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Is it possible to fear regret before making any decision?

Hello, I'm a rising senior and have always imagined myself becoming a vet. My only concerns are that vet school is SUPER expensive and it requires SO much time. What I want to avoid is committing myself into something I'm no longer interested in and be left with a large debt. Well, bringing the attention back to the question, have you ever feared about entering medical school or school at all only to feel the urge to give up? As much as I love animals, I can't help but feel selfish for not wanting to do 8 years or more of college and payments. Thanks! #veterinarian #college #medicine school #veterinary-medicine

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Ken’s Answer

The most important thing that you can to is to get to know yourself well enough to make a prudent career choice and then arrange for an educational experience that is as economical as possible. Here are some tips based on my many years of experience in Human Relations.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
Here are some tips on controlling and reducing the cost of college: ## http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml ##
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Courtney’s Answer

There's nothing worse than spending 8-10 years and $240,000+ to find out that you don't like being a Vet.


I would strongly suggest that you volunteer or intern at a vet clinic for at least a year so that you can make an informed decision. Also find other animal related businesses to volunteer at like a zoo or our police department has an equine department that takes volunteers so maybe there's something like that in your area.


In junior high I thought I wanted to be a vet. I went to a career high school that had a vet med pathway. During high school I took 10 animal science classes and volunteered in the schools animal clinic. During high school I also did a 1 year internship at a vet clinic while volunteering at a zoo. Upon graduating high school I qualified to take the Vet Tech exam and could have worked as a Vet Tech while getting my Bachelor's degree and working towards getting into Vet School for my DVM but what I found is that I absolutely did not like being stuck inside a vet clinic all day with cats and dogs, giving shots, taking temperatures, sitting beside crying pet owners as their animals were being euthanized. I found it depressing and boring.


HOWEVER, I loved my volunteer work at the zoo. As a result of internships and volunteer work I was able to decide wholeheartedly that my passion was working outside with different species of animals. I'm now a zoo keeper, which is a much shorter and cheaper route than the time and cost of becoming a vet. However, you don't make near as much as a zookeeper. It's more of a job of passion. But I'd rather get paid less as a zookeeper and be happy then get paid more as a vet and be miserable.


The key is....volunteer/intern at a vet clinic. This will help you decide if it's really the right career for you.
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