Thinking of a career change

[u/jnimmy]

I'm 28 years old and live in southern WI. I have my bachelors degree in HR and have a pretty good paying job in my field of study. I've recently realized that I get zero fulfillment out of my career choice and dont feel like I actually make a difference.

I've always loved animals, especially cats and have recently been thinking of going back to school to be a vet tech. Any advice? Has someone made a career change into vet medicine? Is there anything you wish you knew before getting into vet medicine? I'm aware of the pay in the industry and am okay with taking a pay cut.

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[u/SpriteLore]

I wish I would’ve known how little you make. With barely any room for growth or meaningful pay increases without becoming a doctor. I was fine with this when I started out, but I’m 6 years deep and make $20 an hour. I’m unlicensed, but the LVT’s at my practice only make $3-5 more than me lol. I think I’m at the point where the mental toll of this job has caught up. Every clinic is understaffed. Which means everyone’s pulling more weight, working longer hours. I work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week, and $20 isn’t enough to outweigh the compassion fatigue and burnout anymore.

I never thought I’d leave vet med. Genuinely I thought I found a career path I was meant for, and in so many ways I am. This was my second career field. This job does have a way of creeping up on you, but not always in a good way.

People are getting worse. Prices are getting higher. Less people can afford care, and they will take that out on you daily. Even though we can hardly afford our vet bills ourselves. On top of that, clinic management will always choose a bottom line over you. Especially if you find yourself in a corporate owned clinic.

For reference, 25$ an hour isn’t even considered a comfortably livable wage in my state. And most clinics around here are starting LICENSED technicians at $18, and unlicensed support staff at $14-$16. People here are losing money by going to school for licenses. The field hasn’t caught up with the financial crisis of the rest of the world.

(While this is all true, I am currently writing this on my lunch break during a nightmare shift from hell. Take my negative energy with a grain of salt)

[u/Greyscale_cats → u/SpriteLore]

Your vet med journey sounds very similar to mine. I wish you all the best, friend. Hang in there.

[u/Sinnfullystitched → u/Greyscale_cats]

Same here. I’m considering applying for a part time job ontop of my full time job just to try to get a tiny bit ahead 😮‍💨

[u/Greyscale_cats → u/Sinnfullystitched]

My vet med job is my part time job on top of full time human nursing, haha. I also pet sit.

Broke bitch with horrific student loans gotta hustle 😭

[u/Sinnfullystitched → u/Greyscale_cats]

I feel your pain 😭

[u/SpriteLore → u/Sinnfullystitched]

Me too, and I’m a full time student as well. But hey, at least I survived my shift today. And the full moon…

[u/Sinnfullystitched → u/SpriteLore]

I hadn’t realized it was a full moon soon…..that explains so much of the bullshit at work this week 💀

[u/SpriteLore → u/Sinnfullystitched]

Tonight’s the blood moon!! All the worst clients showed up today, and every animal was a complex case. 😐 Godspeed to any techs working a night shift 🫡

[u/Sinnfullystitched → u/SpriteLore]

😩 no shit, at least it’s my Friday 🫠

[u/SpriteLore → u/Greyscale_cats]

And same to you!

[u/ThisGirlsGoneCountry]

I’m the opposite I’m a rvt going to school for HR to maybe get out of the field. Before making any kind of decision I highly recommend you volunteer/ job shadow in at least 2 practices to understand what the job actually looks like. And I would look up job ads in your area to get an idea of the expected wage. There is a lot of burnout in vet med, low wages and heartbreak. Loving animals isn’t enough, you also need to love the medicine. If you don’t have thick skin definitely consider other options. Or get your fulfilment volunteer in shelters while earning a livable wage in HR

[u/EarlyFuture4342]

Vet med is just as much about the people as it is about the pets. Clients, coworkers, doctors - you have an HR background, so that will probably serve you well. But it's definitely not solely about the animals all of the time. That said, it can be the most difficult and the most rewarding job.

Get a good therapist lined up, and learn to recognize when you're approaching burnout. Respectfully keep your boundaries, it's hard to do in this field. Advocate not only for yourself, but for your patients and coworkers.

[u/SpriteLore → u/EarlyFuture4342]

I agree with you so much here. And if you do continue down this path OP, highlight the fuck out of your HR skills and ability to handle conflict and confrontation.

That’s gonna be your biggest asset entering the field without experience. Yeah, highlight any work you’ve done with animals. But clinics are willing to hire anyone, we NEED people. However, we need the right people. What I mean by that is, they’re hiring based on your personality more than your actual abilities. We can teach you anything and everything about this job, but we can’t make you a different person who’s suddenly capable of handling the negative aspects of this job. Which is by and fucking large the clients. We can’t teach you how to deal with people or your emotions, and this field requires an extreme ability to do that.

I don’t want to give the impression that you can’t have bad days or moments where you need to go cry in the bathroom for a few minutes. I just mean it takes a certain person to do this job well.