Okay the title is kind of a oversimplification of my situation but...

I kinda stumbled into vetmed accidentally and have started trying to figure out where I want to go with my career. It started with a 6 month internship at a local non-profit hospital, and then i stayed there for 2 years finishing college.

Before this, and throughout it honestly, I was dead set on a research career. My second internship was at a biotech and, being honest, the money and benefits were nice asf.

Post-grad I did a PREP program to try to get into PhD programs but did not get in, then I got laid off spring 2025 (as many researchers did). I was unemployed for several months and could not get a job in research anywhere.

Eventually, I applied to a nearby Mars hospital. I got the job, making $20/hr as a recovery nurse. I liked working with patients, but I didn't feel like I was learning anything anymore. After 6 months, I applied to another location of the non-profit and got a job as a surgery assistant for $24/hr.

I have really enjoyed my work. I love my surgeons. I love most of my coworkers. I have a bunch of really close friends at work. One major issue began \~2 months ago.

We KNEW one of the girls from my team was leaving for vet school before I even started. They didn't put up a job listing until June, despite her leaving in August. In their desperation, they tried to hire someone with 0 experience who was trying to switch career paths. I was nervous but figured better some help than no help. She was supposed to start the week after the vet student left, but she didn't pass the background check and it all fell through 1 week before her start date.

They put the listing back up, but haven't gotten much interest. In the meantime, there are 2 of us. I feel overworked, underpaid, burnt out. I've been trying to advocate to get help from my supervisor and the anesthesia team in taking off some load, but my supervisor thinks this needs to be a gradual change over 2-3 months. I don't have that left in me.

In August, I asked for a raise that was denied on the basis that I'm well-compensated for my position. The other girl in my position makes $4 more than me and has no degrees or certifications that I don't. I started applying to other jobs to try to negotiate. I got an offer for $27/hr and told my manager. She came back and said the best they can do is $25.50. I said okay sure and turned down the other job.

I also \~tried\~ to turn down VEG at this point. They came back and offered me $36/hr plus a $10k bonus based on my skills assessment test. I was earlier along in this interview process, so I continued the interview process.

I feel stupid because it seems like it should be an easy decision, but I LOVE my coworkers. I am thinking of staying per diem but I don't want to burn out of the new job. I have always hated working 40 hr weeks. I think part of it is my adhd- I get bored and tired and unmotivated.

It seems like VEG has great benefits and would give me a good chance of growth. I am really excited to go to a conference since I've never worked at a hospital that supports that for uncredentialed techs, and I think it could be very valuable for me to figure out what direction I want to take this work. I am really interested in veterinary research but I dont know where to learn more about that. I'm considering DVM-PhD but not confident in anything right now.

One of my hesitations is the schedule- my sister just had her first kid and I want to be around for all the big stuff. I'm worried about missing holidays.

Another hesitation I have is working for another corporation. I struggled with working at a Mars hospital and feel really fulfilled by working at a non-profit. Knowing that the organization I'm a part of is rescuing animals in need makes me feel good, even if I'm not in that work directly. I've looked into shelter work, but I really can't take the pay cut.

I'm thinking that working 3 12s will make it easier for me to do other work I care about outside of my job, but I've never worked this kind of schedule so I don't know.

TLDR:

I work in vetmed but am uncredentialed. I don't know where I want to go with my life, but I like learning!

Which would you choose:

$25.50 at a non-profit, 4 10 hr shifts M-Th, no major holidays, all my friends

$36 at VEG, 3 12 hr shifts, day and night and holidays, + $10k bonus w 12-month commitment, new people

**Looking for some advice from fellow veterinarians, especially anyone who has dealt with a similar situation.**
Earlier this year, I had a GDV/bloat case where I performed a gastropexy. The dog came back today with another episode of bloat.
Today is my day off, so I’m not physically at the hospital. I’ve just been getting updates over the phone from our hospital manager. When I heard what was going on, I had no problem coming in on my day off to reassess the situation and redo the surgery if needed.
However, the owners have a history of being extremely difficult to deal with. They were already problematic during the original visit, and apparently today they were being very rude and hostile toward the staff, making threats of lawsuits and behaving in a way that management felt was unacceptable.
Ultimately, management decided to refer the owners elsewhere and most likely not continue to provide services to them because of their behavior and the legal threats. My understanding is that this decision was made at the management level, rather than because I was unwilling to come in and help.
I understand the importance of protecting the staff, maintaining boundaries, and not allowing clients to abuse the team. My boss also has an unwritten rule that once a client starts threatening legal action, we immediately stop communication and refer them elsewhere.
But honestly, this situation isn’t sitting well with me. I keep thinking that if they had just allowed me to come in and address the problem, perhaps things could have been resolved, and I wouldn’t be sitting here wondering whether the outcome could have been different. At the same time, I wasn’t physically there, and I recognize that management had to make a decision based on what was happening in the hospital.
I’m having a lot of anxiety about this right now, and I’m trying to look at the situation objectively rather than just second-guessing everything.
I have well-documented notes and have communicated every scenario with the clients but the possibility of losing my license over something i could’ve fixed if management just allowed me to come in to fix it bothers the shit out of me.
These past couple of years have been particularly difficult due mostly to unreasonable clients and with barely any support from management.

I’m currently a junior at a four year university studying marketing, but I’ve been seriously reconsidering my career path and am interested in pursuing veterinary medicine.
I’m about two years into college, so this wouldn’t be a small change. I’m considering leaving my current university, moving back home, and attending a less expensive school to complete the science prerequisites needed for veterinary school.
Financially, this could save me money on undergraduate tuition and living expenses, but it would also mean leaving my roommates, friends, and the college life I’ve already established.
I’m also aware that veterinary school is extremely competitive, expensive, and requires four additional years of education. I know I’d likely need extra time to finish prerequisites and gain veterinary experience.

My biggest concerns are:
Am I too far into my current degree to justify changing direction?
Would it be smarter to finish my marketing degree and complete veterinary prerequisites afterward?
Is transferring to save money a reasonable decision, even if it means giving up my current college experience?
For people who switched to pre-vet later in college, how did things work out?
For current veterinarians, would you recommend pursuing this career knowing what you know now?
I don’t want to make an impulsive decision based on an idealized version of veterinary medicine. I also don’t want to spend the rest of college pursuing a degree just because I’ve already invested time into it.
I’m looking for realistic advice, especially from people who have been in a similar position. Please be direct. I’d rather hear the difficult realities now than find out years later.

Hi, I’m considering a career change into canine rehab and am currently exploring multiple pathways to get there including becoming a vet tech.

Would love to connect from any vet techs who have a canine rehab certification to hear about your experience in vet tech school and working in canine rehab.

What are some of the pros and cons?
Would you have chosen another pathway into canine rehab?
Are you satisfied with your salary?

Hello! I’m 19 and I am also getting my gen Ed’s done at a community college. I have been thinking of going to college to become a veterinary technician since I was a sophomore in high school, and I am now trying to actually pursue the career and I have a special interest in wildlife/exotics but I feel very stuck. I want to start getting experience as early as I can but I just don’t know where to start. I have worked at a wildlife rehab center since June as a visitor specialist, I basically just receive admits and do some other stuff that don’t involve actually working with the animals directly. I have handled and assisted with some of the animals and I have had pets of my own my whole life so those are the only experiences I really have. Does anyone have any advice on where I should start or what I should do?

Hello everyone!

I am a current 4th year veterinary student who is trying to decide what to do with my future. I am going to graduate with ~300k in federal loans (out of state school, this debt loan should be illegal but here we are I did it to myself).

I know I want to do a rotating internship at the very least. This is the first decision I need advice on. Academic vs Private, my passion has always been in radiology so I wanted to specialize. My main issue with this is 4 years of a subpar salary during rotating & residency and the interest on my student loans. I also do not see many radiologist job openings in south florida which is where my family is and where I want to be based.

The other option I am debating is going into ER after my rotating and aggressively paying off my loans. Here are the 2 plans I am debating.

Plan 1: Academic rotating (~50 k)-> rad residency (~55k) -> telerad (I prefer in hospital but might need to for south florida) or specialty hospital. This plan would require me to be apart from my family and friends for 4 years which I also dont love.

Plan 2: Private rotating (~75 - 80k) -> ER (not sure where ER salaries are in south FL)

Please let me know if you have any insights. Thank you!

Currently a VA at a large veterinary hospital. Completing the last bit of schooling I need to apply to a vet tech program.
Always dreamed of working with zoo animals. But everyone I talk to in the vetmed field is very pessimistic about it.
I totally understand it’s a hard thing to get into, I plan on trying to get some volunteer hours at local zoos and aquariums to bulk up my resume. I also hope I can eventually work some shifts in the exotics department in my hospital. But am I just screwed? I really don’t want to stay in small animal or small animal exotics type stuff. I have many years of horse experience, which I’ve been told zoos like when you have large animal experience.
I’d even be happy to end up on the animal management side of zoos or would quite honestly settle for zookeeping. But I really enjoy the medicine aspect.
Opinions? Do I need a certain education? Is there something I can do to help my chances? Or am I screwed.

What are the hurdles of making something like this happen? I’m genuinely confused as to why it’s not a thing. Even locally per state, let alone nationally. Techs have to pass the national exam to become licensed and states are allowed to regulate their specific licensing requirements as well. So what gives? Why can’t an organization form to fight for us to make living wages or even better than that?

I’d love advice from vets, especially people who went into small animal and exotic GP.

My school really heavily pushes rotating internships and pretty much presents them as the only option after graduation. We’ve had probably 10–15 different guidance sessions on how to match, how to pick a rotating internship, etc. During a round table with admin, they asked what resources they could provide us. Someone asked for a teaching session on looking for jobs instead of going through the match, and the professors seemed so surprised anyone would ask for that.

I came into vet school not planning to do an internship, then pretty quickly decided I would. But over the past few months, I’ve been feeling so exhausted, and honestly I don’t know how I could do one. I also don't really love ER, I am struggling with almost every single appointment being with people in crisis and asking them to spend thousands and thousands of dollars without having the time to think things through. I really love in GP that you can build longer term relationships with clients and their pets. I am someone that genuinely enjoys clients and problem solving and working with them. That being said, I’m scared of going out into practice and not being good enough or having enough experience to take good care of my patients. I want to become the best possible vet I can, and it seems like the only pathway I can find toward that is a rotating internship.

For people who went straight into practice or took another path, what did your first job look like? How much mentorship and support did you actually get? Were there specific questions you asked when interviewing, or signs that a practice would be a good place for a new grad to learn? I’d also love to hear about other pathways that helped you build confidence and experience, especially in small animal and exotic GP.

Hi there,

I'm currently a 4th year vet student in Hungary. I'm really interested in large animal practice. The issue is that I have pretty bad IBS-D. Now I can deal with it furing practicals and internships by taking moderately high dosages of Loperamide but it wouldn't be sustainable to keep this up beyond a few weeks.

Are there any large animal / farm vets with IBS or Crohns / UC that have any advice on how to deal with gut issues (besides keeping a camping toilet in the car as I already do this haha)?

Any Advice is greatly appreciated!! 🙂

Hi everyone! I’ve recently had an interview for a small animal rotating internship in the UK, and I need to provide a reference letter from one of my uni prof.

Has anyone been through a similar process? I’m not sure what the letter should include or how it should be written. If anyone has any advice or examples, I’d really appreciate it!

I made a big mistake recently. It is yet to be seen if the pet will make it. I cannot believe I did this - I feel like it was a totally different person but it was not. It was so out of character for me and something preventable. I am looking inwards at myself to learn so I never do it again, and I am also going to advocate for some protocol changes at my hospital that could help prevent future similar mistakes.

How do you not hate yourself? I feel everyone in support staff at work looks at me with disdain although my management and vet colleagues have been wonderful and so supportive.

One time, a vet told me that eventually all of us vets get to build our own personal graveyard with our names on the gate. I know many vets will eventually make a mistake that harms or kills a patient but this situation is so unbelievable I did this.

I have pushed forward and keep seeing cases and done surgeries and dentals to get back on the horse. I have a lot of clients that thank me every day but it is hard to look at all the good I do.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Hello! I’m a licensed veterinary technician with seven years in the field, and about to graduate with my degree in Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Environmental Public Health. I just applied to vet school this cycle! I’m a non-traditional student in my thirties.

I’m wondering if any Public Health Veterinarians would be willing to chat or message about their day-to-day work.

I’ve worked in many roles over the years, SA GP (two years as lead tech), ER, and reproduction. I’ve also worked with wildlife and have done some work with cattle.

I’ve been working in a toxicology lab the last two years. Because of that and my degree, I’ve become increasingly interested in the intersection of animal/human health.

Would anyone be willing to chat with me about what your role looks like? It can be USDA, epidemiology/zoonotic disease, etc. Just curious about what options there are!

TIA!

Hi everyone!!

I’m a final-year veterinary student in Romania, graduating this year, and I’m looking for a good postgraduate small-animal rotating internship in Europe, particularly in DACH region, Belgium or UK.
My goal is to build a strong clinical foundation, properly figure out which specialties I am more drawn towards and potentially pursue a residency in the future. I’m looking for a hospital where interns are genuinely taught and supported, not just used to cover routine tasks and staffing shortages.

I’d love to hear from those who’ve completed an internship or worked with interns:
- Which hospitals would you recommend, and which would you avoid? I’d really appreciate honest experiences and reasons behind your recommendations.
- How much practical experience and teaching do interns actually get? Are they involved in case work-ups, treatment plans and procedures, with proper supervision and feedback?
- What are the working conditions like? Workload (I of course expect it to be intense), night shifts, work-life balance and overall team culture.
- How are international graduates treated? Especially regarding language requirements, integration and opportunities to progress. I am C1 in English and studying to get my B2 German certificate
- What about salary and living costs? Are internships financially manageable, and are accommodation or relocation support ever offered?
- Does the programme genuinely help with future career opportunities, particularly residency applications?
If you have personal experience, I’d love to hear which hospital you worked at, what the training was actually like, and whether you’d choose it again.

Thanks so much! I’d rather learn from people’s real experiences than choose a programme based on reputation alone.

Hello, all. I am a CSR/vet assistant at a small clinic. I have several years of reception experience, but I started to get more interested in the medical side. I was super excited to take this position, and overall have gotten good feedback.

About a month ago, my vet got bitten pretty badly while I was restraining a cat. I felt awful; i know what I did and how to correct it, but it has really shaken my confidence. I know this isn’t true, but I feel like my entire experience and reputation has been defined by that moment.

I have always been a bit overwhelmed by surgery days, too, just because I know it is a lot to learn, but I think I have been extra anxious, and a lot of it goes back to the bite. No matter what, I can’t seem to shake it.

I love what I do, but I keep wondering if I am even cut out for this field in the first place. I’m in my 30s, and vet med was already a career switch—I feel like I’d be very lost without it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Any advice on how to move on from bites (or any mistakes) and build confidence would be greatly appreciated. 💜

Hello everybody, I just started getting clinic exposure recently, shadowing while I'm going to school. I had a question about detergents. I don't have any allergies, but my wife is allergic to cats. I keep my scrubs in a separate hamper and everything has been good so far, but does anyone know if there is a specific detergent that could help make sure that there isn't any dander left after washing? Thank you!

For context the collage I am in had a day where owners can pay to have their dogs come in to get what they want done, mostly baths, nail trim, ear clean, anal gland, eye ointment/drops. Myself and other first/second year students were required to “work” these tasks mostly on our own. We had a couple instructors around but they weren’t in our room 24/7 and there were other rooms separate from ours. There was about 10 people in the room for one to three dogs max.

The whole event looked like an accident waiting to happen and stressful for everyone.

We had dogs in the room at the same time once in awhile, some who didn’t know each other. One dog right away was very anxious and fearful and wouldn’t let us trim. My classmates were not following the restraint we were taught much at all, even putting their faces near the dogs face and making kissy sounds.

When I offered a lateral restraint to help trim the anxious dog my second year leader shot me down as “being too much and that we aren’t here to stress the dog.”Mind you we haven’t had much luck trimming this dog’s feet and already the dog had placed its mouth over my hand when I tried to trim. The dog was already stressed by my point of view and doing it the way we were was making the process longer.

Eventually one supervisor brought in a groomer to trim and a classmate decided to place the dog into the tub while we waited for the groomer. Hadn’t finished the bath when the groomer came and essentially grabbed the foot and started hacking away at the claws while supervisor restrained the head. Dog was thrashing in the tub, and the groomer cut the quick during the process causing the poor dog to of course yelp and bleed.

I found the whole thing upsetting. Like there could have been a better way but I feel I know so little I’m not sure what could have been done differently. Made me question if this is what I am to expect every-time there is an anxious animal. Is that really the best we can do? Or maybe I’m being too sensitive to it all.

Any input for subjects on animal behavior for an upcoming conference is greatly appreciated!

Hi veterinary reddit. I’m currently a 3rd year vet student and I was wondering if there was anyone in here with zoo med experience that could share their path with me! I know there’s a bunch of different ways people have taken from people I’ve talked to but just want to talk with as many people as I can to try and figure my path out. Thanks in advance!!!

There’s so much to be said about why I’m so tired, but I’m too tired to even write why.

I think I want to try working relief on the side, just to pay my loans. Indevets and Roo make it really easy but I hear they take a large chunk of what the clinic pays so if probably need to work even more shifts just to cover. I need to make around $4,500 extra a month. Is that doable only working an extra 2-3 days a month or am I crazy? How do I go about doing this myself?

I'm going into my college's vet tech program next year (haven't gotten the email yet but I was accepted for this year, took chemistry instead). But I have very bad depression and anxiety. Do y'all have any recommendations on what area I can go into that doesn't cause much moral injury and issues with clients personal problems? I used to be a VA and I took on the emotional tool of client's financial issues and stuff. I was thinking of lab animal, night shift ICU, or anesthesia. Any advice? Thank you!