Hey I’m just asking for advice because I don’t know what I want or how to choose. I love biology and environmental science but I feel like those are useless degrees unless you get phd but then people say there are way too many phds and not enough jobs.
I am considering veterinary medicine but what worries me is the debt and amount of time it takes especially if I decide to specialize. I am going to shadow a vet to see if it’s something I want to do.
I’ve been interested in molecular and cell biology and think it would be cool to do cancer research or something like that. I also love the environment and would like to help come up with new ways to conserve the environment but I feel like it’s another dead end job and environmental engineering isn’t what I’m looking for either. Another thing I’ve been interested is some sort of animal research. I’m thinking either biomedical or something related to wildlife conservation.
I’m not really sure what I’m asking but I don’t know how to narrow down my interests or if a phd is good option. Am I reaching too far? I’ve heard that it is difficult to get a good job with a bachelors in biology and its not something people are happy doing for 20+ years. Maybe there’s other options I’m overlooking.
It sounds like you would benefit from talking to a number of people across the general fields you are interested in. Are you still in high school? If so, what grade? (Just wondering how long you have before applying for college). Do you live in a larger city area? Do your parents have friends who might be employed in one of these fields? Or have friends of friends who are? Can you go talk to your school’s career counselor and ask about job shadows and mentorships? Some things to think about - would you prefer to spend your days at a desk, outdoors, in a lab, in front of a classroom, or some combination of that? Would you spend 6-8 years in graduate school for a phd for more money/ more options/ a more prestigious career, or would you rather have a career that begins right after your undergrad? Do you want to live in the city / state you grew up in, do you want to move somewhere else specific, or are you open to living anywhere for your career?
Hi washugrad, thanks for the response. I’m a senior in high school but when I graduate I will have 2 years done at the community college so if everything goes as planned I will only need 2 more years after hs to graduate.
I don’t know anyone in these fields except for a few vets that I talked to and one will let me shadow. I can ask my counselor if about other job shadowing opportunities. I do live in a large city so maybe there will be something.
I know that I do not want to sit in an office all day and I prefer something more hands on. I don’t mind spending more years in school, I just don’t know what the opportunities are.
I am a current 3rd year veterinary student and student debt is a HUGE burden. I expect to graduate with 280k-310k in student loans. Your idea to shadow a vet is an excellent one. Definitely pay attention to what jobs the vet actually does vs what the support staff does. (Ie vet med is really a people person job as client education and client communication encompass the majority of what a vet does.) Also, you definitely don’t have to specialize in vet med; however, most specialties do require 2+ years of additional school/training.
As far as other science careers, I earned my bs in biochem and worked several years in a human clinical diagnostic laboratory at a major university. I enjoyed the job but vet med was always my passion. If you want to do bench work but don’t want to pursue a PhD, I would suggest looking into majors for Clinical Laboratory Scientist. At the lab, I performed countless PCR assays detecting for single point gene mutations. If you choose to pursue CLS, make sure the program is accredited and that you can sit for the national exam.
Best of luck with your future endeavors. If you have any questions regarding vet school or pre-vet studies let me know.
Thanks chestie69. One of the things that concerns me is the stress of school and being a vet. What’s your experience so far? I was thinking of specialties because if I did choose vet med I would like to specialize in wildlife or exotics but idk how hard it is to get into them or if it’s a realistic goal to be a wildlife vet.
I don’t want to disillusion you from achieving your dreams but vet school is indeed stressful. I have decided that I am not going to be the best in my class (or anywhere near the top) and that’s okay as I am happy and have a good work-life balance. I still study probably more than I should but I also still want to maintain a 3.0 ( yes, a B average has me down in the bottom half of my class.)
As far as exotics/working in zoos I know that is the most competitive specialty one can try to enter. You have to get to know people in the field to make it in that field if that makes sense.