11 Sept 2023
Recent grad Eleanor Goad discusses how to straddle the divide between vet school and the working world, and why you need to ensure you focus on yourself as much as the job you’re seeking.
Eleanor Goad
Job Title
Image © Tom McNemar / Adobe Stock
Never mind whether you’re in the middle of cramming for your final exams, or recently graduated, applying for your first job as a veterinary surgeon is a daunting task.
There’s definitely a pressure that settles on the final year cohort around the new year to be the first one to find a job, or else you’ll somehow be left behind and the whole world will end.
The reality is there’s no universal “right time” to start applying for your first job. Personally, knowing that I had a job lined up on the other side of exams allowed a certain part of my brain that likes to worry along in the background (I’m sure you’re familiar) quieten down and let me focus on my studies. However, I do completely empathise with the “one stressful thing at a time” mentality and those who choose to get the hurdle of graduating out of the way before starting to job hunt.
The last big decision you made was aligning yourself with a vet school and a city that represented a minimum five year commitment, so it’s easy to forget that signing the contract of your first job isn’t the same as signing away your soul or first born.
Best case scenario, you find somewhere with the ethos and people around you that make you never want to leave, but if you don’t find the perfect fit the first time around, that’s okay too – and probably more common than the former.
All work and all play is relevant for any vocation, but in the veterinary industry in particular, it is so important to have passions and interests outside of work. Being a vet is amazing and rewarding, but equally stressful and demanding, so it’s important to remember there is a world outside of the practice.
According to the BVA Voice of the Profession survey, most vets who make the move to non-clinical work do so after seven years, which is barely longer than the time it takes to get the degree in the first place. Improving that statistic is likely as much about what you get up to outside of work as in it. Remember, at the end of the day a job is just a job, and perspective is key.
It’s not just about the practice itself, but where it is. Are you more of a city lover, or do you prefer the rural way of life?
There are swings and round abouts wherever you go, figuratively and probably literally, but make sure you choose somewhere that allows you to:
Having family and friends close by can make big changes easier, and having people outside of the profession to chat to and confide in definitely helps in keeping that aforementioned perspective.
