Veterinary Nursing; the right choice for me?

OP

The only science subject I do is Biology. Would I really still be able to do vet medicine just with a gateway course?

But anyway, I'm not sure if that's for me either. I always thought the business management part that comes with vet nursing would suit me. And also I didn't think I could take all the competition with vet medicine and all the w/e I'd need to have.

Reply 3

RainbowGurl

7

how old are you? you may still have time to get some w/exp and believe me it not a case of 'having to do it'- its really fun!!!!!

x

Reply 4

How about considering practice management? I know several who have done a business/management degree and now run a practice. They arent quite as highly paid as vets but are paid more than nurses. Then you have the challenge of running a business but you're also in the vet/animal atmoshere. Plus I know a few practice managers who have done a nursing course alongside so they can help out when short staffed, that way you get to get your hands dirty as well so to speak so you get the best of both worlds. xx

Reply 5

OP

I'm 17. Yes, I know I'd enjoy the w/e. It wouldn't be a chore for me.

Reply 6

OP

tiny_tiger

How about considering practice management? I know several who have done a business/management degree and now run a practice. They arent quite as highly paid as vets but are paid more than nurses. Then you have the challenge of running a business but you're also in the vet/animal atmoshere. Plus I know a few practice managers who have done a nursing course alongside so they can help out when short staffed, that way you get to get your hands dirty as well so to speak so you get the best of both worlds. xx

Practice management is usually a module as part of a vet nursing degree I think.

Reply 7

Annaconda

17

just out of interest how much do nurses get paid?

Reply 8

You can do it independantly. Many managers do business degrees, that way they are specifically trained to run a business. Some nurses do a management module but they are usually mainly nurses (if you get that) whereas if you consider a business degree, management will be ur primary job.

Reply 9

Annaconda

just out of interest how much do nurses get paid?

Not a lot! 14k if you're lucky!

Reply 10

Annaconda

17

when i went to a practice there was a new trainee there that was 32. she ahd been a PA untill then and saved up money, then left her job and just started being a nurse. (she was also married though so her husband provided some income) but she had wited untill the money was not so much of an issue and started doing it. She didnt have a degree or college course or anything, she was at the same level as me when she started

Reply 11

OP

Yeah the pay for VNs is pretty crap, another reason why I got put off...

Reply 12

Yeh you can do that, I think the RVC is the only one that runs a vet nurse degree. Correct me if Im wrong! Im guessing with a degree career prospects may be better/better wage etc but its just as well recognised if you train on the job. Some nurses spend a few days a week at college and the rest in practice, others learn everything on the job! Where I do work exp, theres a trainee vet nurse whos in her fifties! and she's fantastic! So I spose even if you decide its not for you now, you can always consider it in the future!

Reply 13

OP

Yes, I think that if my degree (French and English Lang/Linguistics) doesn't work out for me, then I'll go into VN later in life.

Reply 14

RainbowGurl

7

i just hope u dont regret it! :wink:

u would have time for w/exp and vn's get between 17,000 and 23,000. thats not bad!!!

x

Reply 15

OP

That's what I'm worried about, that I'd regret it :s-smilie:

I guess the pay's not horrendous...

Reply 16

00nay00

Don't mean to be slappin on the cheese here, but all you can do is have a long hard think about it overthe next few weeks/months, research more about vet nursing, maybe do another weeks w/e at a different practice, see what that's like? And also decide if you'd enjoy a language degree and what job you'd hope to get from that. You'll know what's best for you deep down really, just don't let what other people say put you off. Like i think some vets get their families saying o why don't you become a doctor etc, because GPs are a lot better paid than vets, but most vets wouldn't change their career choice for the world.

I'm sorry that was a really cringey speech.

Reply 17

OP

^ Thanks. I guess that's the best advice I can get, at the end of the day it really is up to me...

I really did enjoy my time at a vets though, and it wasn't the w/e which put me off. It was just the pay and other stuff which I don't even know.

If I did VN then I'd be more guarranteed to get a secure job than a Language/Linguistics degree for sure.

I just feel that I should stick to one idea now...I just don't know which one :frown:

I'm worried I'll make the wrong decision.

Reply 18

ch0c0h01ic

18

Take a gap year out, get more work experience. If you decide being a vet isn't for you, just enrol next year for your language/linguistics degree. If you really want to be a vet then you have plenty of time in your gap year to get sufficient work experience (at least 6 weeks) to make yourself more competitive to the other applicants. You could easily get around 12 weeks work exp if you arranged it in advance which would severely improve your prospects. You haven't got anything to lose.

Worried about not doing enough sciences? It doesn't really matter, i only did biology and chemistry at IB higher and they took me, similarly i have friends who only did one science and they were accepted. If you're interested just phone up the admissions tutors and ask how they feel about you doing only one science. Again, what can you lose?

Try to sort out your decision as early as possible, i know its not the easiest of things, even at vet school i'm not completely sure i will be vet, i enjoy it sure, its interesting but i just have to wait and see how things pan out. But doing a language and linguistics degree beforehand will make going to vet school extremely expensive. You will almost certainly have to pay full university fees because its your second degree. There are bursaries, etc out there, but it will be significantly more expensive not doing it first time around. I may only pay £3k fees but the graduates pay about £15k per year for the first three years then about £25k a year in the two clinical years. That is all on top of your accomodation, living costs, course materials, etc. I'm an undergrad and i'm looking at £50k of debt, for a post grad that could be in the £100k region. What would be more sensible in my eyes would be to do a vet degree first if you're really interested, then, if you don't like being a vet, go and do a language degree, sure, being a post grad you will pay double fees, but the course costs for a language degree will be much less than a veterinary science/medicine degree.

As you said, a language degree (arts degree) doesn't help you that much when looking for a job (unless you want to be a teacher or translator). With a vet or vet nurse degree its a vocational course with a guaranteed job and profession at the other end, no extra training. I have friends, and friends of friends who have done arts degrees and now, after uni, are working in highstreet shops/supermarkets because their degree doesn't help them get a job, it simply means they join higher up the pay scale (in some jobs). At the end of it, their university degree and student debt has accounted for nothing.

Reply 19

OP