Working in the field of veterinary medicine is awesome. The reason seems obvious: animals are fluffy and cute, and who wouldn’t want a job snuggling animals all day? Contrary to this popular misconception, however, working at an animal hospital is not all fluffy snuggles. The drop-out rate in schools for vets and vet techs is somewhere around 50%. Jobs in the medical field are complex and challenging, and providing veterinary care is no exception. But this—and not just because we get to snuggle with animals—is why we love it. There is not a veterinary professional in the world who isn't a bit of a science geek. It's kind of a prerequisite. The worst thing in the world is seeing an animal suffer, but believe me when I say we all love to lance a good abscess. And Cuterebra? Get out of town. Those botfly larvae are disgustingly fascinating. The way they burrow into the skin, but leave an air hole to poke their little noses out. Getting those things out are a little like playing “Operation” when you were a kid. If it breaks, it can cause a huge infection. Identifying bacteria, parasites, and yeast, looking at bizarre x-rays… the list of fascinating encounters goes on and on. It's like gross detective work. Pure. Awesome. Fun.
But the very best, most
rewarding part is getting to watch your patients heal. There's nothing better
in this world than to see a patient about whom you have been very worried begin
to feel “his/herself” again (even if this means the re-emergence of a fractious
cat who wants to scratch your face off). It's even better when they seem
affectionately appreciative of the care you have provided. It's like they know
you were there for them when they needed it the most. Healing animals is a
labor of love, and one of the best feelings in the world.
We choose to perform this job
because we are dedicated to the health and well-being of animals. There's a
reason why we didn't choose to make more substantially more money in the human field. We all
have a common bond which allows us to become close like family. We always joke
about how there is no such thing as personal space among
our employees. When two or three people are restraining a pet for a procedure,
sometimes it feels like a game of Twister. Although it may look shocking to a pet
owner, sometimes it truly calms an animal to just gently
lay on top of them (ever watch the Temple Grandin movie?). This puts us
in very close contact with one another. We all have to be very comfortable with
people in our personal "bubble".
No, a person cannot be in
this business for the money, because there usually isn't a whole lot to be had.
Through the years, I have heard so many people talk about "how much money
those vets make." My guess is that this is the reason people say this is
because of the rising costs of veterinary service. Every veterinarian I have
ever worked with is up to their eyeballs in school loan debt (vet school
generally leaves graduates in debt well over $100,000). One veterinarian I know
has to pay over $1000 every month in school loan payments. The average starting
salary for a veterinarian is about $39,000; though if you're lucky, you might
make $60,000. You do the math. Veterinary medicine offers the lowest-paying
jobs in the medical field. And the salary earned by vet techs? Our national
median salary is around $26,000 (in Asheville it's about $23,000).
So, as I said before, vetting
and vet teching is a labor of love. We may have the lowest paying jobs in the
medical field, but the rewards are exponential. Most everyone I work with
wouldn't trade their jobs for all the money in the world. I love my vet family.
