Veterinarian Technician School

[Gimpyrks]

Hey everyone! Over the last two months I have really switched gears from wanting to go to vet school to now being honest with myself and realizing that going to vet school is probably out of my reach. Please no "You can do anything you set your mind to" replies, that's not what this post is about.

 

Since gears have switched to going to vet tech school (after I have finished my B.S. in animal science) I seem a little lost of what to do. I just had a meeting with my adviser but I came out with some clarity but seems like more confusion the more I do research.

 

What I want to get out of my career:

Live in Maine (home state, family is all here)

I want to work with large animals (mainly equine but all LA's interest me!)

I'd like to get certified for other things such as equine acupuncture and chiropractics, I'd love to expand this to small animals also.

 

I believe that wanting to live in Maine will be the biggest thing to over come. We have a decent horse population, but it is so spread out, and most LA vets that I know usually don't have vet techs following them around.

 

Maine has 1 vet tech school, which as far as I can tell deals all with small animals. Is anyone aware of vet tech schools that eventually help you specialize in LA or equine? Are my goals just not reasonable for the state I want to live in?

[mhowe]

Your goals are not congruent with limiting your experience to Maine.

 

I am sure there are vet tech schools in NY, KY, etc. If you want horses, you need to be where they race and breed horses.

Or cattle.

 

And that isn't Maine.

[blueidealist24]

Just wondering, why is vet school out of your reach? Money? Grades?

[mhowe]

Vet school is as competitive as medical school ---which sounds bizzarre, as vets don't make anywhere near as much as Dr.'s

[Gimpyrks]

Blue, its a little bit of both, last semester was a really hard one for me (I would consider it more of a vet school type semester) and I just struggled. It was hard to sit down and have a "heart to head" with myself but I had to do it. I also feel like I lost the drive to go the distance. People can call me a quitter, but I'm calling it being realistic.

 

mhowe, are my goals still not realistic even if I expand to doing chiropratics and acupuncture with small animals and equine?

 

Oh man making life decisions is not fun I feel like everything I had planned is just not working out.

[DancingFool]

You need to look up the large animal surgical centers in your area. There won't be many, but you can count on at least one per reasonable driving area being there. Vet techs for large animals only work in surgical centers. They do not get employed by regular vets who are going out to the farms. So your opportunity for employment would be tiny and if you are bent on staying in your area and doing this, you need to start building a relationship with the surgical center so that if they have an opening, they'll actually hire you instead of someone else.

[Gimpyrks]

Dancing that is a great idea, I did not think of this. There is a LA surgical center in NH right near the border which could work. This summer I have an internship in MN at the huge equine medical center there so I can't do that this summer but I could do that next spring.

[happyfrank]

realizing that going to vet school is probably out of my reach.

 

Have you though of maybe going to another school. You can always go to an easier school and get the same degree you would of gotten at difficult school. Just throwing that out.

[mhowe]

If you are sacraficing your career dreams just to stay in Maine --- then, yes.

Dancing Fool is right.

 

NY State breeds and races horses. It isn't that far from Maine.

 

Part of growing up is spreading your wings. If people didn't do that, we would all be living in Plymouth, Massachusetts!

[mhowe]

You might find that you love living in MN. Open yourself to the experience.

 

Dancing that is a great idea, I did not think of this. There is a LA surgical center in NH right near the border which could work. This summer I have an internship in MN at the huge equine medical center there so I can't do that this summer but I could do that next spring.

[Gimpyrks]

I LOVE Minnesota, I lived there for a year to go to school and just fell in love with the state. The idea of moving away from family and such breaks my heart though. I know it sounds silly and superficial but family is everything to me. I know they would support me no matter what my decisions are though.

[mhowe]

You are moving away --- not moving to another planet!

 

It isn't silly or superficial --- but in order to grow, you need to get out of the shade.

[Gimpyrks]

Thank you mhowe, great words and they are so true.

[mhowe]

I moved to MA for grad school --- loved it and never left.

My family is a car ride away.

 

My sister moved to Seattle --- my bro stayed in home town due to family biz.

 

You can always go home again! But if I were you, I would follow my passion for career work and not settle.

[Gimpyrks]

When I'm 50 I don't want to look back at my life and say "I wish I had done this"

[mhowe]

Exactly --- and I never once changed my mind about moving back home.

Home is the safety net ---- but you need to get out on the high wire and test your mettle.

[lavenderdove]

My suggestion is that you go to Vet tech school... you should be able to get into one, work with local vets even in a small animal hospital, and over time try to break into a practice with large animals, or just work with large animals as a hobby while working in a small animal practice/hospital.

 

You can own your own horse/cattle etc. and participate and fairs and competitions of various kinds to get your love of large animals in...

[greywolf]

What is being a vet tech like in Maine? Every state is different on the requirements for being a vet tech. Some states you don't even have to have a license for it, I believe. I don't think it's a very well paid position either. I've always thought that being a vet tech is similar to being a nurse (stress, knowledge, school, etc.), and yet they get half the pay.

[blueidealist24]

Maybe you should apply to vet school and vet tech school, if possible. Then, if your financial situation changes, or you suddenly make more headway with the difficult academic material, you could change your mind?

[Gimpyrks]

Everyone thank you for the wonderful advice, this is why I love ENA

 

I have been thinking and I have made the decision that I want to go to MN for tech school. They have a whole list of schools and a great friend of mine is attending one of the colleges with a tech program and she loves it.

 

I can't believe the words I am about to say, I can't wrap my head around how I've come to feel this way...but here it comes.

 

My family is always be here when I return, that makes the idea of going back to MN much easier. But I worry about my relationship with my boyfriend. Yes yes I KNOW what you are all saying

"You can't choose a boy over your future"

"If it's meant to be it's meant to be"

"Don't let a boy determine what you want to do"

 

Trust me, I've told myself this over and over again and I always had this mentality, but that was because I never saw a future with any of my other boyfriends in the past. They always seemed like dead ends, and deep down I knew that. But with this boy, I really hope for a future with us two. We've only been dating 4 months which makes me saying this even MORE ridiculous! Granted I wouldn't be going out there until I finished my BS in the fall here in Maine and I'm going out to MN this summer for 13 weeks so I guess that's a good indicator if we could survive something like that.

 

Gosh this is so crazy, life was so much simpler when I was single. *sigh*