Anyone work in animal care?

[mezeta]

I have been working as a legal secretary for 5 years now and I have done course in law such as A level law and paralegal. I can honestly say I hate it with a pasion! I got into it because when I left school I really wanted to do animal care such as a vetenary assistant and at the time didn't think I would be strong enough to see anyone/put an animal down. I didn't know what I wanted to do and ended up stumbling into law.

I have been thinking about animal care all these years and I have finally snapped and know I have to get out of law once and for all, my problem is because I have been working in law for so long and have no qualifications people don't think I am serious about working in animal care I have had lots of rejection letters from vets. Onto the questions:-

1. At the moment I am unemployed as I was doing temp work as a legal secretary which came to an end just before Christmas. I have been offered another job which I have not accepted yet but need to let them know by next Monday, problem is again it is a legal secretary position as these are all that is ever offered it to me. What would you do? Would you accept for now? Because obviously I'm running out of money fast and need a job to pay bills plus if I want to do a course in animal care I would need the money.

2. Are there any part time courses in animal care? I have looked on the internet and I'm not sure which is the best one for me to do any ideas? I would be happy doing anything from kennals, walking animals, cleaning out the animals to get my foot in the door. Also with the courses my ultimate goal would be to be an animal care assistant but to do these courses you have to have employment in a vets for the practical side of the course.. Again I can't get employment because they are going to take the people who have more experience working in animal care over me.

I thought about volunteer work so at least I could put that on my CV and they would know I am interested but ringing up places they don't have any positions in my area (and haven't for ages!) the only positions they have are working in the shop I would be useless at that!

I know how much hard work animal care will be and that it isn't all about cute fluffy animals. I'm aware it will be a demanding job with long hours but I really want to be in a rewarding career not sat all day typing about peoples houses that have completed or asking people to come in and sign contracts. I'ts driving me mad!!

Anyway my real question is, if you wre in my position what would you do? To be honest I just don't know where to begin!

p.s Sorry for the long post!

Amy xx

 

[mezeta]

Currently writing a ridiculous amount of letters to all vets near where I live and near where Phil lives and in between our houses (i'm covering a large area here ) telling them how much I want to work for them and why I want the career change..Wish me luck out of 87 letters you would hope I at least get one reply :biggrin2:

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

are there any law fields that are animal related that you could get into. I meant it wouldnt be a hands on dealing with animals but it would be animal welfare? just a suggestion.

 

[mouse_chalk]

Hi Amy!

I want to work in animal care too! I'm currently atrainer in customer services for Orange (horrible mobile phone people) but I've been off sick for months. I'll be sacked soon probably though, so as soon as I'm better I want to start volunteering somewhere and hopefully eventuallytake a course part-time, if there is one!

So, I don't have much advice unfortunately, but good luck with all your letters, I hope you get somewhere! And if/when you do, feel free to pass on your advice lol!

 

[PixieStixxxx]

For the last week, I've been looking at taking Veterinary Assistant courses while I'm in school for Biology.

Ultimately.. I did want to be a Vet, or a Vet Tech.. both require moving away. So I figured, why not do a Vet Assitant course since the school is on the other side of town. And if I can't move away, atleast I have something to fall back upon.

You can do them part time, but the practicum - I don't think so? I used to volunteer at a vet hospital, and a girl on her practicum had to work full time, while she was in school, and working a part time job on the side.

 

[Tracey]

a tad off-topic, but as far as animal care goes.. I'm currently a 3 day a week volunteer at a non-profit pet rescue(Gainesville Pet Rescue), I absolutly love it! I enjoy giving my time to any animal thats been neglected in some way. As a bonus, its also FUN

 

[mezeta]

Jen:lol I did a stintin customer services in ..wait for it... Orange hehe. Aww hun, hope you feel better soon, I read your blog that must be hard feeling dizzy, its good you have your 4 gorgeous bunnies to cheer you up. Don't worry you will be on the mend soon.

Ohhh what would you like to do in animal care? I can tell you would be good at it, maybe having to take time off from Orange will turn out to be a blessing in discuise when you feel better I will let you know if I have any luck and what I did.



Pixiestixxx: Yeah that exactly what I fancy doing (Animal Care Assistant here) I have looked into it before you can enroll they want you to be working in a vets and the vets before they take you on want you to have already enrolled (headache!!) lol, will have to see how that one works out. Yeah its a good idea for you to do the Vet Assistant, Let me know how it goes.



Tracey: That sounds like so much fun, its great that there are people out there willing to give there time, I'm hoping something like that will come up for me so I will have more experience. Well done and keep up the good work

 

[trailsend]

I know a lot of colleges offer part time studies in animal care, and some offer distance classes. A lot of them offer a basic animal care course which can help you get into other fields... what interests you? Applying to Vet clinics is a good start, maybe you'd be able to see if you enjoy that.

As soon as I am able I am going to start taking Wildlife Rehabilitation courses, mostly they are distance courses but the difficult part is driving to the special seminars and classes that are hours away. But you can do really anything you want to if you put your mind to it, and want it badly enough.

Volunteering somewhere is a good place to start too (I know you need money though!) but it can often lead to an actual paying job!

 

[okiron]

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=31478&forum_id=5

^ that's a thread I started. people gave me really good insight. i currently volunteer at a cat rescue. so much fun playing with and knowing the cats. its easier than i thought about bringing them home. (i mean easier to fight the urge to lol)

 

[mouse_chalk]

Amy, you worked at Orange? No way! Was it in a call centre or an Orange shop? I really don't know what I want to do with animals, it's my long-term dream to one day have my own rescue place but that's YEARS off yet!! Other than that, I'm not sure exactly what I'd want to do, I'd be willing to doa course but I want to stay away from going back to uni if possible, tried that once and I'm really not the studying kind! I need to look into it some more I guess...But yeah, to be honest I wish Orange would just hurry up and sack me, so I can stop worrying about it and move on. I'm not going to miss it- none of my friends will talk to me anymore cos they all think I'm skiving! :rollseyes

I guess it's sort ofthe same for you- having this break in your employment has given you the oppurtunity to think about what you really want to do and I think you should definately take the chance to go for it if you can! With the job you've been offered- It might not be the most ethical thing to do, but if it was me (lol)I'd take the job for now to earn the money while you research courses, jobs etc in animal care- you can always leave! But then I guess it depends on how much you need the money...

What are the qualifications you get from these courses?

 

[stargazerLily]

One of the best ways to get started is by volunteering at local animal shelters and for animal rescues. It gives you something to put on your resume to show that you are serious. Some shelters even have their own vet offices, and if you volunteer long enough or show interest, you may be able to volunteer in the vet office of the shelter. Check out the thread that Okiron posted too, there is a lot of info on there.

 

[PixieStixxxx]

Why don't you volunteer for a Veterinary Clinic? That's what I had done - I volunteered once a week for four hours at a Veterinary Hospital for 9 months. That way, you sort of are at a Vet Hospital, you can say you have the experience as you have shadowed Vet Assistants there and already gained knowledged of what to expect. You may even be allowed to do your practicum there and get hired!?