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What should I do for my college future?

What should I do? I've been thinking about what I should take in college and really would love to work with animals. A vet assistant to then a vet technician would be my goals. Heres the thing, there salary isnt ideal for my future and I feel I need a second major or career choice. I would enjoy learning languages and want to travel the world. I wouldnt mind working and typing at a desk but only would really do it if its for animal care and i would work at a shelter or such. I have ideas for side hobbies I could do but they are small and not money worthy. Anyone know what i should do? I was thinking about taking a second major but not sure what the animal care field would have for that. #Fall24

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Michael’s Answer

That's a tough one, Madisyn. I actually have the equivalent of a double major diploma. And the 2nd one was in romance languages literature, so a foreign language. Can I say today that I have optimized my college degree financially? Somewhat, but it wasn't why I originally did what I did. I realize that there is more and more need to have students like yourself graduate from college with real money-making opportunities and skills. That being said, I'm still of the opinion that it's not so much what you do in college or what you will do coming out of college, then who you will be. Because of the need to provide a living for yourself or even perhaps also someone close to you, we, tend to get busy, busy doing as if that was the measure by which we can tell if we are successful. Knowing yourself in the process of getting a degree takes added attention, quiet, rather than a network, it often is not shiny. So why do what we do? Is it worth it? Working at a desk is required in most jobs I know, at least a little bit each day or every other day. Even if you don't do much work in an office that is paid, most everyone in their private life needs to pay bills, plan vacations, sign up for medical insurance, etc. All that responsibility falls upon the user nowadays. Working at a shelter, perhaps even organizing the work at a shelter, is intrinsically important because domestic animals rely on us, when they have been abandoned, to take care of them. Working with animals has an intrinsic value that makes you want to do that work for its own sake. Hobbies are a little like that because they're just fun. They help you build social skills and participate in maintaining your mental health. Remain playful as long as you can; it's good for the brain. So, yes, you can probably do a finance or practice management degree while you study to be an animal caretaker. There are many schools now who offer that as an option. In the way you have asked your question, I think you are on to the answer.
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Valerie’s Answer

Hi Madisyn,

I am a Registered Veterinary Technician and Veterinary Practice Manager. You are correct that the Veterinary Technician does not pay super well. Most are making $20-$26 per hour (in my state, Ohio). That's $40,000 - $52,000 per year (if you work 40 hours/week). And remember that your first job would be on the low end and it would take several years to reach the top. A Practice Manager makes about $55,000 a year starting out and will generally max out around $68,000. I would suggest that you skip the Veterinary Assistant and go straight for your Technician Degree. Some universities (Ohio State for one) will have you double major in Animal Sciences (that would be your Bachelors Degree) and Veterinary Technology (an additional Associates Degree) and you finish them at the same time (4 years). You can then sit for the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE). If you don't go straight to a university, you can do your Veterinary Technology degree online. Penn Foster College and Purdue University both have great veterinary distance learning programs. And then you could pursue your Bachelors Degree, maybe even while working.

If you go straight to university, the Animal Science degree would be useful in many different fields. You could really go a ton of different directions with that - pharmaceuticals, research, etc. I would suggest a few other majors/minors that would be helpful in the animal field: International Business (you could wrap a foreign language in here), Accounting or Finance, Health Administration. Here is a pretty comprehensive website with descriptions and average salaries: https://potomac.edu/best-business-majors/

You could always have your direct animal contact be as a volunteer. Shelters and rescues are always in dire need of help. There are volunteer travel opportunities as well. I recently saw one in Hawaii working with Monk Seals that looked awesome!

Hope this helps give you some new ideas to explore! Best of luck!
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