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I feel like I've just hit such a huge block with my career. I've always known I wanted to work with animals, no matter what I want that as a career. So when I found out I could do vet nursing I immediately leapt for it. I did an animal care certificate - loved it, went on to do the vet nursing diploma, but I genuinely hate it. I feel like it has nothing to do with actually interacting with and caring for animals. It's so clinic-based, very little of the job is actually caring for an animal and their needs. And it's become so incredibly obvious to me this semester that It's not what I want to do for a living. And It's starting to show in my placements, to the point my lecturer has called me in and aksed if everything was okay with me lol, after my supervisor on placement left a not-so-great review on me. And I kinda just told her that I am really starting to realise I dislike the industry and job as a whole. I have a huge intrest for caring for an animal, in a non-clinical setting. I have no intrest in drawing up medications, monitoring an anethetized cat or dog, standing in the same building all day everyday, I just cannot stand it. But I feel awful about it, and I've got like a month left of this semester, but honestly my motivation and desire to finish it is making it so hard to genuinely get up and go to my classess. I would really, ideally want to work in rehabilitation, education, zoology, husbandry/care, welfare, animal conservation etc. And I discovered that theres a "New Zealand Certificate in Animal Management - Zookeeping", which I think might be more me. Particularly because it's a qualification I can take to Australia, and do other relevant qualifications (if I'm applicable) specifically in relation to conservation. But like, as much as I want to do that, what if I end up hating or regretting that too? I genuinely thought I'd love vet nursing, but I didn't realize how clinical, stressful the job was. Not to even mention the atrocious pay. And I really do have such a huge passion in education. I absolutely adore sharing the information I've got about different animals, which I also thought might be good in vet nursing - no, the vets handle the vast majority of consultations with owners regarding pet-care questions and such. Whereas I feel like wildlife (wild or captive) would introduce me to so much more potential to share that. I'm so petrified that I'll make another mistake again though, and I've been mislead about it yet again. And again, worried that I'll just spend my whole life living paycheck-to-paycheck. Another option I've looked into is "Bachelor of Applied Science (Animal Behaviour and Welfare)" Which I think would also help me, especially because it seems to heavily specialize in conservation, and zoo-care too. And I'm not sure what kinds of jobs either would offer me. But I think I'd heavily prefer them over vet nursing. I don't even know if the pay in those kinds of fields are very comfortable, expecially in comparison to vet nursing. |
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Trivia Team |
It sounds like the certification would suit you better, but even if it doesn't, it is another step towards finding something that does. The fun thing about education is that it'll make you more and more qualified to do different things- even if you don't go into nursing, your degree and ability to do some of those things will make you more valuable than somebody that only has a certification, etc. I know so many people that end up in life doing something unrelated to their degrees. It's okay to get it wrong in school, and it's okay to try again until you get it right. You're young, and I promise you have so much more time than you think. That being said, perhaps reach out to someone that works in the field you're now interested in and see if it really is what you want? |
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Go for the zookeeping and any job that comes up for caring for animals should be in your sites. The BSc may not be a direct lead to practical jobs. But having that BSc sticker is a big boost on any job market. Which is cheaper? That can be a big decider. Which one will take into account what you have already done? You might be able to skip a section. One thing I have learnt over my life (old lady speaking) is that no expereance has left me bereft. Everything, even the dreadful chambermaiding gave me knowledge of people and bosses and quick ways of housekeeping. Do either, you never know how that knowledge will come into play in your life. P.S. Finish your current sylabus sections so they count for something. Push through to achieve those credits. |
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Zookeeper checking in! . I used to dream of being a vet. Like, sincerely. I absolutely adored making animals feel better. And then... I discovered the nasty side of veterinary. You always see animals at their worst. Owners will consistently refuse proper care. You'll see owners at their worst. And, almost never, do vets or assistants ever see kindness from the owners. It takes a rarity. And what broke my heart the most- the animals are afraid of you because you're the one with the pokey objects :(
. I started my zookeeping degree, and recently, my career. And let me tell you: it is WONDERFUL seeing the animals so excited to see me every day! You learn all the same concepts about nutrition, care, enrichment, cleaning, and training as if they were your own exotic babies.
. YOU are the one who gets to raise youngsters from a baby, amongst other things. :) . Zookeeping is genuinely just a much better career on the mental health and sanity. And yes, ANY class on husbandry/behaviour/care/nutrition etc. will be helpful to the zookeeping career. |
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"Change is scary but so is staying the same" You owe it to yourself to explore what you really want, even if that means taking risks and finding out what you don't want in the process. |
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Thank you guys, I've been speaking to quite a few family members of mine, and almost all of them have said the never really saw me working in a clinic. I wish I'd seen it earlier, I do hope that I'm not making a mistake leaving and doing something like zookeeping or conservation instead. I feel like maybe I'm panicing over something that really isn't as huge a deal as I think. Like I'm the youngest in my whole class, so many others had done other courses that didn't work for them, before getting into vet nursing. So I guess that I'm just going through that same thing. |
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Heavy Snow, Limited Visibility
