Working with animals what to do?

Adnan44

Some advice needed for an 18 year old, no work experience.
Loves all animals (especially dogs) & would like to work with animals in some way. She has looked into vetinary assistant courses but it would mean she would have to travel a far bit & she's not quite ready for all that.

I have suggested voluntering with something, don't really know what.
She's quite shy & certainly a home bird. Has anyone got any suggestions? We're in West of Ireland.

Walter H Price

Adnan44 wrote: »

Some advice needed for an 18 year old, no work experience.
Loves all animals (especially dogs) & would like to work with animals in some way. She has looked into vetinary assistant courses but it would mean she would have to travel a far bit & she's not quite ready for all that.

I have suggested voluntering with something, don't really know what.
She's quite shy & certainly a home bird. Has anyone got any suggestions? We're in West of Ireland.

Unfortunately its not easy to get into , voluntry experience is definitly the best option shelters are always looking for people to help out with feeding , cleaning and walking. but other then ventinary or ventinary nursing theres limited career oppertuinites here.

that said things like Wquine care can be useful lot of jobs avilible at studfams perticularly in kildare area. There are couress too on animal nutrition and animal care that could be useful for getting full time jobs in Kennels and caterys.

I've wanted to go full time doing something like that since i left schooll , i havnt been able to make that leap yet but get allot out of volunteering, best of luck to her though.

Mrs OBumble

Check if the Volunteer Centre have any options www.volunteer.ie

Ditto SPCA, Madra, Donkey Sanctuary - whatever there is in the area. Google for lost animals in the area, and see who advertises. If they're a charity, they probably need volunteers.

Unless she's got college plans sorted (doubtful given the time of year), look for a job in a shop or similar: if you want to work with animals, you have to learn how to deal with their two-legged companions and bill-payers too, customer-service experience is always a good thing to get.

thegreatgonzo

Adnan44 wrote: »

Some advice needed for an 18 year old, no work experience.
Loves all animals (especially dogs) & would like to work with animals in some way. She has looked into vetinary assistant courses but it would mean she would have to travel a far bit & she's not quite ready for all that.

I have suggested voluntering with something, don't really know what.
She's quite shy & certainly a home bird. Has anyone got any suggestions? We're in West of Ireland.

Volunteering is a good idea but it might involve a bit of driving.
Madra is in Camus but there is the GSPCA and the Galway Cat Rescue in the city. I think the GSPCA have a dog rescue near Killimor too. There is ASPCA in Athlone and also Athlone Animal Welfare. If you are within driving distance of Longford the ISPCA has a centre in Keenagh. There is a cat rescue in Castlebar but I'm not sure what they are called. There are probably plenty more but that's off the top of my head.
I don't know if you use a vet but if you do they might be open to her helping out the odd time. It's not easy to get volunteer work at a vet practice because they usually have vet or vet nursing students working there already. There is no harm asking though especially for when the students go back to college.
Veterinary assistant courses are OK but best used as a stepping stone to a degree course in my experience.

Adnan44

Thanks everyone for your messages
She has contacted the ISPCA they said she could do an hour or two in the shop. There's not really any kennels around well not that we can find. She knows it's really tough to get into & doesnt think she's up to it. Of course i don't want to push her, just trying to help. I don't want her to fall into a rut like i did.

Her only other interest is the gym really. I'm not sure if she can do anything there

Walter H Price

Adnan44 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your messages
She has contacted the ISPCA they said she could do an hour or two in the shop. There's not really any kennels around well not that we can find. She knows it's really tough to get into & doesnt think she's up to it. Of course i don't want to push her, just trying to help. I don't want her to fall into a rut like i did.

Her only other interest is the gym really. I'm not sure if she can do anything there

i have two mates making decent money from personal training , plenty of courses in that , fitness and nutrition and so on.

Working with animals is incredibly rewarding but it can be incredibly difficult to do it full time due to the scarcity of jobs and the voluntary nature of most of the positions.

thegreatgonzo

Adnan44 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your messages
She has contacted the ISPCA they said she could do an hour or two in the shop. There's not really any kennels around well not that we can find. She knows it's really tough to get into & doesnt think she's up to it. Of course i don't want to push her, just trying to help. I don't want her to fall into a rut like i did.

If she has any questions about veterinary nursing I'll be happy to answer. There are different routes to veterinary nursing if that is her interest.

cactusgal

thegreatgonzo wrote: »

If she has any questions about veterinary nursing I'll be happy to answer. There are different routes to veterinary nursing if that is her interest.

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but could I ask you about veterinary nursing? Are there many jobs available? Does it pay enough to support yourself on? Thanks!

thegreatgonzo

Well there are jobs, but they aren't all created equal :-) It's a new profession in Ireland so in many clinics here VNs are a cross between a receptionist and a cleaner and if lucky you get to do a bit of nursing. There are more hospital type facilities in the cities which would mean a better chance of just nursing. Also if equine nursing is your preference there are top class facilities in Kildare and elsewhere. I graduated as a mature student but if my circumstances were different I'd go to England after graduating to get some quality work experience.
The pay is very bad, there is no other way to describe it. Bear in mind there is no union and no industry standard, it's completely up to whoever you end up working for. I started off on €11 an hour, another vet a few miles away was using jobbridge for cheap labour. I never saw a payslip for about a year either, despite repeatedly asking for one.
Despite all that the work really can be fascinating and you are always always learning which is what I like about it. I think it is important to have an exit strategy though as eventually the bad pay, long hours and risk of injury can just get the better of you. The good thing about studying to degree level is that you have transferable skills and many of my class mates are now working in laboratories or other animal related roles.
There is a survey you can find by searching VCI Veterinary Nurse survey May 2016. It's a bit bleak in places but a good thing to read before committing yourself :-)

Walter H Price

cactusgal wrote: »

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but could I ask you about veterinary nursing? Are there many jobs available? Does it pay enough to support yourself on? Thanks!

would also love to know what that area is actually like to work in ive been considering a move into it for a while now

Adnan44

Thanks everyone. She has started in ISPCA shop, just one day a week but yes she is more inclined to go down the fitness/gym route whatever that is. There is a course in Ballina 'sport & recreation' can't find much else. Thought there would be more