Thinking about a new career with animals....

[mouse_chalk]

I've been trying to get on to post this all day lol....

Many of you know that I've been out of work for some time now with a balance disorder. I was made redundant from my old job (which I'd been off sick from for over a year already). I'm currently on Disability Living Allowance, but that's it.

Anyway, since the stress of my job, being off sick etc (it's a very long story) has been lifted, I feel that I've gotten a lot better. I still have bad days, but I have a lot more good than bad. So I've been thinking that I'll need to go back to work soon lol.

I've been thinking, that I think I really want to become a veterinary nurse. That's the easy part! I've been looking at courses nearby, and there are 2 colleges that offer the course- both full-time and part-time, and there are a whole bunch of vets in bristol that are 'training practices' and in theory take on trainees. The courses I've found, you have to find paid full-time training/work at a veterinary practice, and then you study at college etc one day a week. The course is 2 years long, from what I can gather you do NVQ Level 2 in your first year, and then Level 3 in your second. The qualifications are at least 5 GCSE's at C grade, which I have.

But, I'm really scared. The reasons?

1. I don't know if I'm better or not.... I think I am, mostly, but what if when I suddenly start working/studying I'm not better?

2. I'll be a mature student!!! :shock: I'm terrified of being the oldest one there and sticking out like a sore thumb lol.

3. Applying for places, interviews etc TERRIFIES me. Literally

4. One of the apprenticeship schemes I've looked at- they vary in terms of pay, but the minimum is £80 a week. If I got that, I would REALLY struggle to pay my bills. :? Steve did say a while ago that he would support me as much as possible if I wanted to go back to college but I think he's forgotten that now lol...

5. I have the GCSE's I need to get into the course, in theory. But I sat them 8 years ago!! What if I've forgotten everything?

6. What if I'm just terrible at it? What if they think that I'm just a rabbit lover but wouldn't necessarily make a good vet nurse? What if I can't get back into studying again?

Aaaaarrrrrggghh!!

I feel torn- on the one hand the thought of a new career, etc really really excites me, but on the other hand I feel so terrified! I think that to be honest my illness has caused me to lose a lot of confidence in myself. It's hard to get that back....

If anyone has any advice or anything I'd greatly appreciate it!

 

[Becca]

I CAN POST WOOO LETS HOPE IT WORKS


Anyway,
Jen I think its really great! Seriously I don't think theres anything to worry about if they see how lucky your bunnies are they will understand!

Good luck with everything!

 

[Flashy]

1, Maybe it might be worth doing some voluntary work to work out whether or not you are able to cope with stuff? Or before you jump in head first and get courses, maybe try and less important job and one that it doesn't matter if you quit right away, such as in a pet shop (still with animals).

2, There are plenty of mature students on most courses. Being older means you have more life experience and you could potentially be better at your job, you have different experiences are more to offer.

3, That's common for a lot of people, it is very scary. Would practice interviews help? Have you tried contacting the job centre to see if they can support you at all? What is it that scares you?

4, Go to the CAB and see about what benefits you can get while you study, for example you might get disabled students benefit, or something, because you still struggle, or something else.

5, They are not looking for your GCSE knowledge, just the intelligence to get those grades. You have not lost your intelligence in that time.

6, You don't know unless you try. If you think it might be something you want to do then you owe it to yourself to try. If it doesn't work out, that's ok, chalk it down to experience and you never know what might come from it.

I am also thinking about this as a possible career for the future. I think if you think it might be for you, then work towards going for it

 

[pinksalamander]

mouse_chalk wrote:

1. I don't know if I'm better or not.... I think I am, mostly, but what if when I suddenly start working/studying I'm not better? You won't know until you find out, but you are the only person who can tell how you feel, and as you say you've been feeling better, you're probably right!

2. I'll be a mature student!!! :shock: I'm terrified of being the oldest one there and sticking out like a sore thumb lol. You're only 24 aren't you? Thats hardly old! I bet there are alot of people that age doing the course.

3. Applying for places, interviews etc TERRIFIES me. Literally. If you want it enough, you will definitely get the place and you have nothing to worry about in the interview!

4. One of the apprenticeship schemes I've looked at- they vary in terms of pay, but the minimum is £80 a week. If I got that, I would REALLY struggle to pay my bills. :? Steve did say a while ago that he would support me as much as possible if I wanted to go back to college but I think he's forgotten that now lol... Maybe you will have to cut down on the luxuries for a while, but is the idea of the career worth it?

5. I have the GCSE's I need to get into the course, in theory. But I sat them 8 years ago!! What if I've forgotten everything? Chances are its probably just a qualification they need, rather than you knowing the stuff. After all, I have a GCSE in Maths but can barely add!

6. What if I'm just terrible at it? What if they think that I'm just a rabbit lover but wouldn't necessarily make a good vet nurse? What if I can't get back into studying again? You'll never know unless you try

Fran :hearts :brownbunny

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Hey Jen!
Good for you for considering this step. I went to an almost all-vet tech college (I was one of only 2-non vet programs).

Here's the good news: You would be an outstanding vet tech. Most of the girls in my college were spoiled, doped-up, unfeeling brats, who didn't take responsibility for the lives in their hands. Virtually all of them graduated (and yes, it is actually considered a good program:?) and most of them have jobs, because they learned the material.
In college and university, the best students are typically the mature students. 24 is not even CLOSE to old... maybe a bit on the upper end of the scale, but I have ppl as old as 50 in my college and uni classes. Nate is 32, and is doing aces (high 80s)in his psychology degree program He was out of school for over 10 years.

You will likely find great references from your clinic co-ops, or maybe even be hired on after graduation. Tracy is right; nobody cares what you learned in high school... they just care that you have the capacity to learn.


The only bad news: you better be assigned to a small animal clinic. One of my vet-tech girlfriends had severe illness complications in her final year of college. She had these problems before starting the program. Her back was so screwed up that she couldn't tolerate the heavy lifting of larger-breed dogs, nor the intense body position required for the dentistry portion of the program.

I believe it is your back that hurts, right? Consider how you are going to cope with your pain, and what preventative action you plan to take. That was the part that killed me about my pal; she never took proper care of herself, thus making things worse on her body. She also didn't know when to stop when it hurts. She also refused to take painkillers... You may have to order in a back supporter (that goes around your middle), or whatever to keep your body comfortable while working.

I don't think that having pain should stop someone from going after what they want. There are ways of dealing with it... I know a number of people who claim to have debilitating illness, but they never try anything anyway... just complain and live on the dole forever.:? You can do it!!!

I'm so glad you are taking steps to pursue a dream. If you want to talk with my pal who is the vet-tech who had pain problems, I'd be happy to give you her email.
She was president of the student council with me, and had the highest marks in the entire vet program (upper 90s).
You remind of her... you guys almost look similar. She could give you more of a vision of the work in store than I can

 

[mouse_chalk]

Thank you guys so much for all the great replies! :embarrassed:

Flashy..... I had to laugh at you saying 'you have not lost your intelligence' because some days I really think I have lol!!

I know it really is what I want to do.... it's just a question of being brave enough to go for it. I've been researching online all afternoon and evening and everything I read makes me want to do it even more!

I guess the GCSE point was a bit silly lol... I was in a sort of mini-panic mode and just wrote down whatever was in my head- never a good idea

The interview and application process scares me so much because of having to sell myself. I'm terrible at it. I've obviously made it through interviews before, and actually got jobs lol, but I just lack confidence to actually apply to places in the first place lol. I wish I could pinpoint what it is that scares me!

If it was as little as £80 a week, that wouldn't even cover the essentials, let alone luxuries lol... so that might be a problem. I'd have to talk it through with Steve... But I guess I wont find out unless I try Flashy that's a great bit of advice about looking into benefits.... I hadn't thought of that!

I think I'm just lacking confidence.... I do know that it's what I want to do. I've been thinking about it for a while and it's the only thing that gets me excited about the thought of going back to work. I was talking to my best friend earlier who has been out of work for the past 2/3 years due to a back injury, although she has greatly improved recently. She doesn't want to be stuck on benefits forever either, but she admits that the thought of going back to work terrifies her, and it's almost easier just to hide away and not have to think about it.... But I know that I don't want to be out of work forever. I want to get back to it while I'm thinking about it because otherwise I'll just get more scared!

 

[mouse_chalk]

Autumn, thank you so much!

I have had back problems (chronic abscesses and multiple operations) but luckily that's all healed now, and the only residual pain I have is when I sit up straight on hard surfaces for long period of time.... Hopefully that wont cause too much of an issue...

The illness I refer to is a balance disorder, Labyrinthitis. I've had it for nearly 2 years now and it causes vertigo, light-headedness, grogginess, sometimes I fall over, room spinning etc. However the spinning episodes and falling have been much improved lately. I still get really groggy in the mornings and have disturbed sleep, but again that's less too. But then I don't know if that's because I'm not doing a whole lot at the moment, and if it would flare up again if I started doing a lot....

I guess that's why Flashy's idea of volunteering or something first is a good one- to see what I can cope with.....

 

[mouse_chalk]

Just thought I'd update...

Me and Steve had a big chat yesterday about stuff that has been worrying me- mainly running out of my redundancy 'rent fund' in a few months and not being able to pay my way, and possibly being on a very low wage (it differs depending on where I read- some places I see minimum wage, some places I see between 3-7k, some places say around 10k, some places say from £80 a week, etc!) and not being able to pay my way for a while to come.

Steve basically said that he knows I really want to do the course and he thinks I'll be great at it, and will support me all the way. I.e financially, paying a proportion of my share of the bills etc (making up what I can't cover), for as long as necessary! It feels like such a relief. We pay exactly half of everything, rent, bills, rabbits, even down to if I want a magazine, bottle of wine or something, we never even let a couple of quid slide, so I was really freaking out about not even being able to pay my bills etc... His business is doing really well at the moment and he's just taken on a really big job with a friend, so we should still be able to be comfortable, rest assured the bunnies will still be well taken care of!

The only thing he did say, which I agree with is to make sure that I really do feel well enough for it, because he would hate to see me back in the state I was last year, working full time and struggling because I felt so sick. I'd literally come home and go straight to bed because I was so wiped out. So I am going to give myself a month or so, until after Christmas is over with, and then if I still think I'm able to do it I'm going to find a placement and get on the course! In the meantime I'm going to keep researching and making enquiries to find out as much as I can.....

I feel SO excited about it though! It's the first time in my whole life that I've ever had any idea of what I want to do.... And it seems like I could actually get there and do it..... It's a great feeling :bunnydance: