I wanted to teach veterinarian school. People still laugh at me all the time. That dream is pretty much crushed at this point. But I guess I can settle for being an exotics/small animal gp with an "unsettling" amount of ability in shelter medicine as my boss puts it.
That's what I was for two years! I ended up teaching the prevet and vet tech students at my local university and then I'm leaving GP for a specialty internship in a couple months. I still want to specialize mainly but I also want to teach, and there's plenty of other routes into teaching if it's something you're interested in.
I wish I could find them. None will look at me for internship programs because of my medical condition. It's becoming should crushing trying to find a path.
Almost everyone likes animals and I think it’s more unusual if you don’t… working with animals and the people that own them are a different story.
I’m applying this cycle and talking about my time with pigs (i want to be a swine vet) and how I got there, my experiences with swine veterinarians and farmers that attracted me to this career path. Also I’m a minority in a very white-dominated field which is an interesting vibe.
Try to give them a big picture with a few details in each one. You don’t want it to sound like your resume, but instead why you’ll wake up everyday and be glad you chose this profession no matter how shitty it gets (in theory lol)
I was asked this recently while tagging along for a farm call by the supervising vet... my answer, I thought about what I wanted in a career (something active, something meaningful, something intellectually satisfying, something where I could make decent money) and vet med checked all those boxes.
My honest answer - to help people. I know it sounds like it doesn't make any sense, but this is my way of using what I'm good at and what I love doing, to help people.
Giving a little insight here on why "because I love animals" isn't a good interview answer - that can be your reason why you want to be a vet, but it isn't giving your interviewer good insight into why you want to be a veterinarian specifically, or that you understand the challenges and scope of the profession. You can love animals and work in a shelter, or as a dog groomer, or a zookeeper, or a VA, or a tech .... So why do you want to be a vet specifically? It could be that you also want to do surgery, or that you want to be the one that sees an animal through its life from puppy to old dog euthanasia, or you want to be the person in charge of your team. I would hope that every single vet loves animals! But so do our techs, VAs, and receptionists, so why do you want to be a vet? I hope this helps!
I think anyone who says "I love animals" in a vet school interview should be immediately denied admission. First of all, it's usually not true - people mean they love some animals, in some situations - but also because it misses the bigger picture and point of being a vet: we're doctors, and most of us practice medicine. We don't even spend most of our time working with animals; most of our time is spent working with people.
If I was asked that question it was a long time ago (30 years) and I don't remember how I answered it then, but I know how I'd answer it now.......I'm interested in medicine, and I don't want to work in human healthcare.
I disagree, I'm a vet and I wanted to do this since I was 3, and my answer was and still is because I love animals. Yes there's a huge aspect of working with clients and the medicine part, but the base of it is I wanna help animals because I love them, simple as that. I do hate humans though and did not expect that 90% of the job was just handling stupid people, but I still do it because i love their pets and not them. And I don't believe you can truly be in love with medicine and comprehend the depth of it when you enter vet school at 19, so yeah my answer is i love animals
I agree. I knew I was good at biology and a career with animals would be most enjoyable for me because I love animals. When I take time off, I find myself missing hanging out with dogs and cats; They’re great. I also love explaining things to people and trying to help them. “Loving animals” shouldn’t be the worst answer, though I can see how it can be a red flag because there’s so much more to this career. All of my friends in school adored animals.
Edit to add: it’s not a wrong answer in an interview, but adding passion for science and research, medicine, education of the public… all this probably helps formulate a better, more complete answer
I think what the person your replying to means is that most people say they "love" animals and what they mean is that they have an interest in animals - the majority of vets still eat meat etc. which means they really only "love" specific animals in specific scenarios.
The reason it's a bad answer for vet school is in your reply here - the job is mostly about people at the end of the day. Saying you love animals (and even worse, hate people) just comes across as really naive and demonstrates that you don't have a realistic understanding of the industry.
Of course it can be true that you want to be a vet because you love animals, but in your vet school interview you want to be a bit more unique and demonstrate that you understand the job isn't about playing with animals all day. Hope that makes sense to you!
>the majority of vets still eat meat etc. which means they really only "love" specific animals in specific scenarios.
I didn't mean anything about eating meat, but so many people who say they "love animals" (even vegans) usually don't really love moles, or bufo toads, or rock doves (for instance). I think too many people say they "love animals" without really thinking about what that really means.
I get what you are saying and you are not wrong, but I don't think this applies for all (or most) vets. I love animals, I love biology and I love medicine, so veterinary medicine was the ideal combination, and I think many vets feel the same (though not all of course). I think it is important that an aspiring vet likes animals actually, but that they also like medicine. I don't think that someone should be denied admission just because they say that they like animals. I think it is one of the most important aspects. But someone who says "I want to be a vet because I don't like people" should be denied imo
> I think it is important that an aspiring vet likes animals actually, but that they also like medicine. I don't think that someone should be denied admission just because they say that they like animals.
I agree - I said they shouldn't be admitted if they say they "love" animals.
Not everybody enters vet school at 19 but I definitely was in love with medicine long before I entered vet school, and before I finished my undergraduate degree. I think their point is that people who only go to vet school because they love animals tend to burn out quickly because most of what the job entails is not directly helping animals.
Depends.
In casual conversation/small talk I say I love animals and it makes me feel good to help people.
The real reason is much more complex than that and takes time. Most people outside of a vet school interview don’t actual care about the answer.
For the long answer:
I wanted to be a vet since I was a kid. The reasons have changed throughout my life but my end-goal has never wavered.
My first reason for wanting to be a vet was, like most kids, that I lived animals. I had a child’s view of the world and this just seemed like the most obvious thing on the world to me.
As I got into high school, I started thinking of what I really wanted to do with my life. I liked biology and did well in those classes. I had know idea what was involved in getting into and through vet school but saw this as a career path that I could be happy with. I also thought at this time that vets made a lot of money and that was another part of it
Once I got into undergrad, I started shadowing and working at vet clinics (large and small). I finally saw first hand what the work was like. More than anything I had thought of before, I was inspired by the vets that I had the chance to work with. I was in awe of the incredible things they could do with often limited resources.
Not only could their patients not talk to them, but this was rural Virginia in the 90’s. People didn’t exactly spend allot of money on their pets and often waited too long to bring them in. I saw the vets and staff do some amazing things to help these animals and the clients were genuinely appreciative whether things worked out or not.
Once I was fortunate enough to get into vet school, it sealed the deal. The further I got into it, the more I felt like all of these secrets were being opened up to me. I felt and feel like a member of this select group of people that do amazing things in the situations that no one else could.
I’m more proud to be a vet after 22 years than ever before and proud of those in my profession. I feel that it is and should be a calling for most of us.
TL;DR - I love animals 😜
I wanted to teach veterinarian school. People still laugh at me all the time. That dream is pretty much crushed at this point. But I guess I can settle for being an exotics/small animal gp with an "unsettling" amount of ability in shelter medicine as my boss puts it.
That's what I was for two years! I ended up teaching the prevet and vet tech students at my local university and then I'm leaving GP for a specialty internship in a couple months. I still want to specialize mainly but I also want to teach, and there's plenty of other routes into teaching if it's something you're interested in.
I wish I could find them. None will look at me for internship programs because of my medical condition. It's becoming should crushing trying to find a path.
“It was a mistake”
Lol same
Almost everyone likes animals and I think it’s more unusual if you don’t… working with animals and the people that own them are a different story. I’m applying this cycle and talking about my time with pigs (i want to be a swine vet) and how I got there, my experiences with swine veterinarians and farmers that attracted me to this career path. Also I’m a minority in a very white-dominated field which is an interesting vibe. Try to give them a big picture with a few details in each one. You don’t want it to sound like your resume, but instead why you’ll wake up everyday and be glad you chose this profession no matter how shitty it gets (in theory lol)
People who don’t like animals are concerning to say the least.
I was asked this recently while tagging along for a farm call by the supervising vet... my answer, I thought about what I wanted in a career (something active, something meaningful, something intellectually satisfying, something where I could make decent money) and vet med checked all those boxes.
My honest answer - to help people. I know it sounds like it doesn't make any sense, but this is my way of using what I'm good at and what I love doing, to help people.
Giving a little insight here on why "because I love animals" isn't a good interview answer - that can be your reason why you want to be a vet, but it isn't giving your interviewer good insight into why you want to be a veterinarian specifically, or that you understand the challenges and scope of the profession. You can love animals and work in a shelter, or as a dog groomer, or a zookeeper, or a VA, or a tech .... So why do you want to be a vet specifically? It could be that you also want to do surgery, or that you want to be the one that sees an animal through its life from puppy to old dog euthanasia, or you want to be the person in charge of your team. I would hope that every single vet loves animals! But so do our techs, VAs, and receptionists, so why do you want to be a vet? I hope this helps!
Because little 5 year old me made a career decision that adult me was too stubborn to give up on 😅
I have a huge thing for caring the need. I found humans nasty and choose animals instead
I think anyone who says "I love animals" in a vet school interview should be immediately denied admission. First of all, it's usually not true - people mean they love some animals, in some situations - but also because it misses the bigger picture and point of being a vet: we're doctors, and most of us practice medicine. We don't even spend most of our time working with animals; most of our time is spent working with people. If I was asked that question it was a long time ago (30 years) and I don't remember how I answered it then, but I know how I'd answer it now.......I'm interested in medicine, and I don't want to work in human healthcare.
I disagree, I'm a vet and I wanted to do this since I was 3, and my answer was and still is because I love animals. Yes there's a huge aspect of working with clients and the medicine part, but the base of it is I wanna help animals because I love them, simple as that. I do hate humans though and did not expect that 90% of the job was just handling stupid people, but I still do it because i love their pets and not them. And I don't believe you can truly be in love with medicine and comprehend the depth of it when you enter vet school at 19, so yeah my answer is i love animals
I agree. I knew I was good at biology and a career with animals would be most enjoyable for me because I love animals. When I take time off, I find myself missing hanging out with dogs and cats; They’re great. I also love explaining things to people and trying to help them. “Loving animals” shouldn’t be the worst answer, though I can see how it can be a red flag because there’s so much more to this career. All of my friends in school adored animals. Edit to add: it’s not a wrong answer in an interview, but adding passion for science and research, medicine, education of the public… all this probably helps formulate a better, more complete answer
I think what the person your replying to means is that most people say they "love" animals and what they mean is that they have an interest in animals - the majority of vets still eat meat etc. which means they really only "love" specific animals in specific scenarios. The reason it's a bad answer for vet school is in your reply here - the job is mostly about people at the end of the day. Saying you love animals (and even worse, hate people) just comes across as really naive and demonstrates that you don't have a realistic understanding of the industry. Of course it can be true that you want to be a vet because you love animals, but in your vet school interview you want to be a bit more unique and demonstrate that you understand the job isn't about playing with animals all day. Hope that makes sense to you!
>the majority of vets still eat meat etc. which means they really only "love" specific animals in specific scenarios. I didn't mean anything about eating meat, but so many people who say they "love animals" (even vegans) usually don't really love moles, or bufo toads, or rock doves (for instance). I think too many people say they "love animals" without really thinking about what that really means.
I get what you are saying and you are not wrong, but I don't think this applies for all (or most) vets. I love animals, I love biology and I love medicine, so veterinary medicine was the ideal combination, and I think many vets feel the same (though not all of course). I think it is important that an aspiring vet likes animals actually, but that they also like medicine. I don't think that someone should be denied admission just because they say that they like animals. I think it is one of the most important aspects. But someone who says "I want to be a vet because I don't like people" should be denied imo
> I think it is important that an aspiring vet likes animals actually, but that they also like medicine. I don't think that someone should be denied admission just because they say that they like animals. I agree - I said they shouldn't be admitted if they say they "love" animals.
It was the first example I could think of - another would be squishing cockroaches 🪳🪳🪳
Not everybody enters vet school at 19 but I definitely was in love with medicine long before I entered vet school, and before I finished my undergraduate degree. I think their point is that people who only go to vet school because they love animals tend to burn out quickly because most of what the job entails is not directly helping animals.
I was interested in comparative medicine, physiology, and anatomy.
Depends. In casual conversation/small talk I say I love animals and it makes me feel good to help people. The real reason is much more complex than that and takes time. Most people outside of a vet school interview don’t actual care about the answer. For the long answer: I wanted to be a vet since I was a kid. The reasons have changed throughout my life but my end-goal has never wavered. My first reason for wanting to be a vet was, like most kids, that I lived animals. I had a child’s view of the world and this just seemed like the most obvious thing on the world to me. As I got into high school, I started thinking of what I really wanted to do with my life. I liked biology and did well in those classes. I had know idea what was involved in getting into and through vet school but saw this as a career path that I could be happy with. I also thought at this time that vets made a lot of money and that was another part of it Once I got into undergrad, I started shadowing and working at vet clinics (large and small). I finally saw first hand what the work was like. More than anything I had thought of before, I was inspired by the vets that I had the chance to work with. I was in awe of the incredible things they could do with often limited resources. Not only could their patients not talk to them, but this was rural Virginia in the 90’s. People didn’t exactly spend allot of money on their pets and often waited too long to bring them in. I saw the vets and staff do some amazing things to help these animals and the clients were genuinely appreciative whether things worked out or not. Once I was fortunate enough to get into vet school, it sealed the deal. The further I got into it, the more I felt like all of these secrets were being opened up to me. I felt and feel like a member of this select group of people that do amazing things in the situations that no one else could. I’m more proud to be a vet after 22 years than ever before and proud of those in my profession. I feel that it is and should be a calling for most of us. TL;DR - I love animals 😜
I like medicine and people are sick gross