My first job – hopes and expectations

NAME: Zara Chowdhury

AGE: 22

COLLEGE: RVC

FIRST SALARY EXPECTATION: £25,000 a year

MY FIRST JOB: “I want to move into mixed practice where I will get the experience I want, but also the day-one support I need.

“There are lots of fears of course, and that is natural. Apart from the various clinical concerns, I am not looking forward to the financial side of things, pricing things up wrong and things like that.

“We have not done any business extramural studies. We have had a few business lectures, but it is something I would have liked more of – particularly earlier on in my course, so it would be good to get some kind of induction in the business side of things.”

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: “This is important to me, but I know I have to be flexible to get on.”

WHAT DID YOU GET FROM THIS EVENT? “It has helped a lot to see the various options laid out in such an accessible way.”

NAME: Fiona Laurie

AGE: 21

COLLEGE: University of Glasgow

FIRST SALARY EXPECTATION: £20,000 a year

MY FIRST JOB: “I grew up on a farm, so I have always wanted to move into mixed practice.

“Hopefully that job will provide broad experience on the clinical side, but it will be very important to me to see that I will be supported in the right way.

“Coming from a farming background, I have grown up knowing the importance of getting it right from a business perspective, but I would like to be shown the protocols and the pricing structures and have the computer systems all explained to me properly.”

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: “If the rota was really bad I would look elsewhere, as having balance is important to this generation, but we are all coming into this job with our eyes open and I am not scared of hard work.”

WHAT DID YOU GET FROM THIS EVENT? “Free wine and a lot of ideas about the diversity of career options open to those getting a veterinary degree.”

NAME: Alexander Kilgore

AGE: 27

COLLEGE: RVC

FIRST SALARY EXPECTATION: US$60,000 to US$70,000 (£35,000 to £41,000) a year

MY FIRST JOB: “I want to move straight into first opinion, small animal practice back in the United States, where the money is better.

“Ideally, in a supportive environment with a mentor to help me grow and develop as a vet and as a business professional.

“For me, there isn’t enough emphasis on the business management side of things, but I think there is more that students could do to make themselves more business-savvy.”

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: “This is a big deal, I have no problem doing out-of-hours, but I certainly don’t want to be working on a crappy rota for crappy pay.”

WHAT DID YOU GET FROM THIS EVENT? “It has shown me there are plenty of other career options in this field – particularly in industry and the military.”

NAME: Alice Griffiths

AGE: 25

COLLEGE: University of Cambridge

FIRST SALARY EXPECTATION: £25,000 a year

MY FIRST JOB: “Will be working with small animals for a boss sympathetic to the fact I still have a lot of learning to do. I want some responsibility, but at the same time I will want guidance when needed.

“We have had a few talks about the financial side at university, so I feel I know what will be expected in that direction, but some sort of written guidelines on the business side of things would be great.”

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: “The more hours asked of me, the more important it would be for me to get some flexibility in those hours – I still need to have a life.”

WHAT DID YOU GET FROM THIS EVENT? “It’s a great chance to meet my peers from other universities and to pick up some really good ideas from the speakers here. I am just surprised by how few people decided to come.”