Hello all! I'm a new grad veterinarian working in GP. I'm not digging it, I'm more interested in wildlife disease. So I'm thinking about getting some further training. I'm trying to decide between doing a masters in veterinary epidemiology or a PhD. Just wondering if anyone here has any insight on what would be a better choice. I want something where its not too hard to find a job when I'm done.
Epidemiology or PhD
- Thread starter Siroco
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You don't actually need a Master's or PhD to work in vet epi... So before going on to more education, maybe consider researching how to find or transition into a non-traditional career? You may be able to snag one without the extra education. It really depends what you want to do and where you want to work.
My school offers career transition workshops for veterinarians looking to leave clinical practice and do something else. (Through the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine.) I can pm you more specific if you want.
Also to consider, government or industry employers will sometimes pay for you to do an MPH, MS, or PhD if you work in those fields for them (my coworker had her MPH paid for (I think), and my boss had a PhD in epi fully funded by the government).
My school offers career transition workshops for veterinarians looking to leave clinical practice and do something else. (Through the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine.) I can pm you more specific if you want.
Also to consider, government or industry employers will sometimes pay for you to do an MPH, MS, or PhD if you work in those fields for them (my coworker had her MPH paid for (I think), and my boss had a PhD in epi fully funded by the government).
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It really depends on what you want to do. It’s ok to explore. A PhD is huge endeavor. It is a major commitment and you live breath and sleep what your thesis topic is. You CAN start a masters then transfer to a PhD if you want. That’s actually what I did. Even though I loved my advisor and PhD topic ( I was SUPER lucky in that regard), the PhD was REALLY taxing. I have a DVM and phd in neuroscience and epi. I’m in both clinical and research and teaching work. I have several jobs. I am happy to discuss your personal situation if you want to pm me. I like clinical work but it has changed so much with covid I’m thinking of going to just my research work at 100% if things don’t change in my state and situation.
I don’t know much about wildlife though. Others on the forum do and hopefully they will chime in.
I don’t know much about wildlife though. Others on the forum do and hopefully they will chime in.
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This is kind of a strange question to ask because a PhD and a DVM are so different in what they require from you as a student. I haven't finished either degree yet - I'm a little over halfway through my dual program - but I would really struggle to compare the 2. A DVM requires so much intensive studying, memorizing, and integrating an enormous volume of information. I was stressed in vet school, but overall I really liked it and found it was easy to acclimate and find what worked for me.
A PhD is totally different in that, while you have coursework, the vast majority of it is your research. There's an element of critical thinking in there that I really didn't experience in my DVM coursework (to be clear, I have not done my clinical year yet). It's the difference between memorizing knowledge (DVM) and creating new knowledge. If I were to pick one, I'd say the DVM is easier for me because with the PhD, I've had to learn new ways to think.
I wouldn't recommend doing a PhD unless you absolutely can't do what you want to do without it. It's an enormous time commitment for very little pay, and if you can do the career work that you're interested in without another 4-6 years of schooling, you should.
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Comparing a PhD and a DVM is like comparing apples and oranges. The volume of material in vet school was the most challenging of that degree in my opinion. Whereas a PhD has its own issues. There are a lot of things that are beyond your control during a PhD which might make students ‘stuck’. These could be experiments that do not work or have lackluster results making required publications much harder to obtain. Also, and I STILL struggle with this now, but when you are alone trying to write or in the lab by yourself you can get lonesome. Some people love this though. But I found that sitting down and just getting toward that last stretch of your dissertation is quite a challenge after you’ve worked on it for literally years. I like school but I was completely burned out after my final oral exams, handing in my manuscript for publication, and sending my dissertation to my school for final review. It was hard. Whereas vet school you have a lot of material to study and clinics can be tiring but you are not dependent on an experiment working or not to graduate. I hope I’m making sense as I’ve been writing and editing all day and I’m starting to get tired. Both degrees were hard for different reasons. A PhD has more factors keeping you from moving on and graduating that are beyond your control than vet school did. Also every PhD is different. Schools can vary greatly on requirements and classes and publications. Also your PI could make or break you whereas a DVM is usually structured around team teaching. Both were hard. I personally had a harder time with the PhD due to needing self motivation through it all and other things. I wouldn’t just take my experience to say that one is generally harder than the other.
All my virtual work is research and PhD related. I don’t do any remote DVM work unless there is the occasional veterinary related study they ask me to review or edit, etc.
And...I’m not trying to discourage anyone from a PhD. If you don’t know about research or have much research experience you have to have that before deciding on taking the leap for the PhD. I know I have other posts that say this but I see many students that come thru and have a very different idea of what research is. It’s actually a lot of writing, data analyses, and computer work more so than field or lab work. So be aware of that. But...I’m finally getting to where my home medical and science writing and editing salary is going to exceed my clinic income. But I do like both. I still have to have at least one day a week in the clinic haha. I like the fact I have more options with my PhD and DVM that I don’t feel I would have with just a DVM. That’s my opinion. But it took hard work to get here and self motivation as well.
All my virtual work is research and PhD related. I don’t do any remote DVM work unless there is the occasional veterinary related study they ask me to review or edit, etc.
And...I’m not trying to discourage anyone from a PhD. If you don’t know about research or have much research experience you have to have that before deciding on taking the leap for the PhD. I know I have other posts that say this but I see many students that come thru and have a very different idea of what research is. It’s actually a lot of writing, data analyses, and computer work more so than field or lab work. So be aware of that. But...I’m finally getting to where my home medical and science writing and editing salary is going to exceed my clinic income. But I do like both. I still have to have at least one day a week in the clinic haha. I like the fact I have more options with my PhD and DVM that I don’t feel I would have with just a DVM. That’s my opinion. But it took hard work to get here and self motivation as well.
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