Today's Guest Post Called: What Does it Take to Be a Vet?

It’s a demanding, yet satisfying career - everyone knows that the vets are who you go to when you need medical care for pets, farm animals and all other creatures, yet very few know what it takes to become and be a vet. If you’re considering the veterinary field for a career, read on to know what a vet’s life is all about.

• You’ll have to start preparations early – it’s best to know if you enjoy being around and working with animals by volunteering at animal shelters, farms or even veterinary practices. If you feel comfortable, then that’s the first hurdle crossed.

• Find a college that offers pre-veterinary courses, or complete a Bachelor’s degree with science, biology or similar subjects as your major. Check the prerequisites for vet school before you choose a major.

• Prepare for the standardized tests that vet schools require, and complete them once you’re done with college.

• The competition for vet school is fierce – with just 28 accredited veterinarian colleges in the US, you have to earn top grades in your bachelor’s degree and score well on the standardized tests to be even considered for admission. Once you get in, it takes four years to earn a DVM (Doctor of Veterinarian Medicine) degree.

• After you’re done with vet school, you must appear for the North American Veterinary Licensing Exam to earn your veterinarian’s license.

• Once this hurdle has been crossed, you must sit for a state exam to test your knowledge of state rules and regulations governing veterinary science and medicine. If you’re moving to another state, you may have to take another exam if they don’t accept the credits you’ve earned at your previous state.

• You must be good with both people and animals – pets and farm animals go hand in hand with their owners, so it’s important to have people and animal skills.

• You must also be able to work in tandem with and supervise veterinary technicians and assistants who help you with minor aspects of the job.

• You must be able to deal with issues like euthanasia when you’re required to put animals in pain to sleep – it is stressful, but it’s a necessary part of being a vet.

• You would earn a comfortable living – according to the BLS, the average median salary for veterinarians is around $79,000. But depending on your specialization or field of work, you could earn more or less.

• Vets can choose to specialize in a particular field of medicine – household pets and farm animals, aquatic animals, avian veterinary medicine, zoo medicine, exotic animals, wild animals, and so on.

• Some vets choose to branch into fields like teaching, government service, public health, military service, research and private industry.

Being a vet is at times more demanding than being a doctor because it involves taking on multiple roles – you have to be a surgeon, pharmacist, diagnostician, radiologist, behaviorist and dentist all rolled into one. It takes dedication and hard work to make a success out of being a veterinarian.

By-line:

This guest post is contributed by Tina Marconi, she writes on the topic of online vet tech . She welcomes your comments at her email id: tinamarconi85[@]gmail[.]com.


I would personally like to Thank Tina Marconi for being kind enough to share to those who just might like to become a Vet in the future what it takes to become one.