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Veterinary or Medicine?

Hey everyone!
I'm currently reaching the end of year 11 and I need some advice. From about the start of 10 I've always wanted to do Veterinary Medicine at uni. However, after researching the entry process, I found out how competitive it is and it made me apprehensive. My family are advising me that medicine is a better route, but now I'm unsure. I am a student who receives mostly A's and I am taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English Lit next year in sixth form. So what do you lot think I should do?
Medicine is also a competitive degree to get onto! You are right that vet med is competitive as well. I think vet med is harder to get into but not 100% sure on what the up to date figures are comparing the two.

There are some similarities between medicine and veterinary in the sense that they are both quite difficult degrees, very scientific/logical and require a lot of memorisation as well as practical skills. At the minute, a degree in either would give you good job prospects compared to some other degrees out there.

There are also a lot of differences between careers. If you want to make more money for fewer hours, definitely become a doctor. Having said that, a vet will still earn more money than the "average" joe bloggs and for me personally, I'm quite happy with what I'll be earning. The main thing that drew me to choose veterinary was the animals. And the fact that it is less specialised than medicine in the sense that I can do a bitch spey in my first week as a new grad vet, but if I were a doctor I wouldn't be able to do a hysterectomy on my own for a VERY long time (I think it can take 10+ years to become a consultant). You can specialise as a vet but this is still more broad than medicine (so a vet orthopaedic surgeon would operate on every bone in the animals body, but a human orthopod would only specialise in one particular joint, or maybe a few joints). The downside of being a vet is that there is no NHS for pets - so if an owner cannot afford to fix a broken leg you may well have to euthanise their pet to put it out of its misery which comes with its own emotional toll on you.

Have you done work experience in both sectors? Work experience is required for both degree (with a greater no of weeks required for vet med) and this might give you a better insight. Chat to the staff and ask what they feel are the pros and cons of their job.

Good luck! It's a difficult decision to make. Do what you want to do rather than what your family want. My mum advised me against applying for vet med (she didn't want me to be disapointed when I didn't get in!) but I feel it's the best decision I ever made!

Quote me if you have any further questions.
(edited 7 years ago)

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