Claire
As for a career in veterinary medicine, what did you find most surprising or particularly difficult that you would have liked to know before you became a veterinarian?
I am a junior in high school and am most definitely set on pursuing a career in veterinary medicine, but would like to hear more descriptions of your personal experiences on the job, such what you find most rewarding and least desirable, any difficulties or hardships that you have come across, etc. Thank you so much for considering responding to this question and I look forward to gaining a better insight into my desired career!
#career #veterinarian
2 answers
Meredith Wright
Meredith’s Answer
I helped a high school student research this career choice. We discovered that <span style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">veterinary school is a four-year degree program following undergraduate Bachelor's degree level education... this is a total of 7 to 9 years which will result in significant student loans (say $20,000+ per year, so $140,000+ by the time you are qualified. Putting this in to perspective, the average salary of a vet is about $80,000, the hours are long, you need to be on call, you need to deal with upset animal owners and businesses, and student loan pay off will take a long time. This is a good website to review </span>http://iwanttobeaveterinarian.org
I don't want to discourage you, I just want you to have a realistic outlook... best of luck!
Meredith recommends the following next steps:
Divya Kondapuram
Divya’s Answer
I am not a vet, which I always aspired to be. But when I used to think about it actively as a career option, I thought about the pros and cons of it.
As a vet, the most rewarding thing would be to be able to help an animal who just thanks you with their ever thankful eyes! Trust me, that's one thing that you will always smile about.
One challenge that I think about in terms of the job is to be able to understand the pain of the animal who is not verbal for us to understand clearly. So the helplessness that comes with a feeling of not being to able to understand exactly what they are going through (atleast in the initial days of your career) leaves you with uncertainty.
Like the previous answer stated, having to put up with upset pet owners is something you will have to deal with daily. Just know that you do see a lot of appreciations for what you do on a daily basis as well! That puts things in a positive perspective!
All in all, more than a monetary job, this job will definitely give you the sense of pride to help animals and be there for them!