A Vet

Kershaw.D

Hi I'm very interested in animals and want to train to be come a veterinarian
what colleges/universities does the degrees in that stuff
And Would a vet who owns his own vet make much money

Glowing

You need to be extremely academic first and foremost ... it's a long degree course and far from a walk in the park. 6, 7 years at college before you even consider earning a penny. UCD does it as far as I know. I hear it's tougher than regular medicine ....

IMO you need more than an 'interest in animals' to become a vet!

ecaf

Think you should read this....do you have the points to do it? I would have loved to do it to, but it's like being a doctor and I just simply didn't have them!

http://www.daycourses.com/careers/veterinary_animal/veterinary_medicine.html

Beth

Why not ask for a fortnights work experience in a vets and see if its still for you?

A friend of mine did that as she thought about becoming a vet. She was like the female Dr Doolittle. Horses would follow her down the lane, the dogs at her side, the cats following at a distance. We all thought she'd be a vet as she is a natural with any animal she came across. When she did some work experience, she found it was not for her - that while she loved animals, she couldn't handle the sick, ill or cruel cases that came into the surgery. She was much too soft for it.

The Sweeper

+1 on the work experience.

You have to remember that most of what walks (or stumbles, or limps, or is carried) into a veterinary surgery is sick or injured, so it's not about animals at their best. The best way to see if that's something that you really want to help with and fix is to get some time at the coalface.

Kershaw.D

Thanks I will be doing a months work experence before i mke my decision

Our man in Havana

We need more exotic vets in Ireland - most vets deal with farm animals, cats & dogs. We need folks who are willing to learn about reptiles, small exotics, primates, skunks, etc etc etc. If you have the brains & are willing to spend the next 10 years really learning - 6-7 years in college then your first few working years will be spent learning LOTS! Unlike doctors vets need to learn a lot of different species etc. Good luck if you do decide to start the training! If you become qualified - specialise in exotics & come & work in Laois & I will have plenty of work for you!

Kershaw.D

If I was to become a vet I would proably stay in dublin
But I wont be any more I started my first days work experience today and didnt like it at all I nearli started crying when he had to put down a dog
Id proably be better off working somewere that involves animals just not something that hurts them

andreac

you need higher points for veterinary than medicine and even with that you are not guaranteed to get in anyway as they only have around 60 places in the whole of ireland.

If that vet was putting down an animal he was probably putting the dog out of its misery and freeing it from pain and not the other way around.

Sometimes vets have to do things that isnt nice but its always for the benefit of the animal.

Clare Bear

Unfortunately a lot of animal lovers aren't cut out for Veterinary careers, be it surgeons, nurses etc. You need to grow a thick skin and sometimes that can be hard. I know myself, the first few years I found it incredibly difficult being a Vet nurse and would often think of giving it up. Thankfully I now work in Dublin Zoo so cruelty isn't an issue (well some may say Zoos are cruel but you know what I mean) so am very happy in my job but working in Veterinary Clinics in Kildare and Dublin made me seriously doubt mankind on occasions. I will never get some images I witnessed out of my head as long as I live so just being an animal lover and getting the points isn't enough, you have to be able to switch off when it comes to the bad stuff.

bigpinkelephant

Clare Bear wrote: »

I will never get some images I witnessed out of my head as long as I live so just being an animal lover and getting the points isn't enough, you have to be able to switch off when it comes to the bad stuff.

What sort of images?
I was reading a dog magazine recently, they had a feature in light of the BBC programme "Pedigree Dogs exposed".
On the letters page there was a lady who wrote in. She said she used to be a vet nurse and that not all breeders are bad but what some "animal lovers" will do for the sake of a breed standard was awful.
She basically said that she chose a new career as she could no longer deal with the stress of her job and that there were things she would never miss, like having to watch lively, happy and healthy Dalmatian puppies be put down because they had too many spots.

Clare Bear

Didn't really come across things like that, though that is horrific :mad: Mainly cruelty cases, I won't go in to detail but a couple of years on and they're still as fresh in my mind as the day I saw them. What some people do to animals is disturbing and I'd rather not share it with people here.

It's a tough job, I have a lot of respect for Vets and Vet nurses, they have to deal with a lot of horrible things.

Glowing

Kershaw.D wrote: »

But I wont be any more I started my first days work experience today and didnt like it at all I nearli started crying when he had to put down a dog
Id proably be better off working somewere that involves animals just not something that hurts them

Seriously, what do you think vets do? Rubbing fluffy bunnies all day?

Stick with the work experience, it won't be easy but one day won't give you enough of an idea I'd say.

pinkdaisy

I am currently studying to be a vet in UCD so hopefully I can give you some advice.
It is a 5 year course NOT 6/7 years as is the common misconception, and it is very intense. The hours are long and the workload is high, in some years more than other years. It is also not an easy course to get into, but once you do, it's easy to settle into a routine. The classes are mixed between lab work and lectures, and in the first two years the students travel to the UCD farm to gain hands on experience with large animals.
We have to study 5 species in depth; cows, sheep, dogs, cats and pigs, and some other species are covered as well, with the opportunity to do research projects on the ones that interest you. If you have absolutely no interest in the agricultural world than you'll struggle as a large portion of the course in the first two years was based on farm animals. An interest in science is also hugely important...

Therefore some work experience before undertaking to put in all the work to get into the course and survive it would be vital! If possible, do work experience in both a large and small animal environment to get a better feel for the variety of work vets do...

It takes a lot more than a love of animals to succeed in becoming a vet, you need to dedicate yourself to it for 5 years in college and then after that. You mentioned the amount of money a vet makes in your OP and that is not really something you should base your decision on. The money isn't bad but it's not out of this world by any means, especially in newly qualified vets.

It is not something to be undertaken lightly, but throughout my years of study there has not been a day when I have regretted it. Best of luck if you decide it's something you would like to pursue and if you would like any more info, feel free to pm me!:)

merryhappy

Kershaw.D wrote: »

If I was to become a vet I would proably stay in dublin
But I wont be any more I started my first days work experience today and didnt like it at all I nearli started crying when he had to put down a dog
Id proably be better off working somewere that involves animals just not something that hurts them

Okay.. sounds like veterinary is not the career for you. Some might advise you to stick with it, telling you you'll get used to it. In my opinion sick/dying animals is not something you can learn to get used to, you either have the ability to detach yoruself or you don't.

On the other hand, there are other courses you could do like animal science in UCD, a plc course in animal care and then go on to do animal-training courses. If you are prepared to go to the UK there are animal behaviour and welfare in Chester and Bristol universities.

Good Luck with whatever you choose!