By the time we reach university, veterinary students already have a distinct advantage over the majority of the student population – in that we know what we want to do.
Certainty over my future career, although perhaps a slight cliché, has always been the envy of my friends.
When it came to the dreaded A-level decision making all those years ago, for me it was never really a decision. I knew I wanted to be a vet. Nay, I was going to be a vet – and if I was going to be a vet, I was going to have to study chemistry and biology. No argument about it.
Stereotypical
I selected English as my third subject and, thinking about it, it was perhaps my only choice. I did love the sciences, but they weren’t ever up for debate; they were an inevitability – a compulsory stepping stone I was happy to oblige if it got me to the career I’d dreamed about ever since I was six years old, playing with my toy animals along to scenes in David Attenborough’s The Blue Planet.
I’m well aware I’m a stereotype. Although I’ve had some people question my unerring enthusiasm, I’ve always been grateful for it.
I’ve never had the struggle of picking out A-levels, or even a degree, without a true indication of what I wanted to do with those qualifications. To me, that seems daunting and terrifying. I don’t envy my friends who are still battling with these life-defining decisions.
Infinite choices
A stereotype I may be, but I know I’m not the rule when it comes to vets. Some of my course mates only decided it was for them halfway through sixth form and had to scramble for last minute work experience – I don’t envy them either.
When I say I know what I want to do… I may be exaggerating just a tad. In truth, the job first year students have in mind is rarely the career goal they set off with after graduation day.
It’s also not an overstatement to say the possibilities for us as vet students are almost infinite. I thought for a long time I wanted to work as a vet in the army, fresh out of university, but I’m not so sure any more.
All creatures…
I’m in love with animals of all sizes, but mixed practices are rare. I also have a real passion for exotic species and a desire to travel, but this area of the profession is extremely competitive and more of a lifestyle choice than a job.
That being said, there’s nothing to say I can’t do it all at some point in my life. Even if I start out in an ordinary small animal practice, there’s nothing ordinary about it. I’ll be taking on the role of dentist, surgeon and GP – all in one.
In all honesty, there really is no rush for me, or any of my course mates, to decide. The length of our course can be seen as both a blessing and a curse, but it certainly does grant us the gift of time to figure out which direction we want to point ourselves in.
Without a clue
Even if we graduate and are still a little uncertain, that’s okay, too.
Who really knows what we’re going to enjoy and thrive at until we actually get out there and start doing it? Even the most mature students in my year are going to graduate with their whole lives ahead of them – and there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that and figuring it all out as you go.
As long as you have fun getting there – wherever there may be – who cares how long it takes you?
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