I may take some time off when I have kids.

I know the bad sides of so many professions that I'm not sure what I'd want to do.

I love photography, but I'd hate to make it a job.

I guess I'd go back to journalism (copy-editing or writing) or become a food scientist.

 

[Falconidae]

Hey I played viola too! Woot woot! I played in my city's youth orch, but had to stop playing when I broke my arm riding... I can play for about 15 mins max now.

Hello there Falconidae, way to play the best and most UNDERATED instrument ever! I played in a bunch of places in PA, since you're from Cali I'm sure you've never heard of them! I played professionally in a local city's pop's orchestra, in a local town's symphony, and in a quintet where we did weddings and parties. I did some just for fun stuff with a community orchestra which was probably my favorite group and also some pit orchestra stuff and a lot of things that I can't even remember. Now I hardly have any time at all to play, I hear there is a really good community orchestra in Columbia that I may join next year after I quit my job! What kind of groups have you played in? It's totally possible to have a day job and play professionally since most concerts are on weekends and nights, most of the people in the professional groups were music teachers but one of the violinists was actually a vet!

It's nice to see not only one, but TWO other violists on this forum. Now, I'm sure, if we compared our stat to how many of the other pre-med people play *cough* cough* the violin...we'll feel rather under-represented once again. Oh the trials and tribulations of being a a vye-ol-ist (hehehe, couldn't resist). I played in several youth orchestras/pre-professional groups, and would fill in on occasion with a few local university orchestras. I also really enjoyed being in a pit orchestra. Those were my fondest memories, and I'd have to say playing in Cabaret was a blast! I thought if I did indeed decide to pursue music as a career, it would be as a studio musician. I liked orchestras, but preferred the more intimate, friendly atmosphere of a small chamber group or a pit. I'll definitely try and keep it up through vet school and after.

Kudos to lailanni for starting this thread! I've really enjoyed reading everyone's other interests besides vet med

 

[PAThbrd]

I loved playing in the pit. While I am not a string player (flute and piccolo), I've done "Fiddler on the Roof", "42nd Street" and "The King and I". Very fun, I miss it!

 

[TrocarKarin]

It's nice to see not only one, but TWO other violists on this forum. Now, I'm sure, if we compared our stat to how many of the other pre-med people play *cough* cough* the violin...we'll feel rather under-represented once again. Oh the trials and tribulations of being a a vye-ol-ist (hehehe, couldn't resist).

I played bass for about 12 years before deciding to learn to play the cello. The only reason I picked the cello, was after 12 years of bass, I felt like I was going to snap a viola in half. I LOVE their tone though. Not all terrible and high pitched and squeaky like a violin, just warm and mellow and resonant.

 

[hoodle]

I played bass for about 12 years before deciding to learn to play the cello. The only reason I picked the cello, was after 12 years of bass, I felt like I was going to snap a viola in half. I LOVE their tone though. Not all terrible and high pitched and squeaky like a violin, just warm and mellow and resonant.

as a violinist, i must disagree
with the squeaky-ness, at least. RE: the mellow viola, I do totally agree. I played for a while, but just couldn't wrap my mind around alto clef.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

Razordoc I can't believe that professional tuba player was not one of your top 4!?!?!

I thought this was about things that I haven't done! Professional tubist? Been there, done that!



JUST KIDDING!!

 

[Nexx]

I would have been dropping my applications (eventually) into the P.A. school and gone into paediatrics most likely.

As a side note 4.5% of my anatomy grade this term is based on my drawing ability! Too bad I draw like a 4 year old We had a dissection project 15% of our grade and 30% of that grade was based on our drawing and ability to highlight 'important structures' (which were ours to determine) *shrug* From the 130 people taking this anatomy course this semester you'd swear a good chunk of them belong in graphic design.

 

[TCVM808]

Realistically...
conservation zoologist
field zoologist
laboratory zoologist
scatologist!
translator/interpreter
editor or writer
alternative health care practitioner, probably an acupuncturist

And if we're dreaming....
animal sanctuary curator
food critic
actress or comedian

 

[PAThbrd]

I saw a professional tubist years ago at a marching band thing I was at - he played "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the tuba, one of the most amazing things Ive ever heard/seen.

 

[RazorDoc2010]

I saw a professional tubist years ago at a marching band thing I was at - he played "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the tuba, one of the most amazing things Ive ever heard/seen.

I've seen a couple as well and they really are amazing. In high school, we actually had the tubist from Dallas Brass come join us for a concert to play Carnival of Venice (and then she just felt like hanging around, so she joined us and sight-read the rest of the concert!). She was incredible though...Those guys/gals are just amazing, especially considering just trilling a half-step is the equivalent of trilling a 4th on a trumpet!

OK...end of band geek rant.

 

[elkbrucellaguy]

if things didn't work out for me I would've been:

Physicist (Quantum Mechanics), Cosmologist/Astronomer
Pilot
Or maybe even stayed in IT
Or turned my volunteer job into a seasonal day job and become a professional ski patroller

 

[hoodle]

If not vet school, I'd go into academia for sure. Microbiology graduate school. I'd also want to take more classes in computer science, and also in history, especially how infectious disease interplays with history.

and if I wasn't doing THAT....

A movie critic! I'd be good at it, too!! (or at least I like to think).

 

[frozen_canadian]

I would have been a farmer. I would have gone home after my undergrad and taken over the family farm. Probably would have been married by now with a few kids...sometimes you wonder about the choices you have made in life!

 

[twelvetigers]

I think there are a lot of band geeks here, myself included!

 

[Starwrecker]

Yay band geeks!!! (flute and piccolo here)

Hmmm, alternatives to vet school....

Aerospace engineer (that's where I started)
Astrobiologist (was going to be my minor)
Translator (again, another minor)

More realistically:

Ranching....beef cattle and working ranch horses, most likely in Wyoming. With photography jobs on the side. That way I could stay at home with the kid...and I'd probably have one or maybe even two more right now had vet school been pushed totally out of the picture.

But now I'm in vet school, so I plan to have a mobile clinic and still do my photography on the side with my very own Old MacDonald's farm where I raise all of my family's food. Additional children are probably out of the picture at this point.

Fun thread.