If you were to ask any ten children what they would like to be when they grow up, at least a few, and maybe more, would tell you that they’d like to be a veterinarian.
While childhood employment dreams often evolve and fade over time, the veterinary option seems to have unusual staying power. For people who really want to pursue the career, the childhood dream often becomes lifelong. The dream of wearing those comfortable scrubs to work every day becomes a reality.
There are many reasons for this. First, a love of animals tends to stay with a person, and can be a very strong motivator for future career choices. As one grows up, they may also be drawn to the opportunity to work in a fast-paced, high-intensity setting in which they are depended upon to provide a valuable service. In any case, the veterinarian profession remains a popular choice, and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Ahead are a few reasons for that popularity.
Helping Animals
Often the fuel for childhood dreams of becoming a veterinarian, the opportunity to help animals has lasting appeal. For many people, young and old, the household pet is very much a part of the family. When that pet is ill or hurt, people want the same quality of care for their animal as they expect for themselves.
Some people who choose to become veterinarians may have had a particularly moving experience when their animal was in distress, prompting them to desire the opportunity to pass that experience on to others in the same situation. For some, helping animals is simply a lifelong habit that manifests itself in one’s ultimate career choice. Whether it is the bird with a broken wing, or an injured animal on the side of the road, some people are always ready to lend a hand and nurse an injured animal back to health.
Diversity of Employment Opportunities
Many people think of the veterinarian much as they would a doctor, working in an office and simply tending to a different type of patient. While this can be true, and many veterinarians find the office experience rewarding and fulfilling, veterinarians have other options for employment as well.
Veterinarians can choose to do medical work on livestock and horses in a traveling role, or work at zoos and other wildlife attractions, tending to the vast array of animals therein. In addition, veterinarians can also work in research settings. In some cases, this can mean tending to lab animals, but there are other opportunities as well.
Some vets choose to study how diseases carried by animals cross over into the human population, while others work to expand knowledge of veterinary matters and translate that knowledge into practical solutions. The opportunity to work in such diverse settings is a key attraction for the potential veterinarian.
Advanced Schooling
For many people, obtaining an advanced degree is a major goal in life. To become a veterinarian, one must go through extensive schooling, with intense competition during the admission process.
Though it may be a turnoff to some, many people thrive in that competitive environment. Since veterinary work requires an advanced degree, the candidate gets both the satisfaction of obtaining the degree and the fulfillment of working in the career they desire.
Big Pressure, Big Rewards
Just as with any other medical setting, the work of a veterinarian can be intense and demanding. At any time, a pet could be brought in with a dire emergency. Whether one chooses to study veterinary surgery or some other area of the field, they will find themselves willing and able to do what is needed for that pet, or refer the pet to someone who can.
Some people thrive on that pressure in the same way they thrive on competition. Yes, it may be nerve-wracking and stressful at times, but there is also a major reward in the personal satisfaction of getting the job done right under high-pressure circumstances.
In the end, the veterinarian gets to help animals, give the owners of the animals peace of mind, and work in a fast paced, rewarding environment. For many people, there is simply no other option than to become a veterinarian.
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