its been a while, but i knew who best to turn to

save_adopt · Feb 14, 2006

Hello everyone,

you may or may not remember me (the names megan

) Things have been busy, but it's nice to see all these firmiliar names again.

Well, its getting that time in my life where i'm "supposed" to start deciding what i want to spend the rest of my life doing... happy happy joy joy eh?
Well, after having volunteered at my local humane society for about a year now i've decided i want to work with animals.

the only problem... blood... so vet and things related to that sort of a thing are just not my options.

I know there are many jobs out there to work with animals but i should get into one that has advancement opertunities. I would appreciate any suggestions. I'm "supposed" to start looking for coleges in about a month. I seems crazy to me as im only a jr but apparently thats what "we" do. Go figure.

Thank you all in advance, im excited to hear from you all again.
God bless

Megan

marie-p · Feb 14, 2006

that's a though question... I'm sure some other people will have more suggestions.

But if you were really interested in becoming a vet, you might be able to get over your fear of blood. I remember one of my friend's mom saying that when she started nurse training, she had a few classmates that were afraid of blood and they got over their fear pretty quickly. Or if your fear was really too severe, you could get some therapy to help.

Aside from vet work, you could become a zookeeper (not sure what kind of training that would entail), or maybe study small business management and open your own pet store (then you could even bring your pets to work with you).

Don't stress yourself out too much about choosing a career path right now. Look at the options that are available, pick what you think will suit you best and don't worry... there's always a possibility to change your mind later on. Sometimes you need to take a few wrong turns before finding where you really want to go. I know I did.
Good luck with your decision!

lionessrampant · Feb 14, 2006

I'm actually looking at working a day job as an adoption counselor at my shelter. Right now, I work in socialization, but I want a steady desk job where I can work with the cats AND the public. I don't know what you'd major in...most of the daily staff at the shelter are between 20 and 30 years old with degrees in various things. Maybe an idea? Or you could do development for an animal-saving organization? Not the most high paying or glamorous jobs, but they're worthwhile!

eupnea · Feb 14, 2006

Honestly, you get desensitized to all those things.

I was so scared when I started tech school. (I'm working on my CVT certification) I knew I would have to see and work with cadavers, handle feces and urine, and all kinds of yucky things.

It was difficult at first, but now I am pretty much used to all the gross things I was afraid of.

When I saw my first surgery, I didn't even think about the blood... it was so fascinating to watch! The other day I drew blood from a cat, and I was so focused on the procedure itself, I didn't have time to be afraid.

Catheterizing though. that makes me nervous.

KitEKats4Eva! · Feb 15, 2006

I had the same problem as you Megan. Wanted desperately to be a vet and yet couldn't cope with all the grief that involves.

So I am enrolled to study biology at Uni next year, and in the meantime I'm doing a one-year course in Animal Behaviour and Obedience Training.

Hopefully that means I'll be able to support myself through university by training little doggers to be good!

There's lots of options, have you contacted your nearest university that has Vet Science? They may be able to help you with alternatives.

lunasmom · Feb 15, 2006

I have a good idea of what you're talking about. I don't mind blood, I just have a HUGE fear of needles.

Have you thought about something like Zoology (I think there's another type of program I just can't think of what its called)? You can use that too go into Park Ranger jobs, such as wildlife study, forest study etc. It's a good paying field to get into (especially if you get into the National Parks where its government funded...$$$$$).

Or if you wanted to work in zoos as well, there's always room for advancement, i.e. top job would be director, which is usually 6 digits, depending on the local city.

shanstar · Feb 15, 2006

Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva!

I had the same problem as you Megan. Wanted desperately to be a vet and yet couldn't cope with all the grief that involves.

So I am enrolled to study biology at Uni next year, and in the meantime I'm doing a one-year course in Animal Behaviour and Obedience Training.

Hopefully that means I'll be able to support myself through university by training little doggers to be good!

There's lots of options, have you contacted your nearest university that has Vet Science? They may be able to help you with alternatives.

Hey, I was thinking of doing the same thing. I was also going to suggest it to her. Good thinking

phenomsmom · Feb 15, 2006

I agree with the opening your own pet shop or something similar. Could you try to get a summer job at a pet store and save your money. Maybe you could be a boarding house or a groomer. There are a lot of fields that deal with animals and pets that do not entail bllod and guts. Or perhaps you can't get over your fear of blood. I agree with ou getting desensitized to it after being around it a while. Good luck!!

AbbysMom · Feb 15, 2006

A large percentage of people who enter college with a specific major end up not working in that field. What you decide now is not set in stone. I changed my major halfway through college

My brother was a double major and now does NOTHING that even remotely resembles what his degree is in. My other brother also changed his major halfway through. My nephew is a college sophomore and has changed his major twice.

I totally understand your frustration and trying to decide what you want to do with your life at your age. It's great that you have decided to go on to college. Many people decide not to, and as you get older, it is harder to get back into it. I bet there are many people on the board that will tell you that. Once you get caught up in "life" your obligations make it harder both time wise and financially to go back.

My niece is a senior and has no idea what she wants to do. She ended up applying to colleges as an "undeclared" major. She was just accepted yesterday into the school of her choice.

She will spend her first few semesters taking care of her electives and basic requirements while deciding what she wants her major to be.

lillekat · Feb 15, 2006

It's a really tough call when you want to try and work out what you're going to do for the rest of your life.... but animals... there are so many options other than just vetinary care.

The volunteers in our shelter have all sorts of backgrounds:

Jesper is a photographer/videographer, currently doing a lot of wildlife photography and tv programmes to promote our shelter and policies. He has a very big dream which i'm very thankful to say I'm going to be a part of, because I'm going to be resident logo artist

Pernille is a trained vetinary nurse, but she also worked for a long time just in a cattery, simply cleaning and caring for the cats.

Tine has all of her qualifications in cattery management - yes, there is such a thing - and she of course, runs the joint!

How about zoology, maybe you could specialize inthe care of a specific species?

There are lots of things, and if you talk to the right people, you're bound to find something that's just perfect for you.

Oh and as a side note, i'm glad to see you're a volunteer in a shelter

I love to know that there are so many of us out there who do it just for the love of doing it! Go you!

lunasmom · Feb 15, 2006

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

A large percentage of people who enter college with a specific major end up not working in that field. What you decide now is not set in stone. I changed my major halfway through college

My brother was a double major and now does NOTHING that even remotely resembles what his degree is in. My other brother also changed his major halfway through. My nephew is a college sophomore and has changed his major twice.

I totally understand your frustration and trying to decide what you want to do with your life at your age. It's great that you have decided to go on to college. Many people decide not to, and as you get older, it is harder to get back into it. I bet there are many people on the board that will tell you that. Once you get caught up in "life" your obligations make it harder both time wise and financially to go back.

My niece is a senior and has no idea what she wants to do. She ended up applying to colleges as an "undeclared" major. She was just accepted yesterday into the school of her choice.

She will spend her first few semesters taking care of her electives and basic requirements while deciding what she wants her major to be.

Abbysmom brings up a good point (in addition to everyone else) that I figured out in college also. I started off majoring in music because I wanted to be a music teacher. I loved music and playing since I was 14. About half way through my second year, I realised that it wasn't what I wanted any more. So I switched out, took my core studies for a year and then went into Computers (don't ask...the more computer people I talk to the more common this is).
Basically you change so much personality wise when you first get out of high school that what you wanted to do then is totally different then your thinking track 2 years after that.
I suggest sticking with the core studies and get those out of the way. However since you do like animals so much, take a class or two in zoology or something animal related. Then once your core studies start to dwindle, take a look again at where you want to go in life. Such as if you take some business courses and you find that marketing and management are not your niche, then maybe rule out a business venture and turn to something more scientific (i.e. you like Biology and you didn't like Marketing 101).

gailc · Feb 15, 2006

We could start another thread-my college major and how it applies to my current job (or not!!)
There is a program that brings pets into nursing homes too. Or how about training dogs for seeing eye dogs or dogs that help people who have other disabilities??

lionessrampant · Feb 15, 2006

Just some positions we have in our resuce alone:
-Adoption counselor
-Behavior counselor
-Volunteer manager
-Development manager
-Caretaking manager
-Caretaker
-Clinic Assisstant
-Vet tech relief (though, those 2 might not be good)
-Socialization staff
-Maintenence staff
-Animal Assisted Therapy manager
-Pet Food Pantry Manager

...and then all the staff and volunteers that work under or with those people. Of course, our rescue is much more involved than a traditional shelter and has more nooks and crannies in terms of outreach programs and the like. It's what we use the money for that we're not spending on euth drugs

Maybe someday, we'll live in a world where all the shelters are like this...and hey, it'd create more jobs!

save_adopt · Feb 15, 2006

Gosh you guys thatnks for all the great ideas! im taking them all in to consideration but i must say training seeing eye dogs sounds like it would be amazing. i love helping, and if training seeing eye dogs can help people, well then theres 2 of my favorite things! where would i begin with that sort of a thing? i dont immagine that colage would have a "dog training 101" course eh?

thank you all! and nice to see you all again!

lunasmom · Feb 16, 2006

Originally Posted by ilovejoelyo

Gosh you guys thatnks for all the great ideas! im taking them all in to consideration but i must say training seeing eye dogs sounds like it would be amazing. i love helping, and if training seeing eye dogs can help people, well then theres 2 of my favorite things! where would i begin with that sort of a thing? i dont immagine that colage would have a "dog training 101" course eh?

thank you all! and nice to see you all again!

I would look up local/regional facilities. Explain what you're looking to do and sit down with someone that works there and see how they got into the profession. They'll be able to tell you the ins and outs of how they got to where they're at and probably include what they should've done or should not have done.
They'll also be able to recommend good schools and keep that person's phone number on hand, as you will have gained a contact once you're ready for the field.

its been a while, but i knew who best to turn to

save_adopt

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marie-p

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lionessrampant

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eupnea

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KitEKats4Eva!

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lunasmom

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shanstar

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phenomsmom

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AbbysMom

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