Career Report on Becoming a Veterinarian

I wanted to do research on the career of becoming a veterinarian. This is the first job I ever thought about doing when I was little, and it is not even like it is that big of a dream, I sort of just gave up on it. I wanted to do more research on this to answer some questions that I had as well as see what is required to make this into a profession. I picked this in the first place because I love all kinds of animals. From big to small, domestic to wild, it doesn’t matter to me; animals always bring a warm-hearted smile to my face. I have always had dogs growing up, and that is where my true love for animals comes from. I did not really know too much about this occupation prior to my research. I knew the basics, like you need to understand animal behavior and you need to have a specialized degree of medicine just for animals, but there were still a lot of unknowns for me in this area before going into it. The new information that I found out because of the research that I did on this career has only opened yet another door of possibilities that may lie ahead in my future.

The Work

The job of the common vet is to study, treat, and control animal injuries and diseases. Most people would think that vet’s primarily work with people’s pets, but this is false because most vets work with large animals on farms, ranches, and even zoos. Another vet may be employed by a pharmaceutical company to come up with medicines for animals, or maybe a vet is employed to inspect meat and livestock and works for the health department or even the government. Vets are also responsible for immunizing animals to protect them from getting diseases, as well as the more “doctor-like” things like setting broken bones, keeping track of diet and exercise in animals, and administration of medicine. The work environment is in an office if you run or work at a private practice, or if you are employed by a ranch or farm, you are pretty much just out in the air when you make your visits and are self-employed.

Training and Other Information

The skills that are required for this career are at least 2 years of undergraduate training at a college or university before applying to veterinary college to get the required degree in Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from one of the 28 approved schools in the country (or you can study abroad). Then you have to also pass state licensing and oral examinations to be qualified to work in that specific state. To be a vet you must have to love what you are doing; helping animals, and just love them. You have to be patient and kind-hearted and calm because dogs can easily sense emotions in people and to make them feel comfy you yourself must be relaxed and at ease.

The hardest part for me though would be to have to put an animal down, or to have to turn an animal and their owner away who cannot afford treatments or medicine for their beloved pet. One of the reasons that I gave up this career is that you have to accept that not every animal is going to make it, and that you can’t help every single one. I am trying to look past this though and see what I have to offer and how much good I would be able to provide to the people’s pets that I would be saving, and what a contribution to that person’s life that I would make.

The outlook for this job has been reported as looking very good through the year 2014. Graduating from vet school you may find competition among graduates in newly emerging practices, but there will always be house pets and always be a need for vets making sure food is healthy to eat too. The average wages (reported in 2006) for a vet working with large animals was $61,029 per year and working in private practices with house pets, the average was $55,031 per year. If I were to choose working for the government inspecting meat as well as animals that are planned to be eaten I could make around $84,335 per year (reported in 2007), but I’m not sure that is the route that I would be taking.

There is such a vast number of veterinary associations that you can really focus in on what specifically you want out of being a vet. You can choose to work with a particular animal, or in a particular field like being a surgeon or specialize in a certain feature like bones, or eyes, or diseases, etc.

You need really good grades to get into vet school and a background full of biology, science, and math. It only takes a minimum of 4 years in college though if you meet all the deadlines on time and pass all of the classes. Becoming a vet is not only about loving animals, you have to have the desire to help them and know that in helping them, you can’t help them all, and I think that is what is really making me so apprehensive now.

What I’ve Learned

From doing this research, I have found things that make me feel better as well as worse about wanting this as a career. Not only did I read a lot about the facts and statistics about becoming a vet and what is needed and so on and so forth, but I also read about personal experiences that vets have had and their own words to future prospects. One vet was saying you have to be really strong when you have to put to sleep someone’s best friend and they are crying there eyes out. I don’t think I could handle the death and the dying as much as I want to be a part of the healing and the saving. That amazing feeling that you have helped someone would not be worth that emptiness you feel when you have to tell someone you have done as much as you can, and that there is nothing else that can be done.

I love animals TOO much to be a vet I think. As much as I want it, and know that I could do great things, I am too compassionate and emotional and get too easily attached to every animal I encounter. When I started this research and even started writing this essay, I tried so hard to keep an open mind thinking that I could just focus on all the positive I would be doing and all the animals that I would save, but I just can’t get passed and wouldn’t be able to get passed losing them. As I said before, with every door closed, another is opened. I just have to keep looking at what other careers I can be involved with animals in, and maybe there I will be able to be comfortable with all aspects of the job and in the larger scale, my life.

Resources

1. www.talktothevet.com/faqvetcareer.htm
2. http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/77/Veterinarian.html
3. www.bls.gov/oco/ocos076.htm
4. http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/associations/Veterinary_Associations_Organizations.htm
5. http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/e-vets/interns/become-vet/become-vet.html

[Thanks to Veronica for sharing the following career research report on becoming a veterinarian and related work information.]

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Tags: Healthcare