Animal Health Care Courses

Meredith

Hi everyone,

I may be in the wrong forum topic here but here goes! Does anyone have any info or know much about how useful Animal Health Care courses are? There's a one year fulltime course in Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education and a two year fulltime diploma in the Bray Institute of Further Education.

I've been working fulltime for almost 10 years now and am in a total rut in my job. I know I'm lucky to have a job at the moment but I'd love a career change but obviously with the ways things are at the moment, looking for work elsewhere may not be an option. There are opportunities for voluntary redundancy packages coming up at work within the next month or two. I've no idea if I'll even get one if I apply but if I was to get it it would be pretty decent I'd have a cushion for about a year where I wouldn't have to work....but I don't know about risking taking a year to study something in the Animal Health Care area and then have no job at the end of it?

If anyone has done any of these courses and has any info to share I'd be most grateful!
Thanks

Lauragoesmad

Hi,
Killester College do a Veterinary Assistant course. I think its one year fulltime. As far as I know, the anicare groups work with Killester College to get graduates jobs.

http://www.killestercollege.ie/index.asp?locID=33&docID=-1

anniehoo

Hi Meredith,
I really admire your decision to change career but im going to be realistic with you here. While working with animals is an incredibly rewarding job, you need to way up the options of how you will survive financially. Most animal related jobs, apart from veterinary arent that well paid and if you dont have some kind of recognised qualification or previous work experience the options may be a bit limited. Veterinary nursing is a 3 yr course, soon to be a degree and you will earn <€25k (a vet assistant even less); the zoo is incredibly difficult to get into along with the ISPCAs and its affiliates.

Im sorry i sound so negative and money orientated, but i too thought about my options along time ago and realised that to have a reasonable standard of living, my "dream job" wasnt an option for me. I now volunteer for animal charities, petsit and work in an pet orientated job that pretty much satisfies my needs for wanting to work with animals. Good luck though and dont pin all your hopes on just one job.

kazza90210

I have just finished the Bray course and be aware even though they say its a diploma its not it is only a cert course level 5 feteac, but i think they are changing it to a level 6 next year. its a very board course covering alot of different areas but its a lot of work for the reward at the end and some of the course is bull****, At the end you can basically you can work as a vet assistant, dog groomer or open your own business. the money will never be good unless you open your own business and its successful.

Would you not look at something in one of the bigger colleges like Animal Science, Zoology etc??

Munster Gal

I have to echo what everyone else here has said. Those courses are a means towards an end but on their own won't guarantee a financially rewarding career. I suppose it all depends on what you want to do at the end of it. I'm on maternity leave at the moment from my job as a practice manager in a veterinary hospital and to be honest when we're looking for nursing staff we require vet nursing qualifications - some course providers in this general area(not especially the ones mentioned here) tell their students that they'll be vet nurses at the end of it all which is simply not true. 3 of our staff did Fetac animal care courses and did vet nursing afterwards. 1 girl works part-time with us and runs a boarding kennels & cattery from her home and the another girl does grooming as a sideline also.
I'd say work out exactly what it is you want to do in the animal line and then reassess.

Meredith

Hi everyone,

Many thanks for all of your replies, I really appreciate the feedback. Yeah, I knew the money wouldn't be great in this area without a decent qualification. I have a eneral degree in science but it's 10 years now since I left college and have worked in the financial world since. My job is pretty unfulfilling but I agree, I think with the way things are now I'm better off staying put where I am and look for another course to do on a part time basis instead. I've signed up with the DSPCA to volunteer and am waiting on their next round of volunteer orientation sessions to be announced so at least that'll be a nice diversion from my otherwise mundane job, but at least it's paying the bills for me!

Thanks again everyone:)

PurplePossum

How did you get on? I'm in a position where have just finished college last year but there are no jobs in the area I've graduated in... So back to the drawing board...Would be reluctant to put another few years into studying if I want to go into animal care/veterinary nursing with the way employment situation is in Ireland, not to mention wondering how i'd finance it!! But since don't have a job at the minute, have to do something!! Aargh!!

LMSFP2012

kazza90210 wrote: »

I have just finished the Bray course and be aware even though they say its a diploma its not it is only a cert course level 5 feteac, but i think they are changing it to a level 6 next year. its a very board course covering alot of different areas but its a lot of work for the reward at the end and some of the course is bull****, At the end you can basically you can work as a vet assistant, dog groomer or open your own business. the money will never be good unless you open your own business and its successful.

Would you not look at something in one of the bigger colleges like Animal Science, Zoology etc??

Hi kazza90210,

I saw your post from a while ago regarding the animal care course in bray - I'm looking at starting it in September - just wondering how you got on, were you able to get a job at the end of it?

Any advise/feedback that you have would be great!!

Thanks :-)