So last night I trekked to Sterling, VA to go to a vet tech. open house at Northern Virginia Community College. It was pretty interesting, but a little awkwardly set up. I got to talk to both the program director (a vet) and the program's academic counselor, both of whom I'd been emailing. I'm checking out this vet tech program as well as several others to figure out if it's something worthwhile to do. I'm mainly trying to figure out the logistics to starting an Associate's degree program with a Master's degree. I've taught some of the required classes, so like the vet I spoke to last night said, I probably wouldn't get much out of an Anatomy & Physiology class at this point in my education.
After speaking with some of the students and professors yesterday, I basically realized that I need to decide if I want to go through a 2 year vet tech program or finish up the pre-requisites I'd need to apply to vet school and do that. There are pluses and minuses to each option and I'm really torn as to what I want to do. The vet tech program is only 2 years of classes and could be fit in with part time work. Worst case scenario, it would cost me about $14,000, but possibly much less if we either moved to VA or I convinced them to let me pay in state tuition since MD doesn't have a comparable program. There seems to be a pretty good demand for licensed vet techs and there's quite a variety of places I could work (zoos, animal hospitals, labs, large animal practices). I'd never make tons of money, but I'd make enough. I'm also not really sure how much specialization I'd be able to do. The program focuses almost entirely on cats and dogs and that's not really my main area of interest.
Going to vet school seems like it would be more mentally challenging for me and it would give me some more freedom to be my own boss if I wanted to. I'd need probably 2 semesters to finish up the pre-reqs I need, then I'd have to apply. Vet school would take 4-5 years plus internships/residencies and whatnot. It would also be a lot more expensive (well over $100,000). I'm looking at a school in New Zealand where I'd be able to specialize in the areas of vet medicine that really interest me. Living in New Zealand would be a huge plus though it's far away. I'm not sure how I'd deal with the competitiveness of vet school, though I'd try to minimize that by not going to a really prestigious, competitive school, like, say, Cornell. I think the biggest concern for me is just trying to fit it in, time-wise. If I started on that path now, I'd probably be starting vet school right around the time I'm going to be wanting to seriously consider having kids. I really, really don't want to put off having kids for 6+ more years!! I've also thought of waiting until I have kids and they're school age to trek off on a family adventure to New Zealand for vet school. That doesn't really solve any issues right now though, meaning, I could end up being stuck working in a field I don't like until then. My other concern is just the responsibility that comes with being a more senior "boss," even if it's just for myself. There's a lot of stress and bureaucracy (I just misspelled it bureaucrazy!) involved in running a business and managing other people and I don't know if I'm cut out for that. I'm thinking I might prefer having less responsibility and more time for hands on animal care.
I guess there's always the option of doing the vet tech program now and re-considering vet school in the future. It might be more challenging to switch then, but it would always be a possibility. I'm kind of overwhelmed with choices right now between work and where to live and everything. I'm also struck by the irony if I end up going to community college for a vet tech degree, I'll have somewhat wasted 7 years of superfluous education/money (same goes for Josh who is loving his community college graphic design classes and not using his very expensive Biology degrees at all). I loved all the classes I took at Towson, so it wasn't really a waste at all...and I didn't pay a cent to get my Master's so it also wasn't total waste...just a time suck. Life is definitely an interesting journey....
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3 comments:
My friend was a vet tech in OR, but I'm not sure she took classes, just the certification exams? Is that possible?
I think it is, but they're trying to change that.
It's difficult to make choices. Hope you'll soon figure it out! HUGS
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