A few questions for all you vets out there!

[woosiecg]

Hi everyone! I am a student finishing up pre-reqs and will be ready to apply to vet school next june. I am a certified vet tech and have worked for a few different SA clinics over the years. I love working with animals and love that I get to learn something new every day at work, but I am struggling with my decision to become a vet. I have a few questions for everyone, some are more geared towards new grads and others to anyone who wishes to answer!

1. Are you glad you chose your profession? Do you enjoy your job and if so are there any aspects you don't enjoy?

2. I know everyone always says they don't go into vet med for the money but I was wondering how many people work on salary plus commission? If you do, do you like working like this and do you encounter a lot of competition between vets in the practice for patients?

3. New grads: are you struggling to find jobs? Are you finding your salary offers are what you anticipated?

Thanks for taking the time to answer some of these questions for me!

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[Bill59]

1. I love my job and can't think of anything I would rather do.
I get a little annoyed with the bureaucracy of academics but I'll take that over the petty politics of private practice any day. And our coffee is really bad.

2. Straight salary.
I would love commission so when I come in at night and on weekends I would actually get paid.

3. Not a new grad, but I've never been without a job since graduating.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

1)Extremely glad. There is nothing like being able to do what you want to do every day, even when you feel overwhelmed. And I was a late decider too - didn't think of going to vet school until about halfway through college - I always thought I was just going to continue in biochemstry and be a PhD. Like Bill59 said, academics can be a little bureaucratic, but its better than some of the drama in clinics (IMO). And yeah...the coffee sucks. But it gives me a chance to teach students are well as just learn myself, which I enjoy.

2) Salary. I'm a resident, so that works out to about 31K pre tax. However, I'm looking at 100K if/when I pass boards, more if I decide to go into industry/pharma. Money was definitely a factor in my decision to pursue residency, in addition to just really loving pathology and not wanting to be a traditional clinician. I know this probably isn't what you're going to do, but thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. Yes, the debt is worrying, and yes, I get upset when I think of what I could be making if I had been a human pathologist....but the variety of cases I see makes up for it a thousand fold.

3) I'll be honest, the job market isn't the best right now for anyone. Most of my graduating class (2010) got jobs, but it did take some finding. A few are still looking. However, we are all still a LOT better off than say someone with a liberal arts bachelors looking for work.

 

[chickenlittle]

1. Some days I am glad that I chose this profession, but other days I have serious doubts. It becomes very disheartening to try to do your best, try to educate owners, and try to provide quality care... all to have owners become angry because you are trying to charge for your services. I currently work in a lower-cost practice (today is my last day working here, which is why I'm surfing the internet between patients at work!!) and I witness a lot of blatant animal cruelty and neglect. I'd love to be able to report these individuals to the authorities, but unfortunately my employer won't allow me to do so (this was also the case at my previous jobs) and I need the paycheck so cannot afford to get fired. In all three of my veterinarian jobs, I've been forced to do things that I was ethically opposed to - for example surgeries without appropriate pain medication, puppy tails/dewclaws, and convenience euthanasias. I feel like I'm expected to be a trained monkey, with very little opportunity to incorporate my own knowledge/ethics. It's frustrating, disheartening, depressing, you name it. I've been considering a career change, but can't stand the idea of "throwing away" my veterinary degree and there aren't any "alternative veterinary careers" available in my area. I start a new job next week... maybe that will be better.

2. I'm a 2006 grad. My first job paid a base salary plus production bonuses, but I was the only associate and so there really wasn't much competition. My last two jobs have paid based on salary. The job I am starting next week pays base + production.

3. When I graduated in 2006, there were jobs galore. Right now, the job market in my area is very tight and there are a lot of unemployed veterinarians. A lot of vets feel that the veterinary schools are turning out a higher number of graduates than is sustainable... that, combined with the recession, may lead to major decreases in veterinarian income. I'm not quite sure how I much I believe the gloom-and-doom talk, but it is definitely a possibility.