The Student Room Group

EMS and pay

Hi,

As a grad student, I'm having to fund my way through vet school (starting in Oct at Cambridge) so will want paid work as much as poss during holidays. I realise this will clash with EMS commitments and have a few q's. Other than lambing (how much can one expect for that?), is there any other EMS that is paid? Does the student have to fork out for accommodation whilst seeing practice?

I've also heard that Unis pay a token amount of cash to cover EMS, is this the case and if so, roughly how much?

cheers
Reply 1
For lambing this year I got £200 for two weeks, roughly 9-5 each day. I wasn't expecting anything but the farmer insisted. As this was my first time I was in no position to ask to be paid but you could expect more when experienced and working longer hours. I know some people were getting around £200 a week.
I don't know whether you would get paid much for your other placements, and I personally think it would be a bit rude to ask. Their providing you with invaluable knowledge and quite often have to go out of their way to accommodate you..but that’s just my opinion. Lambing generally seems to be the placement where everyone gets paid, the farmer actually needs you their, your not as much of a burden as you can be at other placements.
With regards to a 'token' to cover EMS I've never come across this but maybe someone else could explain it? :confused:
Generally I would try to find placements near home to save on accommodation, quite often if its pre-clinical farm work you can get out-up at the farm house for free with meals included. For clinical placements at vets I don't have any experience of this but I couldn't see any of the vets I spent time with forking out for my accommodation lol.
Vets students in the later years could probably answer your questions a gud bit better than me but I thought i'd give my input anyhow :p:
Reply 2
I'm afraid i don't know anything about the vet school paying for EMS either, didn't think it was something they did.
As for pay on EMS, that's up to the person you are working for, some people pay in money, others in accomodation and lots of food, others in both. It depends on them and to go expecting to be paid is not usually a good idea. As Hawk has said too, usually for pre-clinical work they can put you up in the farm somewhere. Either that or like my placements for this summer, they're near home anyway.
Other than that no help here either, it is much tougher for graduates as they have to pay so much more. Good luck,

Dan
Reply 3
Fraid i have to agree with the other two - both years i have been paid for lambing but after 9 weeks of ems last summer i had only been 'paid' £60, half a dozen duck eggs, and a free ticket to the lincolnshire show (where i worked). However my friend had just finished a week of beef where she got paid and i know other people have been paid for working. Most people see it as they are doing you a favour (or its just slave labour) and seeing as you have to do it there isnt much you can do about it. Edinburgh certainly dont pay anything for you to do ems but i have a funny feeling that some other places do?When it comes to accommodation i tend to try and find somewhere close to home ...its so much easier or look to see where there are decent places to go where there is some distint friend of a friend etc that i can persuade to let me sleep on their floor!
messy
When it comes to accommodation i tend to try and find somewhere close to home ...


Ah yes and I was wondering... what if home is in France?!!:redface: Can I do my EMS in France or will I have to spend my entire holidays alone and away from my family? :frown:
Reply 5
Hel' in Heaven
Ah yes and I was wondering... what if home is in France?!!:redface: Can I do my EMS in France or will I have to spend my entire holidays alone and away from my family? :frown:

I think it depends on the vet school..some are more supportive of EMS abroad than others. I know Glasgow seem to encourage EMS abroad..however there are certain things you have to do here..such as dairy farming. You are being taught in the UK and so have to aquire an understanding of UK systems..regardless of where you intend to practice.
Reply 6
At Edinburgh you have to do at least half of your ems in the Uk (i dont think its any more than that)
Reply 7
wow, i didn't even know u could get paid for EMS.
thought it was all 'volunteer/forced' work :P
Reply 8
yeah at the RVC 6 weeks of the 12 weeks required EMS in the first 2 years has to be in the UK i think. i got paid £450 for lambing for 3 weeks, and i got accommodation and food which i think was pretty gd. I dont think most other placement pay except for maybe some calving ones etc. I think its rude to ask..but u could try and look out for paying placements or get recommendations from older years if u really wanted
As far as i know, you get money from the university for CLINICAL EMS at Glasgow. Not sure how much it is or if it depends on circumstances, but i'm pretty sure you get something.
As people before have said, you can expect to get paid only for lambing (and although i've heard of one case where someone got nothing) ranging from £30/week -> £300/week. If your looking for money you'll just have to hope you get lucky.
Reply 10
Hi,
thanks for the info- I certainly wasn't expecting to get paid for anything other than lambing, and even then only after I get a bit more experience! I was chatting to a vet at work and he said thet he got paid by the uni (Edinburgh, but about 8 years ago) for Clinical EMS, though it wasn't a lot, that was what prompted the question.

Pollo- how much EMS does one do during the pre-clinical years at Cambridge, I was hoping to make a couple of thousand during the holidays to help with finances, realistically how much usable time do you get off (by usable I mean time not spent seeing practice and revising)?

cheers
vetdude
Hi,
thanks for the info- I certainly wasn't expecting to get paid for anything other than lambing, and even then only after I get a bit more experience! I was chatting to a vet at work and he said thet he got paid by the uni (Edinburgh, but about 8 years ago) for Clinical EMS, though it wasn't a lot, that was what prompted the question.

Pollo- how much EMS does one do during the pre-clinical years at Cambridge, I was hoping to make a couple of thousand during the holidays to help with finances, realistically how much usable time do you get off (by usable I mean time not spent seeing practice and revising)?

cheers


Usable as in not EMSing or revising, a bit. At Cam they expect you to do at least 12 weeks of EMS before clinical school; 2 weeks for cows, sheep, horses and pigs and 4 weeks of whatever you like (this can include say zoo work, anything as long as you learn about the handling and husbandry of animals). Easter time is a bit of a push with lambing and revising but the summer holidays are long so there's plenty of time to do other things then, if you organise it quickly you can actually get the majority if not all of the EMS done in 1 year (easter + summer holiday). I think all in all if you calculate how much holiday we get in a year it comes to about 20+ weeks per year (4 at Christmas, 4 at easter and about 14ish during summer). From that you probably lose the entire easter holiday to work and revision each year and they like you to do some at Christmas if you're gonna do really well but summer is a work free zone most of the time.

Hope this helps, even if it is somewhat disorganised,

Dan
Hawk
For lambing this year I got £200 for two weeks, roughly 9-5 each day. I wasn't expecting anything but the farmer insisted. As this was my first time I was in no position to ask to be paid but you could expect more when experienced and working longer hours. I know some people were getting around £200 a week.
I don't know whether you would get paid much for your other placements, and I personally think it would be a bit rude to ask. Their providing you with invaluable knowledge and quite often have to go out of their way to accommodate you..but that’s just my opinion. Lambing generally seems to be the placement where everyone gets paid, the farmer actually needs you their, your not as much of a burden as you can be at other placements.
With regards to a 'token' to cover EMS I've never come across this but maybe someone else could explain it? :confused:
Generally I would try to find placements near home to save on accommodation, quite often if its pre-clinical farm work you can get out-up at the farm house for free with meals included. For clinical placements at vets I don't have any experience of this but I couldn't see any of the vets I spent time with forking out for my accommodation lol.
Vets students in the later years could probably answer your questions a gud bit better than me but I thought i'd give my input anyhow :p:


:eek: You got £200 for 2 weeks work and only did 9-5?!?! What about experiencing night shifts- you haven't had the joy of 10 sheep lamb between 3.30am and 4am!!! SOoooooooooo unfair!
But nehoo, I did 3 weeks, 1 and 1/2 weeks of 5.30am to roughly 6.30pm shifts, then swapped with my fellow lambing buddy halfway through to then do the 5.45pm- 6.30am and in the end got £150!
But hey! It doesn't matter as I had a whale of a time- the farmer and his family were lovely (don't you love it the way they make you part of their family:smile: ), I got on really well with my fellow lambing partner and got looooaddsss of good experience! (even at 4am in the morning- but god does that make you question your ambitions sometimes!!!!)
So hawk where did you go lambing at? :smile:xxx
Reply 13
GoldenBumblebee

So hawk where did you go lambing at? :smile:xxx

lol thats classified information :p:
Was a brilliant farm and learned soo much but I think next season I'll stay in Scotland/England (went home this year). Like you said I need to get the full experience... at least I have a year to prepare :wink:
Reply 14
When you fill out your loans form , dependiong on what your parents earn, you can borrow more loan to cover the whole of EMS. Don't expect any money for ems, certainly not at first.

Then again I just made £925 in 2 weeks ha ha!!

well i need to fund my shoe habit somehow!!!!!!!
Reply 15
I don't know about EMS, but for my work experience i've done about 5 weeks and so far haven't recieved any money. For lambing i was offered money, but didn't take it as it was my first time and they had to spend their time showing me what to do. They did feed me and give accomodation though. So far i've been given 7 geese eggs, lots of meat etc and offered a load of cockerals!
Reply 16
Re the question about EMS in France
You are able to do that, in fact our uni was very encouraging.
I did three weeks on a camel farm in France and learnt more about animal handling and behaviour than at any of the other EMS placements.
Wide variety of animals in the park and they also gave me their animal behaviour course that they charge qualified vets for.
I didn't get paid, but the amount of time and work that went in to supporting my stay was amazing.

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