Veterinary Careers

Become a Veterinarian and Help Mankind
Some go into veterinary careers to help cure animals of diseases. A veterinary technician must study veterinary pathology, the science that studies the disease in animals, in order to go into this particular field in animal medicine. And not only do pathology veterinary careers help animals, they also protect humans in various ways.

After a student completes training at a veterinarian college, he or she can go into one of many veterinary careers diagnosing disease in pets, zoo animals, and wildlife. Veterinary pathologists examine animal tissue and body fluids in order to diagnose disease and predict outcomes in animal patients.

These types of veterinary careers have proven to be important on a large scale as food-producing animals can be kept out of harm's way, in turn keeping those they feed healthy and free of diseases. "By determining causes of disease, a veterinary pathologist and a veterinary technician can help maintain herd health and establish if there is a risk to humans handling or consuming the meat or milk of food animals," explains Paul Stromberg, a veterinary pathology professor at the American College of Veterinary Pathologists at Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). "Because of the broad-based biomedical training, veterinary pathologists serve as key members of pharmaceutical research and development teams."

Veterinary Careers: Not What You See on Animal Planet
Considering veterinary careers, but aren't sure about the thrill level? Take it from Susanne Schuette, who's been a veterinarian for 18 years. The career can be both exciting and mellow. "I have to tell you our standing Animal Planet joke," she says.

Over the years, high school students have job shadowed her clinic to see what a day in the life of a rural mixed animal practice is like. "I remember one pretty routine day of vaccinations, spay and neuters, a few sick calls, and a few non-emergency farm calls... We were happy there were no emergencies and everything was going so smoothly and we would be finished at closing time," the Cadott Animal Clinic vet recalls. "One high school senior surmises, 'It sure is a lot more boring than Animal Planet.'"

Everyone had a good laugh, but days at the clinic aren't always this funny. "There have been days where I could have written a book," Wisconsin vet says. Veterinarians check on patients trying to figure out sources of ailments, do routine vaccinations throughout the day, and even do some research on the side as some new, unfamiliar cases can arise.

As you can see, veterinary careers do not offer simple, daily routines, so an aspiring animal doctor or technician must go to veterinarian college in order to receive the proper training to handle anything and everything. "When I went to vet school in 1984, it was still an eyebrow raiser to say you wanted to be a female veterinarian," Schuette recalls. "The comment was always 'oh, cats and dogs?' and I would say, 'no, I want to be a large animal vet.' Then they'd say, 'oh horses?' and I'd respond, 'no, I want to work on dairy cattle.'"

So that's just what Schuette did. Her reason on why she wanted to become a veterinarian: cows. While she does help cats, dogs, and horses certain days, the ever-changing dairy industry also calls for professional consult. "A good veterinary education teaches you how to solve problems. It teaches you how to see the big picture, gather information, assess that information, and form a plan all the while keeping that big picture in mind," Schuette explains.

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