I’m going into my junior year of college in the fall and majoring in biology. However, I’m having trouble finding a job that has to do with my major (I want to do something with animals). Is there anyway I can go to a tech school and take classes to get an associate’s degree in veterinary tech at the same time that I’m taking classes for my biology degree? I know I don’t want a long term career as a vet tech because the salary isn’t good, but I would like to do it as a short term thing and to learn more about the animal field. So can I do both? Or can I do biology classes in fall and spring and vet tech classes in the summer? Or do I have to wait until I graduate to start my vet tech degree? Thanks!
I would not do a vet tech degree. You’re selling yourself short and committing to a low paying field two years before you graduate. Work with your professors to get lab experience and work with your career placement office to get summer jobs that will help you find something you would like.
It’s unlikely that you would be able to do both at the same time. You would be able to go get an AAS to become a vet tech after you finished your BS in biology.
However…you still have two years left in college. You still have plenty of time to find a job that has to do with animals. As was said above, I don’t necessarily think that becoming a vet tech is going to help you launch yourself into a better job in the field - you need instead to do some more research discovering careers with animals and then try to get yourself internship experience in at least one of those fields, as well as potentially doing some informational interviews with people in the field.
Speak to your career counseling office. Jobs available working with animals: Animal husbandry, State Fish and Wildlife Services, Zoologists, Wildlife and habitat conservationists, Lab research, working in Zoos/rescue centers/aquariums.
Look at aza.org for job opportunities.
Start volunteering/job shadowing at a vet clinic/zoo/rescue center.