nursing (humans) vs animal jobs

[Nursing_Student'15]

This may not be the place to post this but has anyone had second thoughts about going to nursing school or a first interest in working with animals? I dont think i would want to go to vet school which is pretty much the only job working with animals where you make a decent amount of money. People say follow your heart/dreams, which i believe i should do, but at the same time i dont want to be just getting by. I'm not saying i dont want to be a nurse at all, im just saying that its not necessarily my first choice. I suppose i could still volunteer/work at animal shelters once i get my career figured out. I'm just wondering is there anyone else or feels similar to me? Also, any advice would be helpful.

[FutureNurse18]

Hey,

I have 5 years experience working in veterinary clinics and I'm hoping to go back to school for nursing. If you have any questions you can message me :)

[Nursing_Student'15]

Thanks. It's just i've always had a love for animals..not so much for ppl....but im finding out there are some great ppl to know...i think i would be happy as a nurse but even happier with animals. Its weird but i almost feel like i have to hide my love for animals since im going to b a nurse...i know its not true but i have the thoght...im going to b a nurse i need to like ppl..which will come witb time..plus some r more likable than others

[Nursing_Student'15]

So to me its weird bc i feel like oh no i like animals which tons and tons of ppl do but i feel like i cant choose a desirable career w/o them....nursing seems like a fun, difficult, worthwhile career...but then it means i have to focus on animals outside of that. Teachers keep stressing you have to care..which i believe i do..but i'm one of those ppl who feel like animals are not much different from us and they need care too...

[Satori77, ADN]

Thanks. It's just i've always had a love for animals..not so much for ppl....but im finding out there are some great ppl to know...i think i would be happy as a nurse but even happier with animals. Its weird but i almost feel like i have to hide my love for animals since im going to b a nurse...i know its not true but i have the thoght...im going to b a nurse i need to like ppl..which will come witb time..plus some r more likable than others

I know tons of animal people who are nurses. Who are many different careers. Just being an animal lover does not mean you have to work with animals. But if you want to be a vet or tech because you like animals and not people much (trust me, I understand you. I think the more I work with animals, the less I like people because of some horrible things you see), then you don't know what you are getting into. You will work with people. A LOT. It isn't like you just take the animals to the back and do whatever you need to do. It's like working with children. You have to go through the parents. You will be in exam rooms with the owners, get history, explaining what is wrong, how to give meds, etc. And you will deal with a lot of unhappy clients. Arguing what is wrong with their pet, not wanting to pay the bill (why can't you just do it for free?), upset that you are hurting their baby. You have to be prepared for that if you go into vet medicine. I have had so many vets tell me they didn't realize their jobs would be mostly people and paperwork! LOL

[lavender19]

Hi I was thinking a lot about this. I enjoy working with people and animals and I love medicine. I was an Animal Science major at Cornell during my undergrad and I'm actually thinking of doing an accelerated BSN program. Unless you want to be a vet or vet tech it's hard to get a job with working with animals. Yes you can find jobs working on barns or shelters but I'm afraid that will not be enough money to support myself. I graduated debt free and was thinking working for an additional two years full time so that I can afford my nursing tuition without having any loans. I was also thinking of working as a nurse for a few years and maybe attending vet school in the future. I am very terrified of debt. The Animal Science route was rough for me, but I did decent. Organic Chemistry and Physics ruined it for me. It's not I couldn't do it, it's just Cornell. Cornell pre-vet prereqs were so incredibly difficult. The mean is a B- for Organic Chemistry and you're competing against 500 other people in your class who are all apparently pre-meds and pre-vets (on top of competing with very bright students). So I dropped those courses and plan to take them somewhere else so that I will get an A. I figured working as a BSN gives me the opportunity to work with children and they remind me of animals in a way because to me they're both innocent and pleasant to be around. I'm young and figured an accelerated program wouldn't be a bad idea and I think I'll be able to get a good paying job quickly.

[tilliealicia]

I graduated in 2009 with my animal science degree. We were deep in the recession so I went back to school and became an RN. It's okay, I have job security and make decent money. It is not my passion. It is a job, I'm good at it. I think amimal lovers are caring so it works out well. I would like to believe that I will leave nursing once my student loans are paid off and pursue a career that is focused on animals, like wildlife conservation type jobs.