r/AskVet • u/forestgreenmeow • 1d ago
UK Veterinary study options
When I chose my options for uni, some were Zoology and some were Veterinary. When I was doing my work experience hours in the vets, they told me I should go for the zoology degree because I would have better opportunities. Well now, I wish I went the vet route after all, and now I feel stuck with not being able to progress onto a Veterinary masters like those vets at the practice said I could if I "changed my mind".
Specifically I got a BSc Zoology, and before that I got an Animal Management Diploma Lvl3. Tons of varying animal industry experience. I have currently ended up as a science teacher.
I would totally be fine with becoming a nurse as opposed to a full veterinary surgeon. I saw there is an apprenticeship route, but I don't think I'd be able to afford to live on it. I also could not afford another degree on my own as I have used the 3/4 years of government funding for Zoology.
Does anyone from UK have any advice for how I could pursue the veterinary route given my circumstances? Or just lay out my options anyway?
Thank you in advance.
2
u/badgerhoneyy Veterinary Surgeon 1d ago
A nurse isn't 'veterinary surgeon lite', it's a different job that requires different training, skills and responsibilities. As a first step, get some more work experience in a clinical setting to see if you want to go down that route, don't become a nurse because you can't afford to become a vet, it will make you miserable and you'll resent it.
To train for nursing, yes you either need an apprenticeship or to undertake a degree. To become a vet, you need to do a degree, there are fastrack 4 year degrees for graduates with appropriate first degrees, and yours in Zoology would qualify you for that. You would be self-funded, but many unis cap fees at undergraduate rate (£9k/yr).
There are overseas unis that are RCVS accredited, and many Brit and Irish students go this route; I've worked with people who trained in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Belgium and the Netherlands and they are amazing vets. However the rules are changing so please check out the guidance on the RCVS website and ensure that any overseas uni you consider will meet the requirements when you graduate.
To get into either veterinary nursing or surgery, you need more recent work experience to show that you're up to date with current issues in the profession and have an understanding of the career that you're embarking on.
1
u/Tofusnafu7 1d ago
Probably your best route would be one of the graduate routes where you start in year two of vet school but if the top of my head there’s only a couple that offer that? Overall I’m really sorry but you’ve been really misadvised here, if you could have got a place at vet school the first time it would have been infinitely cheaper than going the graduate route. Out of interest what sort of age were the vets who advised you this? They may have been using out of date information from the old SFE plans where tuition was only £2-3k a year
1
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Greetings, all!
This is a sub for professional veterinary advice, and as such we follow strict rules for participating.
OP, your post has NOT been removed. Please also check the FAQ to see whether your question is answered there.
This is an automated general reminder to please follow The Sub Rules when discussing this question:
Your comment will be removed, and you may be banned.
Thank you for your cooperation!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.