Vet School or Med School?

[ml222]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Congratulations, but where did you get an acceptance to medical school?

 

[Sciencegal3000]

I had the same dilemma as you! Ultimately I choose medical school as the specialties I was interested in were not widespread in vet med, I also am very allergic to cats and other animals. On top of that many of the vets I shadowed were extremely burned out and heavily warned against pursuing vet med. However I did end up as a tech for 2 vets that were heavily specialized in equine sports med and absolutely loved their job so the field is what you make it. My best friend is in vet school and loves it. Both routes are challenging and expensive but ultimately are in need of eager passionate people. The one thing I think I’ll miss from the vet medicine side of things is how much diverse knowledge a vet must have whereas human doctors tend to be more specialized. Not sure my reply will help with your decision but I encourage you to follow your passions!

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

If you can’t handle animals dying, I don’t think being a vet is for you. It’s exactly why I didn’t do it… and as a vet from my understanding you have to put sick animals down. I couldn’t do it.

 

[Proudfather94]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

If you can't see animals dying I wouldn't become a vet. You're going to have to deal with that alot because people will bring you their dying animals to either try to save them or ease their suffering. This is the vet version of a premed going "I want to be a doctor but I can't deal with blood."

Money is a big problem in vet medicine too unless you're able to turn people away for not being able to pay to treat their pets. That would raise some ethical and safety concerns for you if you do.

 

[frosty42]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

I also had to decide between the two and I am about to enter medical school! I was very torn at one point because I felt like I was more passionate about animals/vet med than human med.

I personally was mainly interested in equine veterinary medicine, but every vet that I spoke to and every equestrian professional I spoke to told me to avoid vet med. I decided that the best path for me would be to pursue a career in human medicine and let myself enjoy animals (and horseback riding) as my hobby outside of work.

The vets I shadowed said that if I absolutely couldn't picture myself doing anything but vet med, to pursue that field, but that if I could see myself being a human doctor instead, I should pursue that.

There are a lot of reasons why I went with medical school over vet school, but one of the biggest ones is that it is significantly more difficult to pay off student loans on a vet's salary compared to a physician's salary.

I also did not want to turn my passion (horses) into my job because I didn't want to burn out on it. I'd rather use my time around horses/animals as my escape from the stress of my career than have them be part of the stress of my career. I feel that as a physician, I will have a fulfilling job where I can make a difference while still living comfortably enough to be able to enjoy animals in my personal life.

I don't want to ramble on, but I'd be happy to DM you and discuss my reasons if that'd be helpful!

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking

Just wanted to point out that unless you work exclusively with wealthy patients in a fancy ivory tower hospital, you'll probably encounter this in a human med career as well. Not that you should let it dissuade you from medicine (it can in fact be a driving force for many of us!), but I don't know that it should be your deciding factor between human and vet med.

 

[iwannabeadoctorpls]

I have heard the return on investment of becoming a veterinarian is not fantastic and the job market is fairly saturated. Medicine awards you with a lifetime of financial and career stability. If the tuition is less (particularly in-state) then this is just a no-brainer.

 

[paytoncorey]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

First, I just wanted to say and it could just be my interpretation but you seem to have made your decision already. The context of this seems that you are leaning toward med. As a veterinary student, I feel as though your knowledge of debt and not being able to deal with death would probably decrease your QOL. And we all want to do what is going to make us most happy and I want you to succeed.

 

[MidoriMo]

Keep in mind as a human doctor you still have ways you can involve yourself with animals in a way that helps them. Treat vets like your colleagues and be involved in the one health initiative, vets and human doctors have lots we can all learn from each other to better both our fields. Also like someone said above, having animal-related hobbies may be enough to satisfy your love for animals. Volunteer at wildlife rehabs, shelters, or charities that help fund treatment for owners who can't afford it. You can be involved in the animal world without pursuing a career you aren't 100% on.

 

[nimbus]

Just wanted to point out that unless you work exclusively with wealthy patients in a fancy ivory tower hospital, you'll probably encounter this in a human med career as well. Not that you should let it dissuade you from medicine (it can in fact be a driving force for many of us!), but I don't know that it should be your deciding factor between human and vet med.

I definitely don’t work in a fancy ivory tower hospital. More like an urban safety net hospital. Our many indigent and homeless patients get everything including TAVRs, EP Ablations, Davinci mitral repairs, bivent ICDs, Davinci prostatectomies, high end radiation, instrumented fusions for spine trauma, Brainlab cranis, chemo,etc. If they step through the door or get brought to the hospital with a problem, it gets taken care of. As it should be. In general there are more funding sources for humans, and institutions have the ability to cost shift to provide care to those who don’t have funding.

 

[bluv1212]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

If nothing else, from an objectively monetary perspective, your ROI on med school is better. I have heard horror stories about compensation after completing Vet school.

 

[MidoriMo]

I definitely don’t work in a fancy ivory tower hospital. More like an urban safety net hospital. Our many indigent and homeless patients get everything including TAVRs, EP Ablations, Davinci mitral repairs, bivent ICDs, Davinci prostatectomies, high end radiation, instrumented fusions for spine trauma, Brainlab cranis, chemo,etc. If they step through the door or get brought to the hospital with a problem, it gets taken care of. As it should be.

Yeah unfortunately in vetmed we don't have recourses like human med does, which is really hard to deal with but also is what makes a lot of us passionate about being in the field, to be part of the change. If its not something you see yourself being able to be resilient towards, I'd caution you against pursuing vetmed. Personally, the lack of recourses actually makes me more passionate about vetmed and I hope to have my own foundation someday in relation to this issue. But tackling that sort of thing isn't for everyone and having to say no to anyone can be too much for some people which is totally reasonable. Go with the choice you'll be able to live with, not the one that feels too hard.

 

[cturtle10]

I am a vet now, and sometimes wish I had gone to medical school instead sadly, but things have worked out one way or the other for me! I have had some incredible chances as a vet- working with animals in South Africa/Belize, interning with WHO, finishing a PhD. if you are interested in inf dz/ecology you can't go wrong with either path. I agree ROI much higher for MD than for DVM, and I feel like MDs are much more respected in society. I am also about to start a public health fellowship where MDs get paid more, despite me having the same/more training. I wouldn't worry about the euthanasia aspect - over time it becomes easier and actually I would think much easier to give an animal a peaceful death than deal with a dying human or possible medical errors or poor outcomes in human field (my partner is a MD and lays awake at night a lot, not that vet medical errors are not stressful). If you are GP as a vet, not being able to pay is a big deal, if you specialize then most of your clients are wealthy and already willing to pay for everything. Training as a vet can be less intense work/life balance wise than MD path, and many vets now are working 3-4 day weeks and getting tons of vacation so things are looking up in that regard (again comparing to my surgeon partner who works virtually 24/7, does get decent vacation he doesn't take). I think you have to ask yourself what will make you happiest and know that you will always think about the other path? It's tough but life, and honestly the money part while critical isn't everything and many other factors are more important for QOL (I am getting all my debt forgiven through various programs). I still have weeks where I question all my decisions. The one thing I will say is that if you are a highly specialized MD there is a chance you could work with non human primates at a zoo with a vet.

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

I definitely don’t work in a fancy ivory tower hospital. More like an urban safety net hospital. Our many indigent and homeless patients get everything including TAVRs, EP Ablations, Davinci mitral repairs, bivent ICDs, Davinci prostatectomies, high end radiation, instrumented fusions for spine trauma, Brainlab cranis, chemo,etc. If they step through the door or get brought to the hospital with a problem, it gets taken care of. As it should be. In general there are more funding sources for humans, and institutions have the ability to cost shift to provide care to those who don’t have funding.

I really wish this were true everywhere! A lot of my clinical experience so far has been at a large safety net hospital (also with comparison at smaller private hospitals, and a lot of work with indigent patients in community/public health settings). I really do think safety net hospitals are incredible and find a way to get many things done. But there’s a TON of stuff our patients don’t get because insurers won’t pay (ironically though, the bad private insurers are often worse than public programs). The issue in my experience is often less with major interventions though but with little things like meds, rehab, things after discharge. Or things take FOREVER because there’s so many other patients in need (whereas private places had much shorter waits). Or being forced to take an inferior option when a better but more expensive option exists. but you’re right that immediately life saving things will be covered for humans in a way that that aren’t for animals.

I think the choices are also a bit different in vet med vs. human med. Like for humans the options aren’t “pay for treatment or euthanize” it’s more like “pay for treatment or let chronic health conditions go frustratingly un(der)treated.” just think it’s important to recognize that (lack of) money plays a huge role in the current practice of human med too.

 

[Manatee3]

How do you feel about humans dying? How do you feel about being required to continue zillion dollar futile care that just prolongs suffering because of unrealistic expectations that their family member will somehow have a miraculous recovery? How do you feel about the risk of med mal (Low risk specialties have a 60% career risk of being sued, high risk is 100%). How do you feel about 7 + years of education before you get your first "real job?" Do whatever puts fire in your belly. I think euthanasia is humane.

 

[APN-59 rph]

The first question I would ask myself is "self" do I even like to deal with the public? But I will jump to the point..my area has gone from a 3k small town to a 30 plus super burb which is swarming with dentists...chiro's...vets...eye doctors...hospitals...pharmacies...satellite hospitals and clinics...faith healers...shamans ...podiatrists...Remember when it was un-ethical to advertise? Now it's multiple mailings a week..TV..Radio...interweb...to stir up biz...Best have a "calling" that includes dealing with increasingly difficult peeps.....and if you are a little guy...good luck finding help..

 

[CrazyHorseLady]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

If you cannot stand animals dying, it really sounds like medical school is the much better option. You would see a lot of animal death as a vet it comes with the work, just as a doctor you may see human death as well, albeit less frequently depending on the specialty you choose. I thought about being an equine vet since I’m a lifelong horseback rider but after being alone during a fatal accident with a horse and having to hold the horse until the vet was able to euthanize them made me realize I could not do that- I need the separation of work to what I love doing outside of work. I am a third year in medical school and enjoy helping people and also going to see my horse!

 

[Emh_omega-323]

Pre-med daughter of a vet here... My dad has been a vet for about 40 years and euthanasia and seeing animals not get the care they need because of money still gets to him. In the past he's been really hesitant to advise anyone go into it now because the salary just does not match the level of debt you take (he ended up going into the pharmaceutical industry to better support our family but does side work at clinics). That said, with the current "pandemic puppy" boom salaries have gone way up (I'm told). The question is, will that last in changing economic conditions.

On the pro-side as a vet, the patients are much, much cuter. As grumpy as he is about it, my Dad seems so happy in a clinic among dogs it's hard to imagine him having chosen anything else. If you can see yourself in either, it does seem like you're in a more secure position in human medicine.

 

[jmiam2]

If you can’t handle animals dying, I don’t think being a vet is for you. It’s exactly why I didn’t do it… and as a vet from my understanding you have to put sick animals down. I couldn’t do it.

You’d be surprised my first day volunteering at a shelter on a surgery night we lost a puppy and the adopted was my old Roomate. **** happens your gonna lose people as patients too. You have to think of it as ending suffering and not killing an animal you know. My mom is a nurse and I can tell as a Dr your going to have very sick patients who are suffering and will beg you to just give them more morphine to end it all. My Nonni was in so much pain at the end and the family Dr agreed with us and did what my family and my Nonni begged him to do. She smoked a blunt went to sleep they gave her some extra morphine (which isn’t what caused her death btw just helped) she smiled and she passed. To be able to put an end to someone or an animals suffering is not hard to do at least not for me.

 

[jmiam2]

How do you feel about humans dying? How do you feel about being required to continue zillion dollar futile care that just prolongs suffering because of unrealistic expectations that their family member will somehow have a miraculous recovery? How do you feel about the risk of med mal (Low risk specialties have a 60% career risk of being sued, high risk is 100%). How do you feel about 7 + years of education before you get your first "real job?" Do whatever puts fire in your belly. I think euthanasia is humane.

I agree my mom is a nurse and she’s just waiting for the day we can legally euthanize humans because if we can end the suffering of our pets why can’t we end the suffering of our humans?

 

[emergentmd]

Being a veterinarian or a physician is just a Job. Let this sink in, it is just a job. What you think is a nobel calling now will be just a job when you are 5+ years into the field. Like every other job, it may be exciting wide eyed early on, but ends up being a job. Ask a Neurosugeon, airline pilot, nurse, musician. Eventually, they all end up being a Job.

So your choice is be a Vet going to work at "the Job" for 40 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr or you can be a physican going to work at "the job" for 15-20 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr then spend the other 20-25 hrs a week doing what you are passionate about.

Eventually everything becomes "a Job". You may like your job or hate your job, but it will just be "a job" you like or hate. Trust me, the passion and nobility eventually dies out.

Best to make money and have more time to pursue your passion.

 

[huxley1114]

I have heard the return on investment of becoming a veterinarian is not fantastic and the job market is fairly saturated. Medicine awards you with a lifetime of financial and career stability. If the tuition is less (particularly in-state) then this is just a no-brainer.

Actually there is a shortage of vets right now and plenty of work out there in the field.

 

[SharonShares]

I have heard the return on investment of becoming a veterinarian is not fantastic and the job market is fairly saturated. Medicine awards you with a lifetime of financial and career stability. If the tuition is less (particularly in-state) then this is just a no-brainer.

In our area of the country (Western NY/Upstate NY) there is definitely NOT a saturated job market especially in large animals and equines. It seems that here our large animal vets move to small animals to improve their quality of life. Large animals mean driving between farms, a mix of outcomes, referring animals to our major veterinary hospital (Cornell) and lots of emergency calls. That said - we LOVE our vet. It's not always inexpensive but in many areas you either pay a premium or you don't get a vet. There is plenty of room to specialize but the practices are mostly small and it's a lot about fitting with a team or opening a mobile practice. I can tell you have all the factss to make the best decision for you. Best of Luck whatever you choose.

 

[jmiam2]

Being a veterinarian or a physician is just a Job. Let this sink in, it is just a job. What you think is a nobel calling now will be just a job when you are 5+ years into the field. Like every other job, it may be exciting wide eyed early on, but ends up being a job. Ask a Neurosugeon, airline pilot, nurse, musician. Eventually, they all end up being a Job.

So your choice is be a Vet going to work at "the Job" for 40 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr or you can be a physican going to work at "the job" for 15-20 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr then spend the other 20-25 hrs a week doing what you are passionate about.

Eventually everything becomes "a Job". You may like your job or hate your job, but it will just be "a job" you like or hate. Trust me, the passion and nobility eventually dies out.

Best to make money and have more time to pursue your passion.

Maybe to you. My mom has been a nurse 45 years and is heartbroken to be retiring. She loves being a nurse she doesn’t see it as a job at all. You must not love what you do because if your truly passionate about something it’ll never feel like just a job. This is horrible advice to give to someone. It’s not all about money either you have to love what you do.

 

[aldol16]

Depends. Do you want to be this guy?

 

[jmiam2]

Depends. Do you want to be this guy? View attachment 352590

No one wants to be that guy, but I still want to be a vet

 

[vetsquared]

Hi there! I’m a veterinary student, so I can really only speak to the veterinary aspect of your decision. I would say that if you can see yourself being happy in a field other than veterinary medicine, you should very seriously consider that. Veterinary medicine is currently plagued with a number of issues, some of which you have addressed.

-The debt:income ratio is appalling, and since you’ve been accepted to an OOS school, you will be facing an enormous amount of debt. An IS medical school and career receiving physician pay will provide you with much greater financial stability. Even though the field is booming right now and it is a job-seeker’s market, it hasn’t always been this way, nor will it continue to be.

-The veterinary profession is facing a mental health crisis (not just for DVMs, but techs/assistants as well). A large part of being a vet is figuring out how to provide the best medical care within the client’s budget. If there is no budget, you have to be able to walk away understanding that it isn’t a “you problem” and that you did your job to the best of your ability. Since this is already an issue for you, I would really think about the consequences on your mental health of pursuing a career in veterinary medicine where this will be an issue that never disappears.

-If you have been so deeply affected by seeing two veterinary patients die, how do you plan to handle human patient death? Death in any medical field is inevitable and always takes some emotional processing. Are you so upset because you’ve had limited exposure to death and haven’t developed coping mechanisms yet? Is this an issue specific to animals? These are some things to consider when debating between the two fields because no matter what, you will experience death.

This isn’t to say that veterinary medicine is bad! We get way more autonomy! We don’t have to do a residency! Even as a general practitioner, you get to do surgery and procedures! You see such a wide range of cases and get to work with totally different anatomies and physiologies! For me, the decision was a no-brainer and I had zero interest in touching human medicine with a ten-foot pole. But… for most people, the downsides outweigh the upsides, so it’ll take some introspection on your part to weigh that.

 

[Dobermann]

Well, my old roommate had a mug that said “Veterinary medicine, because people are gross” and it seems to have worked out for her!

 

[emergentmd]

Maybe to you. My mom has been a nurse 45 years and is heartbroken to be retiring. She loves being a nurse she doesn’t see it as a job at all. You must not love what you do because if your truly passionate about something it’ll never feel like just a job. This is horrible advice to give to someone. It’s not all about money either you have to love what you do.

I never stated its all about money. Also, I really enjoy my job but saying "I love it" is a reach or we just have different definitions. I love my kids/family, and wake up wanting to give them hugs every morning. That is love. I do not wake up every morning, yearning to drop everything so I can jump into the ER to see more patients.

So yes, from your definition, I do not love and not passionate about medicine. But so are 99+% of docs, Vets, nurses, or essentially every job.

Lets take emotions out of this and asks 10 of your friends if they love their jobs. By your definition, you would be lucky to have 1 person who loves their job. Now ask that one person if the would still do their job if they were paid 1/4 of their current salary. If they answered yes, then they would be lying to you.

Ask you mom if they paid her 1/4 of her salary and worked 2x the number of hours because she is so passionate about being a nurse and its not all about money. If she answers yes, she would be lying to you.

I can tell you are still young with rose colored glasses. Keep this conversation in mind and you will see what reality is like when you are in your early 30's.

 

[jmiam2]

I never stated its all about money. Also, I really enjoy my job but saying "I love it" is a reach or we just have different definitions. I love my kids/family, and wake up wanting to give them hugs every morning. That is love. I do not wake up every morning, yearning to drop everything so I can jump into the ER to see more patients.

So yes, from your definition, I do not love and not passionate about medicine. But so are 99+% of docs, Vets, nurses, or essentially every job.

Lets take emotions out of this and asks 10 of your friends if they love their jobs. By your definition, you would be lucky to have 1 person who loves their job. Now ask that one person if the would still do their job if they were paid 1/4 of their current salary. If they answered yes, then they would be lying to you.

Ask you mom if they paid her 1/4 of her salary and worked 2x the number of hours because she is so passionate about being a nurse and its not all about money. If she answers yes, she would be lying to you.

I can tell you are still young with rose colored glasses. Keep this conversation in mind and you will see what reality is like when you are in your early 30's.

I really don’t appreciate the negativity. My last job I loved and cried for a year after I had to leave and it was a job where I got hit and peed on and bit and all that (by humans) but I loved it and I loved the kids. Not everyone is miserable like you.

 

[cturtle10]

I never stated its all about money. Also, I really enjoy my job but saying "I love it" is a reach or we just have different definitions. I love my kids/family, and wake up wanting to give them hugs every morning. That is love. I do not wake up every morning, yearning to drop everything so I can jump into the ER to see more patients.

So yes, from your definition, I do not love and not passionate about medicine. But so are 99+% of docs, Vets, nurses, or essentially every job.

Lets take emotions out of this and asks 10 of your friends if they love their jobs. By your definition, you would be lucky to have 1 person who loves their job. Now ask that one person if the would still do their job if they were paid 1/4 of their current salary. If they answered yes, then they would be lying to you.

Ask you mom if they paid her 1/4 of her salary and worked 2x the number of hours because she is so passionate about being a nurse and its not all about money. If she answers yes, she would be lying to you.

I can tell you are still young with rose colored glasses. Keep this conversation in mind and you will see what reality is like when you are in your early 30's.

I am not sure this is a super helpful attitude with the OP's question above. With that type of attitude, I wouldn't enter either profession. Both take a lot of time, money, and investment that many other high paying fields do not (banking, consulting, data science, etc). Not only do these routes cause debt to be incurred, but there is also 4 years of lost income. I am also in my early 30s, and also wonder if I should have gone that route looking at friends who have big 401ks, etc. However, I don't think I would be happy in a non-helping profession. At the end of the day, you will spend more time at work (especially as MD, probably as DVM) than with your family, so it is worth liking/tolerating what you do. Of course, you can have a full life not loving your job, but many (including myself), see their job as part of their life purpose. And to me, that is very fulfilling.

 

[emergentmd]

I really don’t appreciate the negativity. My last job I loved and cried for a year after I had to leave and it was a job where I got hit and peed on and bit and all that (by humans) but I loved it and I loved the kids. Not everyone is miserable like you.

I am not sure how to go from me being a realist with many years of experience to being miserable.... really odd take.

I am one of the most happy if not happiest doc I know with a great family. I like going to work where I still make most of the decision. I enjoy the people I work with. I make more money on an hourly basis as surgical subspecialist.

The bottom line is, a Job is called a job for a reason. Its a means to an end. Best to enjoy your job but atleast be bearable. Your rainbows and rose colored glasses are what makes many docs miserable.

Med students come in thinking they will change the world, make decisions only on patient care, where they walk out the door having changed everyone's life they touched. What they will find is docs/vet do not change the world much, patient care takes a back seat to money, decisions are made by the hospital or the Management group that owns you. Once they find out that its just a Job, then they get depressed/jaded.

I am a realist. I like my job. I make 1% money working 30hrs/wk. I change a few lives a month. Then I spend my money in my free time doing what I love. If you call this miserable, then I am fine wallowing in misery

 

[emergentmd]

I am not sure this is a super helpful attitude with the OP's question above. With that type of attitude, I wouldn't enter either profession. Both take a lot of time, money, and investment that many other high paying fields do not (banking, consulting, data science, etc). Not only do these routes cause debt to be incurred, but there is also 4 years of lost income. I am also in my early 30s, and also wonder if I should have gone that route looking at friends who have big 401ks, etc. However, I don't think I would be happy in a non-helping profession. At the end of the day, you will spend more time at work (especially as MD, probably as DVM) than with your family, so it is worth liking/tolerating what you do. Of course, you can have a full life not loving your job, but many (including myself), see their job as part of their life purpose. And to me, that is very fulfilling.

My advice is helpful if you want a realistic real world opinion. He did not pose the question of doing his dream job as a vet and make 100k vs doing a miserable job as a MD making 400K. He is torn between two fields and I am just telling him to pick the field where he makes more $$$, can work half the hours making more than a Vet and then spend his extra time doing what he loves including animal care.

Look, If Vet school is similar or more than Med school, he is looking down the barrel of 400K+ debt making 100K/yr (median pay I just found on google). It would take him 10-20 yrs to pay that off living a pauper life

Or he could go to med school, have 400K debt making 300K/yr paying the debt off in 5 years. After 5 yrs, work 20 hrs making 150K and volunteer doing animal care or whatever he wants.

"Of course, you can have a full life not loving your job, but many (including myself), see their job as part of their life purpose."

Wow... rainbows here. Go tell 10 Vet or docs this and they will start to just shake their heads.

 

[MidoriMo]

While I think everyone's perspective here is important and valuable and it's good to bring up a realistic point of view, I think we are all getting a bit off track from trying to provide neutral and useful information for OP to help inform their decision and instead are projecting onto them a little. At the end of the day everyone finds fulfillment from different things family, work, hobbies, time spent volunteering, etc and it is important we consider how we can try to maximize these things in our lives while also not sacrificing our wellbeing, stability, and future. OP, choose the profession you think will allow you to pursue what makes you most fulfilled and take into account if you want things in the future like a large family, a house, etc and how your job may affect your ability to do those things. We cannot make this decision for you and whatever you choose, there are ways to maximize your happiness within these fields. Maybe take a while longer to get more experience in both so you can feel most informed about what your life might be like.

 

[LunaOri]

I think both are wonderful careers. I made the choice of MD over DVM. I do like my job very much (knowing you are helping people is a good feeling). That being said, if I had to do it again, I would choose veterinary medicine instead, and specialize in theriogenology or surgery. I’d prefer to spend every day working with animals.

 

[JustPaws]

return on investment of becoming a veterinarian is not fantastic and the job market is fairly saturated

ROI is correct when compared to human med incomes unless you own a very profitable small animal clinic
Job market statement is incorrect, there are MANY open positions and salaries have recently increased quite a bit due to this. There can be local saturation, for example in a very wealthy city neighborhood.

 

[battie]

I am trying to decide between going to vet school and going to med school. I have been accepted to both. I have always loved animals and at one point thought I would do a PhD in ecology. I have worked as a veterinary technician and in ophthalmology research. Working as a technician, I was sometimes very discouraged by the lack of resources to treat patients. I certainly don't blame the owners, but knowing that there is a treatment available and being unable to treat the patient simply due to money was heartbreaking. I also absolutely can't handle animals dying. I was lucky to only see two patients die in the 8 months I was there, but it was terrible and I don't ever want to go through that again. As a research coordinator at an ophthalmology clinic, I loved the work we were doing. As a human surgeon, I wouldn't get to work with diverse species, but I would still enjoy most of the work and I would get paid about 3-5x as much as a vet. The tuition is higher for vet school and, for the human and vet specialties I am interested in, the training would be almost the same amount of time.

Has anyone else had to decide between these two? What influenced your final decision?

I'm a baby doc 10 months into practice.

I am 50/50 GP/ER in vet med and have the unlucky nick name as doctor death. I euthanized 4 pets on Saturday (1 cancer, 1 behavior, 2 ancient). That's pretty typical of my ER days as far as the number of euthamasias I perform. I've had plenty where the option was 5-7k surgery due at discharge or euthanize because the diagnosis will kill the dog horribly and soon. To be fair, all my thank you cards/gifts have been from emotional euthanasias. It's a difficult moment for clients and I think its the most important part of my job.

Likewise, I just saved my first heat stroke dog (Frenchie, so not shocked) two weeks ago. That was heckin awesome tbh. My first laceration repair? Still have those pics on my phone. Using endoscopy to pull a penny out of a puppy's stomach? Super cool. So I may be doctor death about around 5hrs a week; but the other doctoring hours are pretty good.

Just wanted to point out that unless you work exclusively with wealthy patients in a fancy ivory tower hospital, you'll probably encounter this in a human med career as well. Not that you should let it dissuade you from medicine (it can in fact be a driving force for many of us!), but I don't know that it should be your deciding factor between human and vet med.

If clients can't pay my $135 ER fee, I *can* at least stabilize at the financial expense of my hospital and potentially my production/income. I cannot do anything other than stop it from dying. Client never pays, we have the option of sending to collections. Even with the insurance companies, we don't get financial recourse as ours are reimbursement models. It really ****ing sucks to euthanize a dog for a broken leg.

 

[JustPaws]

If I was younger and had time to do it over I would have picked MD over DVM but I already had enough background knowledge and experiences to get into vet school. That being said I know I would have loved both careers.

 

[DVMDream]

I'm a DVM. I'm practically just dead inside anymore. But then, I think the human medical field has taken a giant blow these last couple years and a lot of them are feeling rather dead inside too.

I love medicine. I love animals. It is a good job, but damn it kills your soul over time. I try to remind myself it is only a job, try to find joy in other things but sometimes the cases get carried with you.

Yeah, I know not helpful. Medicine regardless of which one is difficult, soul crushing, mind numbing work. It can be very rewarding sometimes but I do encourage anyone that has decided to join either field to have an outlet that isn't medicine. That 20 hour work week someone else was mentioning above and using the other 20 hours for "hobbies" sounds incredible. Not possible to do in vet med, but I'll go dream about the idea tonight while I sleep.

 

[Hzreio]

Just go into pediatrics for the best of both worlds

 

[cturtle10]

My advice is helpful if you want a realistic real world opinion. He did not pose the question of doing his dream job as a vet and make 100k vs doing a miserable job as a MD making 400K. He is torn between two fields and I am just telling him to pick the field where he makes more $$$, can work half the hours making more than a Vet and then spend his extra time doing what he loves including animal care.

Look, If Vet school is similar or more than Med school, he is looking down the barrel of 400K+ debt making 100K/yr (median pay I just found on google). It would take him 10-20 yrs to pay that off living a pauper life

Or he could go to med school, have 400K debt making 300K/yr paying the debt off in 5 years. After 5 yrs, work 20 hrs making 150K and volunteer doing animal care or whatever he wants.

"Of course, you can have a full life not loving your job, but many (including myself), see their job as part of their life purpose."

Wow... rainbows here. Go tell 10 Vet or docs this and they will start to just shake their heads.

Just wanted to clarify on your numbers a bit- average DVM debt is around 180k, maybe 200-300k if out of state, vet salaries are sky rocketing now (that average is out of date and takes into account large animal where pay is much less), it's also fairly easy to get your debt forgiven via PSLF, or research (all my loans forgiven by the time I am 7 years out and I barely paid anything), also worth checking if OOS state school offers scholarship (I got 15k a year in scholarship at my OOS)
Also-you don't make 300k right out of med school and STARTING DVM salaries now in most cities are approaching 150k (I just got an ad with a 75k sign on bonus in NYC, and one in philly working 3 days a week 130-150k) ( ie. more than a MD intern/resident)
Working part time as a MD sounds awesome- can't speak to if that is a norm, but sounds like a good option down the road
Agreed- it's mostly a job like anything else, but it's still something you will be spending a substantial quantity of time on, even part time.
If what you love is spending time with animals, then get the DVM, and use your free time to travel the world and do spay/neuter
If what you love is human med, that's awesome too, agreed that both paths will be fruitful!

 

[deleted314957]

Large animal ( horse) vet in Ocala, FL. ($$$$$). Remember, there ain’t no medicare for horses. It is a robber baron’s
fiefdom. In the 80’s, before we sold our clin lab to Dow Corning ( predecessor of MetPath then Quest) we sold an old Colter Counter to an Ocala horse vet. We asked him about the profit potential and that is where the “ There ain’t no medicare/medicaid for horses” came from. The charges were, and I presume still are, obscene. We dabbled in vet path with a 1099 person in the 80’s. Just did not fit the group hx/ethos.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I'm a DVM. I'm practically just dead inside anymore. But then, I think the human medical field has taken a giant blow these last couple years and a lot of them are feeling rather dead inside too.

I love medicine. I love animals. It is a good job, but damn it kills your soul over time. I try to remind myself it is only a job, try to find joy in other things but sometimes the cases get carried with you.

Yeah, I know not helpful. Medicine regardless of which one is difficult, soul crushing, mind numbing work. It can be very rewarding sometimes but I do encourage anyone that has decided to join either field to have an outlet that isn't medicine. That 20 hour work week someone else was mentioning above and using the other 20 hours for "hobbies" sounds incredible. Not possible to do in vet med, but I'll go dream about the idea tonight while I sleep.

I feel like this is true for most jobs though aside from maybe professional athlete or actor. When I started my most recent job, I was very interested in finance and it was a hobby of sorts. Now I somewhat dread making models, excel etc.

I think over time most jobs lose their luster

 

[emergentmd]

For most people a Job is just a JOB and most becomes a cookie cutter job. I am an ER doc and many think its exciting, chaotic, critical pts overflowing the dept which is true many times but eventually even all my most chaotic ER jobs becomes cookie cutter. A job of any kind becomes fun when you form relationships and most enjoyable when I shoot the bull with the staff. Even cardiac resuscitation, central line placement, intubations becomes boring.

Also, to the poster who brought up loan forgiveness being a debt outlet, I believe the last data point says about 2% gets forgiven so I would not bank on this.

 

[DVMDream]

Just wanted to clarify on your numbers a bit- average DVM debt is around 180k, maybe 200-300k if out of state, vet salaries are sky rocketing now (that average is out of date and takes into account large animal where pay is much less), it's also fairly easy to get your debt forgiven via PSLF, or research (all my loans forgiven by the time I am 7 years out and I barely paid anything), also worth checking if OOS state school offers scholarship (I got 15k a year in scholarship at my OOS)
Also-you don't make 300k right out of med school and STARTING DVM salaries now in most cities are approaching 150k (I just got an ad with a 75k sign on bonus in NYC, and one in philly working 3 days a week 130-150k) ( ie. more than a MD intern/resident)
Working part time as a MD sounds awesome- can't speak to if that is a norm, but sounds like a good option down the road
Agreed- it's mostly a job like anything else, but it's still something you will be spending a substantial quantity of time on, even part time.
If what you love is spending time with animals, then get the DVM, and use your free time to travel the world and do spay/neuter
If what you love is human med, that's awesome too, agreed that both paths will be fruitful!

It isn't easy to find places to work that qualify for PSLF in vet med, shelters will be most common and you will take a pay cut to work in them compared to GP or ER pay. Most people that have applied for PSLF have been denied. I don't know what research opportunity you found that included full debt forgiveness after 7 years, but I'm going to hazard a guess there are very very few opportunities like that out there. I'm 6 years out and make less than $100k (and no not large animal or small rural area). I work weekends, overnights and holidays. Some salaries are increasing, but so are student debts. I'm at $400k in debt. I feel like most vets are at minimum $200k in debt coming out now. Vet med salary to debt ratio is still no where near close to MD salary to debt ratio.

 

[deleted314957]

Being a veterinarian or a physician is just a Job. Let this sink in, it is just a job. What you think is a nobel calling now will be just a job when you are 5+ years into the field. Like every other job, it may be exciting wide eyed early on, but ends up being a job. Ask a Neurosugeon, airline pilot, nurse, musician. Eventually, they all end up being a Job.

So your choice is be a Vet going to work at "the Job" for 40 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr or you can be a physican going to work at "the job" for 15-20 hrs a week making 100-150K/yr then spend the other 20-25 hrs a week doing what you are passionate about.

Eventually everything becomes "a Job". You may like your job or hate your job, but it will just be "a job" you like or hate. Trust me, the passion and nobility eventually dies out.

Best to make money and have more time to pursue your passion.

Retired 1977 MD grad here.
When I was a resident, the age-old question “ is medicine an art or a science?” was posed to an older attending. He immediately responded, “Neither. It is a business.” 45 years has definitely confirmed the wisdom of his answer.