I’m going to be a senior in high school in the fall, so although I still have plenty of time to make up my mind, I can’t decide what I want to do in college and grad school. Since I was young I wanted to become a veterinarian. However, I’ve also recently discovered I really love physics. I know I could become an engineer but that doesn’t interest me as much as physics. So basically, I plan on either becoming a veterinarian or getting a PhD in physics/astronomy. I know that it can be difficult to get into vet school, although I’m not particularly worried about that. I also know it can be expensive and takes a long time, especially if I want to get a specialization (which I probably would). On the other hand, I know that jobs in academia for physicists/astronomers are very limited, and I’m not sure what other opportunities would be open to me. So what would you say would be the most rewarding (but realistic) path.
You can do both - pre-vet isn’t a major. It’s a set of classes/prerequisites that you must take in order to get into vet school. I’ve heard around these parts from some parents that it’s more common for pre-vet students to major in something animal science-related to get into veterinary school, but I don’t think you have to at all.
Anyway, you definitely don’t have to make a choice right now. Just focus on applying to colleges that have physics majors (almost all do) but also offer some opportunities for you to work with animals and shadow some vets.
Which path is most rewarding is really a very personal decision - some people would prefer to be research physicists and other veterinarians. There are also lots of other paths you can take that would be in physics (like an applied physics field like metereology or a branch of environmental science; or medical physics).
Being a vet is a thankless, brutal job. Some people love it. Many eventually lose the blush on their Dr. Doolittle rose colored glasses and have regrets.
Consider this. At the end of vet school, particularly if you specialize, you’ll carry nearly the same debt as a human doctor. Just like human doctors, you’ll have to do continuing education, maintain your drug license, and deal with all the same emotion driven abuse from your clients.
Now consider this. And pay close attention to it:
People are willing to pay about $200 for a dog to have a hysterectomy. People generally pay about $10,000 for a human hysterectomy.
Vets use the same anesthetic, the same sterile technique, have to pay for a surgical pack to be processed and autoclaved, they need the same anesthetic machine and the same monitors. They need trained staff. They need the same drugs, the same cleaning products, the same surgical prep, the same suture material, the same sponges, the same everything. And they have to make the same re-payment of their student loans.
But because the average John Q. Citizen is so hopelessly removed from what health care really costs, there will always be complaints about getting a fair fee for your services. New grads make abysmal salaries.
Serving the public in an emotional capacity is hard. Mentally disturbed people can get angry and vindictive…and that can be scary. Particularly, if you’re a small clinic practitioner. The hours are long and hard. 9-5 is when the clinic is open. That doesn’t count the hours before and after work when you’re doing treatments, squeezing in urgent surgery, writing notes on cases, doing research and follow ups, cleaning up after yourself, And when you go home after your 12 hour day, you’ll have just sat down when some idiot calls through the emergency service because they just noticed a tape worm on their cat’s butt and the sky is falling.
Most vets will tell you…I wish vet schools required more business classes. It’s hard for the uninitiated to deal with the gritty business of demanding payment up front and sending people to collections. And if you don’t do this in veterinary medicine…you will go under. People make emotional “spare no expense” decisions about their pet’s treatment in a crisis, and just as quickly will disappear and leave you holding the bag.
Talk to vets. Ask them to be brutally honest. Go to a regional veterinary conference and eavesdrop on conversations.
Here’s the good part of being a vet… More often than nuts who want to kill you…you’ll encounter really sweet people who elevate you to saint status. You’ll get a million cookies at Christmas. It’s a funny, entertaining business. Every day is a little different. Vets are peculiar quirky people who are entertaining in groups. They also suffer addiction and depression issues, like human doctors. People send you flowers after you euthanize their pets. It’s the weirdest thing. The easiest job you do…knocking off a poor old pet who has finally run out of quality of life…something you really can’t screw up…and people shower you with gifts for it. Weird, eh?
And speaking of that…if you become a vet, you’ll develop a collection of ashes from individual pet cremations that people paid hundreds of dollars for…but then refuse to retrieve. And you really don’t want to throw them out in case the clients come back…so you have this whole shelf in the basement full of little boxes of pet ashes. And that won’t be the weirdest thing in your basement by a long shot. Don’t EVER look in a veterinarian’s chest freezer.
If you want your job to consume your life… and you’re a type A workhorse who can’t ever relax and doesn’t want to…being a vet might be for you.
Whatever you decide…best wishes, and good luck!
Psst…my advice: go into a physics heavy branch of engineering.