So you want to become a veterinarian....now what?

Becoming a veterinarian is a long road but can hold many rewards! (Image Source)

Becoming a veterinarian is a popular career choice among many people, but how do you accomplish this goal?

Some days as a veterinarian can be very interesting! (Image Source)

The road to becoming a veterinarian is not a short one. It begins with a love of animals and a healthy respect for education! The typical outline for a veterinarian's education is to complete high school, then 4 years of undergraduate work, then 4 years of veterinary school. This is just for general practice, if you would like to specialize in anything there is 1 year internship and 3 year residency that will follow vet school!

There is a lot of schooling/ education that goes into becoming a veterinarian. (Image Source)

While that may be the typical track, not everyone follows this. Maybe you developed an interest in veterinary medicine after you already started a different career. You can still achieve your dream! Each school is different in the application process, but all you need to do is look up the requirements and if your previous course work in undergraduate does not match up, pursue those courses. Once that is done you can start the application process.

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Getting into veterinary school can be challenging as there are not as many schools as there are for medical doctors. However there are a couple of new schools in development right now which will help open more spots for future vets!

Remember all pets come with an owner! So you will need people skills to go with your education! (Image Source)

If you even think you might be interested in veterinary school you need to start by finding out if it is the right profession for you. This means spending time in a veterinary clinic. Weather it is volunteering or as an employee, you need to familiarize yourself with the day to day life of this profession and make sure it is a good fit for you. The more experiences you can get the better! Volunteering at a local shelter can also be a great way to get your foot in the door and make sure this is really something you are interested in pursuing. Make sure you talk to different veterinarians so they can  share their success stories as well as the challenges we face in this field. Make sure you keep a log of these experiences, as it will become very useful during the application process.

We can learn to treat all creatures great or small! (Image Source)

There is a lot of great information about becoming a veterinarian in this brochure.

If you don't think becoming a veterinarian is the right path for you, don't worry there are many other careers that involve animals that may be a better fit! We will discuss those next time!