<p>Hello,
I am currently a freshman at University of Maryland, College Park. My major is undecided, though I am taking the required coursework to earn a degree in biology. At this point, I'm stuck between trying to become a veterinarian and going to medical school. What should I do? I've volunteered almost 200 hours in a hospital emergency department, shadowed veterinarians, worked in kennels, and completed a research project in high school at a veterinary office. I feel like I need to decide now what path I am going to choose. If I don't choose soon, how will I know which test to study for? For medical school, I will need the MCAT. Most veterinary schools take the GRE, but I believe only a few take the MCAT. I don't know what to do, and I don't know how to figure this out.</p>
<p>Hi Yellowdog,</p>
<p>All things being equal (that is, if you’ll be just as happy as an MD or DVM) I’ll suggest you go the med school route for a couple of reasons-</p>
<p>You’re odds of admission to med school are better than vet school simply because of the numbers. There are over 130 Med schools in the Us and only 28 accredited vet schools.</p>
<p>While either route will likely leave you with student loan debt over $150k. BUT your earning potential, especially straight out of school & residency, is substantially higher as an MD.</p>
<p>But are all things equal? Best take stock now and decide what’s important to you, and what you need to live a happy life. </p>
<p>And no matter what, keep those grades up so you’ll have plenty of options when you graduate. Good luck!</p>
<p>You’ll have to figure this out yourself. It would be one of the most important decisions of your life and would be better if you take it yourself.
There is no comparison really between physicians/surgeons and veterinarians. Both of them do an important job and are respected in the society. It is true that MDs make a lot more than veterinarians but veterinarians too make over $80,000 per year, which is not bad.
I am copy pasting two links for you, both from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website; they should help you make the decision: <a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm</a> <a href=“http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm”>http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/veterinarians.htm</a></p>
<p>Hope it helped. </p>
<p>If you love animals, become an MD and own pets! You will earn far more as an MD. In either profession you will have to deal with the sometimes awful people, so you might as well earn more and enjoy the animals outside of work. </p>