Veterinary

Yahooaccount

Any info about the job?

Monksie

veterinary nursing¬UCD whats involved i love animals but is the course difficult>>?

Anthony16

Yahooaccount wrote: »

Any info about the job?

Course is as tough if not harder than medicine. long hours involved in the job,especially if you run your own practice,although you would make much more money this way.
Very rewarding,in terms of being able to save animals lives and the dgree is fully accepted in the states and Oz.However,the irish market will be flooded in yrs to come but you can still earn enough to have a comfortable lifestyle and enjoy doing wat u do

Tequilita

Just wanted to point out that the money earned after a long week plus on call hours can often be less than minimum wage.. Add to that the stress associated with the responsibility of the job and fatigue as a result of physical, intellectual and emotional strain but also a lack of sleep depending on the time of year and you'll find this job doesn't pay nearly half as well as it should.

As for satisfying work - the animals cured/improving are often not seen again. Those not improving return with unhappy owners etc etc and it's these cases that you will remember when you go home at the end of the day..

I don't mean to sound so negative but I think there is a reason that vets have the second highest rate of depression career wise (first is dentistry) and often this does not become apparent until one has finished the five years and is actually working.

As regards working in the US - yes the UCD veterinary degree is now recognised. However, a further US exam must be taken (the NAVLEs) and more individual testing may be needed depending on the state in which you wish to work. The exams and licensing cost the guts of a small fortune and that's before you even go near visas to work in America. The process takes months and months and can be extremely frustrating. The money for small animal work is much better though and that, coupled with the lack of vet jobs in Ireland and the UK at the moment can make it a worthwhile option even with all the bull**** involved.

There are a lot of positive points to working as a vet too but I think the majority of my class had no idea as to the realities of this job. The drop-out rate after a three/four years is astounding to many considering the work that went into getting this far but not surprising as a member of the profession.

I hate to come across so negative and I know myself that years ago if someone had told me the same thing -that I wouldn't have listened - all I ever wanted to do.. etc etc. but I feel I would be wrong to say nothing..

Please pm me if you have any questions. Also, feel free to argue any points..

Anthony16

Tequilita wrote: »

Just wanted to point out that the money earned after a long week plus on call hours can often be less than minimum wage.. Add to that the stress associated with the responsibility of the job and fatigue as a result of physical, intellectual and emotional strain but also a lack of sleep depending on the time of year and you'll find this job doesn't pay nearly half as well as it should.

As for satisfying work - the animals cured/improving are often not seen again. Those not improving return with unhappy owners etc etc and it's these cases that you will remember when you go home at the end of the day..

I don't mean to sound so negative but I think there is a reason that vets have the second highest rate of depression career wise (first is dentistry) and often this does not become apparent until one has finished the five years and is actually working.

As regards working in the US - yes the UCD veterinary degree is now recognised. However, a further US exam must be taken (the NAVLEs) and more individual testing may be needed depending on the state in which you wish to work. The exams and licensing cost the guts of a small fortune and that's before you even go near visas to work in America. The process takes months and months and can be extremely frustrating. The money for small animal work is much better though and that, coupled with the lack of vet jobs in Ireland and the UK at the moment can make it a worthwhile option even with all the bull**** involved.

There are a lot of positive points to working as a vet too but I think the majority of my class had no idea as to the realities of this job. The drop-out rate after a three/four years is astounding to many considering the work that went into getting this far but not surprising as a member of the profession.

I hate to come across so negative and I know myself that years ago if someone had told me the same thing -that I wouldn't have listened - all I ever wanted to do.. etc etc. but I feel I would be wrong to say nothing..

Please pm me if you have any questions. Also, feel free to argue any points..

Fair play for telling it like it is.I have brought up the problems with veterinary on previous threads and ppl basically claimed i was talkin nonsense.The truth hurts i guess,and people dont like to hear it a lot of the time.

Mrs Brightside

aw man...its my first choice on the cao...!!as uve sed lik its [QUOTE=all I ever wanted to do.. etc etc[/QUOTE] but this is reaaly puttin a damper on it...fairplay for speakin out about it tho, at least ur lettin us no wat to expect goin in neway so we re not completly blind to wats ahead!

dvet

A huge problem is, most people don't know what to expect when they get into college. Some facts about being a vet:

For most, the hours are terrible - days, nights, weekends (although if you want to do small animals & work in dublin, a lot of practises have no out of hours, so that's a big plus).

For what you're actually doing, they pay is terrible. (a few years down, if you own a practise, you may make some money but I'd never expect to be rich!)

Yes, some clients will hate you for no reason... some people will also love you for no reason. A BIG part of the job is being able to get on with people and this will make all the difference between a 'good' vet and a 'bad' vet, and to how much you enjoy the job.

You will sometimes beat yourself up over things you did wrong or even just think you did wrong...You will probably mess up and kill things.... But you will also do a great job sometimes and get a real thrill out of it.

I think if you go into college after doing as much work experience as possible, and knowing all of the above things, and you still want to do it, then go for it! Nobody should tell you otherwise. But if you want an easy life, pick something else.