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What To Do Now? Veterinarian Career Training

by Karen Jo Shapiro
Online Education Columnist

Are you known for your love of animals and like the idea of spending your time devoted to animal care? Veterinarians are doctors to a wide range of animals--from pets to livestock and even exotic zoo animals. Veterinary schools or online veterinary training courses are avenues that can help you improve your skills and retrain for this career.

Vital Career Skills for Veterinarians

Veterinarians have a thorough knowledge of the anatomy, biology, and needs of animals. Some veterinarians work in private or group practices, primarily treating small animals, like dogs, cats, and birds. Other veterinarians specialize in large animals, such as livestock and larger zoo animals. These vets often spend a good part of their days traveling to farms or visiting the zoos and circuses that house these animals.

To become a vet, you should have an interest in science, an ability to communicate with others, and, of course, a love for animals. Veterinarians should be compassionate and careful with their patients. As you develop your career skills, you'll learn the specific needs of different animals as well as how to care for each of them. Vets give shots, treat broken bones, administer medications and deal with almost as wide a spectrum of problems as doctors do for humans.

Vets can also become involved in research regarding animals, their problems, and treatments. Because people will continue to have pets and livestock, veterinary medicine should continue to be a stable career in most any economy.

Career Advice for Animal Lovers: Veterinary Medicine

Retraining as a veterinarian requires entrance into a special veterinary school. Whether at a traditional campus or through online veterinarian training courses, these focused programs help you develop the career skills necessary to succeed in the field. Previous education, like a bachelor's degree in a related field, is usually required. After you finish your advanced coursework, you will continue to improve your skills through internships and supervised experience. If you think you would enjoy spending your days with animals and are willing to work hard, a career in veterinary medicine could be a perfect fit for you.

More about Veterinarian Career Training & Veterinarian Schools Online


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    Karen Jo Shapiro is a psychologist who specializes in leadership and career development in addition to personal coaching. She is the owner of Your Next Steps Coaching and is on adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC. She leads workshops for women on achieving their dreams through action planning, and also on powerful connections through networking. Karen Jo has undergraduate degrees in English and Spanish from Colby College and a Psy.D. from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. She has published two books of humorous poetry for children.