A guide to careers in the veterinary profession

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A guide to careers in the veterinary profession

• From the British Veterinary Association

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What is a veterinary surgeon?

• Veterinary surgeons are medical professionals
  whose primary responsibility is protecting the
  health and welfare of animals and people.
• Vets diagnose and control animal diseases, treat
  sick and injured animals, prevent the
  transmission of animal diseases (zoonoses) to
  people and advise owners on proper care of pets
  and livestock. They help to ensure a safe food
  supply by maintaining the health of food animals.
  Vets are also involved in wildlife preservation
  and conservation and the public health of the
  human population.
• Vets provide a variety of services in private
  clinical practice, teaching, research, government
  service, public health, military service and
  private industry.

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How much will I get paid?

• New graduates should expect a total package to a
  value of around 29,000 (with many getting less
  in some regions), rising to 40,000 by year 5 -
  again with some people getting no more than
  29,000 at this point in time.
• A remuneration package might include salary,
  accommodation, car, fuel allowance for private
  use, professional fees and a continuing
  professional development (CPD) allowance.
• (Data collected 2007 from the Society of
  Practising Veterinary Surgeons)

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Personal abilities needed by a vet

• Individuals who are interested in veterinary
  medicine should have an enquiring mind and keen
  powers of observation. An aptitude for, and
  interest in the sciences are important.
• As well as a fondness for animals, vets need a
  life-long interest in scientific learning. Vets
  should also be able to meet, talk and work with a
  wide variety of people.
• Vets may have to euthanase (humanely kill) an
  animal that is very sick or severely injured and
  cannot get well. When an animal dies, the vet
  must deal with the owner's grief and loss and so
  must have excellent communication skills.

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Pluses and minuses of a veterinary career

• Like most professions, there are pluses and
  minuses to a veterinary career. The primary
  reward for all vets is the personal satisfaction
  of knowing that they are improving the quality of
  life for both animals and people.
• Companion animal (small animal) vets, who own
  their practices, determine the nature of their
  practice and set their own working hours. They
  may be asked to treat a variety of animals such
  as llamas, catfish or ostriches, as well as cats,
  dogs, rabbits, gerbils and birds etc. Companion
  animal vets usually treat animals in hospitals or
  clinics.
• Large animal (farm animal) vets practise out of
  well-equipped cars and may drive considerable
  distances from their practice base to farms. They
  work outdoors in all kinds of weather. The chief
  risk for vets is injury from animals however,
  modern tranquillisers and technology have made it
  much easier for vets to work on animals.

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Pluses and minuses of a veterinary career
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Pluses and minuses of a veterinary career

• Vets who are employed by government agencies,
  laboratories, colleges, and commercial firms
  often have responsibility for large health
  programmes and may manage large numbers of
  people.
• Most vets work 50 or more hours a week however,
  about a fifth work 40 hours a week. Those in
  private practice may work nights and weekends and
  are sometimes required to be on call. Large
  animal vets tend to work more irregular hours
  than do those in small animal practice, industry,
  or government.
• Being a vet also involves large amounts of
  paperwork!

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Career paths available private practice

• Vets in private clinical practice work to prevent
  disease and other health problems in their
  patients. They examine animal patients, vaccinate
  them against diseases, prevent the transmission
  of animal disease to people (zoonoses) and
  advise owners on ways to keep pets and livestock
  well nourished and healthy. The provision of
  24-hour service is mandatory.
• When health problems develop, the vet must
  diagnose the problem and treat the patients.
  Accurate diagnosis frequently requires the use of
  laboratory tests, radiographs (x-rays) and
  specialised equipment. Treatments may involve a
  number of procedures including emergency
  lifesaving measures prescribing medication
  setting a fracture delivering a calf performing
  surgery or advising the owner on feeding and
  care of the patient.

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Career paths available

• Public health   vets in government and private
  laboratories provide diagnostic and testing
  services, help to prevent and control animal and
  human diseases and maintain the countrys health
  status. Veterinary pathologists advise general
  practitioners on diseases, based on the results
  of scientific analysis on samples sent to them by
  the GP. Veterinary epidemiologists investigate
  animal and human disease outbreaks such as
  food-borne illness, BSE, food-and-mouth disease.
  They evaluate the safety of food processing
  plants and abattoirs.
• Army  there is a small army vet corps, based in
  the Melton Mowbray area. A vet is usually
  enlisted at captain rank.
• Politics   many vets become involved in
  veterinary politics, representing the profession
  through the BVA which helps to steer the
  professions future direction.

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Career paths available
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Types of private practice

• Companion often sophisticated treatment of the
  individual patient be it a cat, dog, hamster,
  gerbil, budgie or other commonly kept pets.
• Exotic reptiles, snakes, rarer birds. Many vets
  do a little of this, few vets specialise in this
  field.
• Farm animal cattle, sheep, and pigs are the
  more common species treated, but vets are often
  asked to treat chickens and other domestic fowl,
  fish and other food producing animals. The job of
  the vet is more to ensure health of the herd and
  prevent disease than to treat individual animals.
  
• Equine  treatment of horses, ponies and donkeys.

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Types of private practice

• Referral  can do any of the above but has
  specialised in a certain field and usually will
  have additional qualifications
• Mixed practice  treats more than one of the
  above categories, some mixed practices will treat
  all!
• Zoos  specialised general practitioners treat
  and improve the productivity of zoo animals.
  Often involves some research in order to
  understand wild animals, ultimately to improve
  their survival and reproduction rates in the zoo
  habitat.

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Teaching and research

• In addition to teaching, veterinary school
  faculty members conduct basic and clinical
  research, contribute to scientific publications
  and may see clinical cases.
• Vets involved in research seek better ways to
  prevent and solve animal and human health
  problems. Many problems, such as cancer and
  cardiovascular disease, are studied through the
  use of laboratory animals, which are carefully
  bred, raised, and maintained under the
  supervision of vets.
• In addition to developing ways to reduce or
  eliminate the threat of animal diseases, vets
  involved in research have made many direct
  contributions to human health. Vets were the
  first to isolate Salmonella species. They also
  helped conquer malaria and defined and developed
  surgical techniques for humans, such as hip-joint
  replacement and limb and organ transplants.

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Vets in industry

• Vets working in pharmaceutical and biomedical
  research firms develop, test, and supervise the
  production of drugs, chemicals, and biological
  products.
• These vets usually have specialised training in
  pharmacology, virology, bacteriology, pathology,
  parasitology, toxicology, nutrition,
  endocrinology, or laboratory animal medicine.
• Vets are also employed in management, technical
  sales and services, and marketing in
  agribusinesses, pet food companies and
  pharmaceutical companies.

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Entrance to UK vet schools

• There are seven vet schools in the UK, in the
  following cities
• Bristol
• Cambridge
• Edinburgh
• Glasgow
• London
• Liverpool
• Nottingham
• It is possible to study abroad should you have
  difficulty getting into a UK vet school, or
  simply wish to travel and experience a different
  culture whilst you study. To study abroad you
  will probably have to pay full tuition fees, and
  if you are considering this option the best thing
  to do is to contact the universities in which you
  have an interest.

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Life as a vet student

• The veterinary degree lasts five years (six
  years at Cambridge) and is extremely demanding.
  Subjects covered include basic sciences for the
  first couple of years e.g. physiology,
  biochemistry and then becomes more practical in
  the clinical years.
• In the holidays students are expected to
  complete extra mural studies (EMS). This consists
  of 12 weeks on farms. Students are expected to
  complete 26 weeks of EMS in different veterinary
  practices, including one week at an abattoir and
  one week at a veterinary laboratory agency.

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Life as a vet student

• At present, on completing the veterinary degree
  you will qualify as an omni-competent vet, no
  matter what your final plans are. This means that
  even if you have no interest in it in the future,
  you will have to learn about all areas of
  veterinary medicine, from rectal examinations,
  post mortems, dissections, and abattoir visits,
  to small animal surgery. It is essential that you
  only apply to veterinary school if you are
  prepared to do all of this.
• On the lighter side vet students are renowned
  for their wild parties (eg events organised by
  the Association of Veterinary Students) and the
  ability to work hard, play hard.  

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Vet school entry requirements

• Academic
• These vary slightly from one vet school to
  another, but realistically you need to have or be
  predicted to achieve straight As at A-level or
  AAABB grades for SCE Highers and high grades
  (mostly A/ As) at GCSE.
• Extra-curricular
• Admissions boards also require candidates to
  have carried out work experience within various
  aspects of the veterinary and animal industries.
  This may involve seeing practice at your local
  veterinary surgery or working at stables, farms,
  kennels/catteries, zoos or abattoirs. Don't
  forget to get references from your placements.
• The vet schools are looking for well balanced
  candidates so evidence of other hobbies and
  interests is extremely valuable in applying to
  veterinary medicine.

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University tuition fees

• Financial costs University
• The two types of financial costs you'll face as
  a full-time or part-time student in higher
  education are
• Tuition fees
• Your day-to-day living expenses
• Tuition fees
• If you are starting a course from September 2007
  onwards, the tuition fees you are charged can be
  up to a maximum of 3,070 a year.
• Tuition fees help cover the costs of
  universities or colleges, such as salaries of
  teaching staff and the cost of the facilities. 
• You can search for information about tuition
  fees for individual courses through the UCAS
  website www.ucas.com

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University tuition fees

• Living costs
• You'll face various costs of living as a
  student. These will be higher if you live away
  from home, and higher still if you live away from
  home and study in London.
• Living costs include
• Accommodation
• Food
• Household bills - gas, electricity, water rates,
  phone, TV licence, contents insurance (some of
  these are covered by rent in halls of residence)
• Clothes
• Travel
• Socialising
• Leisure and sport
• Study costs such as books, materials and field
  trips for your course
• You can find out more information on living costs
  on the NUS website visit www.nusonline.co.uk
  for more information

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University tuition fees

• Financial help
• Financial help at University can come in the
  form of
• - Tuition fee loans to cover the cost of
  tuition fees- Maintenance loans to cover the
  cost of living expenses- Grants to cover living
  expenses- Bursaries and scholarships from
  universities and colleges
• Your eligibility and the amount will vary from
  student to student depending on the course,
  where you live when studying and your individual
  circumstances. For more information on
  financial help whilst at university visit
  www.direct.gov.uk

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Frequently asked questions

• Q Can I take a gap year?
• A Opinions on deferred entrants varies between
  vet schools, so it is best to contact the
  individual schools.
• Q What happens if I dont get in first time?
• A If you are really set upon becoming a vet,
  take a gap year, get some more work experience
  and reapply the next year. If you still dont
  get in, then it is possible to do a related
  degree and reapply to vet school as a graduate
  student or alternatively apply to vet schools
  abroad.
• Q What is the optimum amount of work experience
  I can do?
• A When considering applicants, vet schools are
  looking for people with a genuine interest in
  veterinary medicine, who understand all areas of
  the veterinary profession and who are willing to
  get involved practically. Therefore the greater
  your range of work experience the better, eg a
  day in an abattoir and working in a laboratory
  will show that you are aware of and have explored
  the range of jobs available to vets.

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Further information

• Further information about veterinary careers can
  be found on the RCVS website at www.rcvs.org.uk
• Further information about the British Veterinary
  Association can be found at www.bva.co.uk