I'm not a vet, but here's some info I hope it will help. Good Luck.
Do well in school; go talk to your school counselor (they can give you good advise on what you should do to become a vet, colleges, and volunteer opportunities in your area); get lots of hands-on experience with animals (work at a vet clinic or maybe try volunteer at a wildlife rehab); Get as high of a degree as you can; after your degree do an internship or residency.
Info on Veterinarians:
http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/anima鈥?/a>
http://www.avma.org/careforanimals/anima鈥?/a>
http://www.venturescholar.org/resource/v鈥?/a>
http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profi鈥?/a>
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos076.htm
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occup鈥?/a>
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Indu鈥?/a>
Preparation Advice-
Students interested in a career in veterinary medicine should begin their preparation by doing well in general science and biology in junior high school. They need to take a strong science, math, and biology program in high school. To be considered for admission to a college of veterinary medicine, a student must first complete undergraduate preveterinary medical coursework, which usually includes three to four years of college study, with specific course requirements. Each college of veterinary medicine establishes its own preveterinary requirements. Typical requirements include basic language and communication skills, social sciences, humanities, mathematics, chemistry, and the biological and physical sciences.
Preveterinary Coursework-
Preveterinary coursework can be completed at many colleges and universities, including those at which the veterinary medical schools are located. Students should check with the veterinary college to which they plan to apply to be sure they take all required courses. They should also be certain that credits from the preveterinary courses they take at the school of their choice are acceptable to the veterinary colleges.
Completion of a preveterinary program does not guarantee admission to a college of veterinary medicine. Admission to veterinary school is highly competitive. Applicants usually have grades of ';B'; or better, especially in the sciences and may be required by the veterinary school admission policies to take appropriate examinations such as the Graduate Record Examination. Most colleges give preference to candidates with animal or veterinary related experience. The number of qualified applicants who are admitted to veterinary colleges nationwide varies from year to year, but the average acceptance rate is approximately 43%. [avma.org]
Question: Can you tell me about veterinary medicine as a career option.
Answer: I am a senior veterinary student at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. I plan to work with exotic animals in private practice when I graduate. However, I've spent a lot of time volunteering at various zoos and talking to various zoo veterinarians over the last 10 years.
First of all, it doesn't really matter what your undergraduate degree is in as long as you take all the prerequisite course work for admission into a college of veterinary medicine. This often means that you end up taking enough course credts for a major in biology/zoology/microbiology/ecology or some such field. However, there are a number of students in my class who majored in some totally different field such as business, music, and computer engineering.
The amount of money you can earn in this profession depends on what field you go into, on average the starting salary of a veterinarian right out of school is $55,000-65,000. Although, some people earn more if they are paid on production. Being paid on production means that whatever amount of money you generate for a practice, you get a percentage of that amount in your paycheck. Currently, Lab Animal Veterinarians are paid the most right out of school, but Equine veterinarians often end up making more after they've worked int he field for over 5 years. Zoo Vets usually get paid less since zoos often don't make much money and also most people who are zoo vets do it because they love the animals, not for the money.
If you want to pursue a career working in a zoo, it is best to start out by volunteering at a local zoo and getting your foot in the door by networking with the keepers and curators. Also, when you are picking out what veterinary college to apply to; make sure the school you choose has an exotic animal medicine department. Get well grounded in the basics of both large animal medicine and companion small animal medicine while in veterinary school. Pursue internships at a zoo during your summer breaks in Veterinary school. Lastly, get a good internship/residency in zoo medicine after you graduate with your DVM. If you do all that, you will probably be able to pursue a career in zoo medicine. One other thing, If you want to get a good residency, it helps if you can get published while you are in college in a peer reviewed journal.
Some things you can do before attending college and veterinary school would be to contact zoos (zoo veterinarians treat almost all exotic animal species), aquaria, and local veterinarians (find out which local vets treat exotic animal species) 鈥?the yellow pages or internet are good resources for this. Some zoos and veterinary hospitals even have special summer volunteer programs. Once you make a list of some places that interest you, find out which of these places you can work or volunteer 鈥?this experience will help you make more contacts with people to get you started and it will give you a first hand look of what it is like. The opportunities in this field are unlimited 鈥?you can work in animal hospitals, zoos, aqauria, universities, safaris - the sky's the limit.
Question: As a high school junior what should I be doing to enhance my chances of being accepted into a pre-vet program in college ? I recently visited Ohio State and spoke with a student in the Animal Science program and she indicated that I should be getting exposure hours in the field as a volunteer or employee because those who get accepted at Ohio State generally have 500 - 800 hours of service before applying to the program. Is this true in most programs ? I know it is very difficult to get into a program and want to do anything that I can to be better prepared. Any advice would be appreciated.
Answer: While getting into veterinary school is difficult, it is NOT impossible and it is GREAT that you are already focused and interested in the profession. :) Definitely the student you spoke with when you visited Ohio State is correct. The admissions committees at all of the veterinary schools (including Ohio State) like to see and tend to accept students who are very dedicated to the field. So, I would definitely recommend getting as much hands on veterinary experience that you can. Since you will be applying to veterinary school in about 4-5 years, having a record of animal and veterinary experience for many years will definitely be beneficial.
When I was a junior in high school, I began by working in a kennel that was attached to a veterinary hospital. Eventually, I was offered a job in the veterinary hospital working as a veterinary assistant. My other recommendation to you is to try and seek out a diverse range of animal and veterinary experiences. For example, try to work for a small animal veterinarians, a horse veterinarian, work with a researcher, etc.
Question: How hard is it to get into vet school?
Answer: Not hard, if it's what you really want and are willing to work hard to get there. There are only 27 veterinary schools in the United States, but 2-3 X more than that in medical schools. So, yes, you are competing with a lot of people to get into one of those vet schools. But I truly feel that if you are committed to veterinary medicine, have gotten good grades, and have shown leadership potential and worked hard, then you will get in. It takes some people more than one try (more than one year of applying to get in) but I got in the first year. I think what made me a great candidate was the fact that I got a alot of experience in different fields of veterinary medicine before I applied to vet school. I gained experience by working as a technician, vet assistant and research assistant.
Q: What qualities would impress these schools?
Answer: Unfortunately, most schools select who they will interview based on their applications. So looking good on paper is a good thing-- by that I mean having a good college GPA (minimum 3.4). This also means being active in your community (clubs, etc) having leadership potential (i.e. organizing events, running for president/vice pres/treasurer of class or clubs, or being more than just a ';member';--be active!) and volunteering (for example, I volunteered at a local animal shelter). Most importantly, your experience in the field (veterinary medicine or even human medicine) is critical. Start now by shadowing vets in your community, and not just one type of vet-- Large animal and small animal. Once you are in college, start doing research projects, and continue working for local vets to gain experience. Don't be intimidated to ask vets for a position (even if it's just volunteering)--they, too, once needed a place to gain experience and most are happy to give you the opportunity. [venturescholar.org]
Vet Colleges:
http://www.avma.org/education/cvea/colle鈥?/a>
http://netvet.wustl.edu/vschool.htm
Info on Residencies and Internships:
http://www.virmp.org/virmp/searchnew.asp鈥?/a>
V!A (do a search for questions, for more good info) I wanna be a vet for LARGE animals? I want to be a marine mammal veterinarian.? VeterinaI want to be a vet, im still really young. i was wondering if there's any advice for me. thanks!?
also do many internships and voluteer and vet clinics and animal shelter. experience is neededI want to be a vet, im still really young. i was wondering if there's any advice for me. thanks!?
Study ALOT! Get good grades. Major in science. Have a good background because the will run a background check when you apply.
keep your grades up and understand that it takes up to seven years to become a veterinarian, let your parents know you have your mind set on this so they can put money in an era for your college. good luck.
