jmanpatsfan

I am currently a sophomore at the University of Connecticut, majoring in Pathobiology and Veterinary Science. I chose this major because I have always had a love for animals and biological science and wanted to combine the two in a clinical field and thought veterinary science would be the perfect profession. But a year and a half in college has changed my mind. Getting into veterinary school is a little more challenging than I previously thought (Usually requiring a 3.7 gpa or above to be realistically considered). My GPA is respectable, but not that high. A fallback option would be pre-med, but I am not so enthusiastic about that option either.
I have always loved cars and being around cars (as I am sure most of you do as well). I worked at my uncle’s car dealership last summer and absolutely loved it. I told myself I would have worked their for free. I always love reading about cars, and knowing as much as possible about them. When I compare that interest to a subject such as biology or medicine, the attraction just isn’t there. I was thinking about changing my major to something along the lines of business or marketing, then perhaps apply for a job with an automaker. I don’t know how realistic that is though.
Does anyone have any advice on this subject? I realize that life is all about figuring these kinds of things out for yourself, but I was thinking I could get some guidance from some people that may have gone through the same thing.

Thanks guys.
-Jason

shaun_beauchamp

Don't settle, keep your original goal on target and dig. If you settle, you will not be happy. Your love for cars is shared by all of us. If you truly love cars and such, then you must work to be the most successful in a field that will allow you to BUY cars. Typically those with great car collections did something else.

When you LOVE something, it shouldn't be a job. My Father loved motorcycles and began working as a diesel mechanic. For years he was successful and gained a reputation for his skills as a mechanic. He then started playing more and more with V-twin engines. He decided about 10 years ago that he wanted to start a motorcycle business and ten years later he seems to hate motorcycles. He turned his love affair into work. Now he is into guitars and woodworking.

You know from any relationship you have ever been in, when it becomes WORK, the LOVE is soon lost.

Sincerely,

Shaun Beauchamp
Mechanical Engineer - Xact Fluid Solutions (lubrication systems)
Owner - 2 S197 Mustangs
Job - Lubrication System Design
Passion - Loving life and enjoying my autosports hobbies.

jmanpatsfan

But what happens when you don't love your work?

GottaHaveIt

You get a divorce that's what happened to me, we didn't work hard enough at it , actually for me to live I had to get out, with any job we have it is always a tough call should I stay or should I go now ? I kinda think at time what I am at I will stay , sure it has ups & downs , but don't they all ! I know the downs here so I learn my ways to accept them.
For being a mechanic or a vet ? The auto indutrie is going through a lot of changes right and soon enough it will all be too high tech to service a flying machine , but I see pets around a lot longer and a lot of people will almost do anything for that special Family member even give up a nice Mustang. So if you have been at it a while try it out and if time present study cars to free up the stress of being a doctor That is my 2.5 cent opinion which ever way the road takes you I wish you all the luck and happiness that is out there.

jmanpatsfan

Thanks, but I wanst talking about a job as a mecahnic, I was thinking about somehting in the marketing department or along those lines. I really dont know too much about what I am talking about though, I am just a confused student.

StangMahn

I know I am too.

ewingfly

I do not have advice on changing your path to a marketing field. However, if you believe that med school is your fallback, you should think very hard about that. It is not only more competitve than veterinary school, its standards for enrollment are much higher. Generally people that are unable to matriculate to a med school fall back on programs such as veterinary or pharmacy. I am currently in the process of applying to med schools right now, so I do know a little about this. I graduated with a BS in chemistry. However with my GPA a 3.5 i wasnt competitive at all. I now have a masters in Bio-medical-sciences and therefore have a much better chance.

With that being said, I think you should stick with veterinary school. The reason why I say this, is that as a career, nothing is more fulfilling than saving lives, either human or animal. You have 3 semesters (since application process really starts after your junior year) to get your GPA as high as possible. So buckle down. Also start volunteering, as this is the main thing after your GPA, that schools look at. Try to volunteer at a clinic and shadow a veterinary doctor. The shadowing is very important because you will be able to get a letter of recommendation from the doctor.

And lastly believe in yourself. Through hard work anything is possible. Good luck in whatever you decide.

MustangLynda

Design engineering? I would think there will be job opportunities considering we are going to be moving away from gasoline powered engines and into alternative fuels, etc. Someone has to research and design these vehicles. It would also be something you could apply to other areas than automobiles if you burned out on that.

jmanpatsfan

I don't want to say that you are wrong, but I am pretty confindent that getting into vet school is MUCH harder than getting into med school. There are only 28 vet schools in the country, compared to thousands of medical schools, making admittance to a veterinary school much more competitive. One of my friends was just admitted to a D.O. school with a 3.2 gpa, while she never would have been granted an interview at a vet school with those marks. I dont know what the numbers are for med school, but for vet, only one person is admitted for every 60 applicants.

korinwoodo

I know it was already mentioned, but why not go on to graduate studies?

jmanpatsfan

If I dont get into med school on the first shot, that is my plan.

GottaHaveIt

I meant this part as a joke "what Happens when You don't Love Your Work"

and Marrige is work , so I said divorce

ScottyBoy302

First off, if you are still interested in veterinary school and you want it and work hard enough you will eventually make it. The original post is a bit vague though, so im not sure if youre discouraged by the difficulty of the schoolwork, or about the field as a whole. If its the latter, then it doesnt make much sense to plan to do something for the rest of your life that cant even keep you interested for a few years.

As for the whole business/marketing route, you have to be careful there. The marketing field is cluttered with people from countless different educational backgrounds who all feel that theyre going to put their own creative element into what theyre doing. Im not saying that you wont be able to, but especially with big corporations such as auto manufacturers, the majority just end up as another cog in the machine. Also, if youve never worked in an office i would definitely try that out before taking the business route. There are people who love their office jobs, but there are also many people (myself included) who just cant stand it.

If you enjoyed working in a shop so much then that may be something to seriously consider. If you dont want to be a mechanic, there are other jobs too, trade schools have tons of different hands on departments. For example, a buddy of mine who builds motorcycles and carts (or anything else with an engine on it) out of scrap metal and old parts is in a mechanical engineering program at a trade school. Its not the same kinda stuff as engineering at a university, and a lot of people just have more fin with that kinda stuff.

It may seem a little disconcerting at first, to think of going from something where you will make a lot of money to something where you will be much more average, but there are other things to think about. Will the money give you enough enjoyment in your time off of work to make up for all the hours spent doing something you dont enjoy?


And for the record, im in the same boat. Third year of a double major geology/political science degree, and although they both still interest me enough to finish my degrees in them, as of now i just dont see it being a satisfying career path. So i will (and already have) found myself turning down geology internships which would put me in the door for an easy job, in a field where the average entry level salary is in the low $80,000 range (in Calgary), in favor something that interests me such as photography. Where i will be making substantially less.



Well that rant was as much for my sake as for anyone elses, but i hope you can find something in there that might help you out. If not, thanks for letting me clutter up your thread.

jmanpatsfan

Thanks for you input, Scott. Its good to here from other people in the same position. I guess when I compare any interest of mine to to cars, they dont do very well.

ewingfly

I see your point about the fewer veterinary schools. There are only 28 compared to 128 MD schools (not thousands) However, I am not sure where you got your statistics from. VMCAS, which I believe is the equivalent of AMCAS for med schools, shows that there were 5740 applicants last year. The Freshman class was 2657. The percentage is similar to med schools stats which is for 42,315 applicants 17,759 were the freshman class. Now on to the GPA. Which the ave. for veterinary school is 3.47 . For med school it was 3.65. (3.59 being the science gpa). I couldnt find the stats for the GRE, which I believe is the preferred exam for vet school applicants. But for the MCATs the ave. is 30.8. Which I dont know if you know much about is quite ridiculous.

Now in no way am I suggesting that it is easy to get into to vet school. As you can see by the statistics it is not. All I am trying to show you is that if you believe that med school is your fall back, you might wanna think again.

jmanpatsfan

I was under the general impression, whether it be from speaking to various vets, MD's, or vet school admissions officers, that admittance to vet school is more difficult than MD school. I will leave it at that. I have come across many a doctor that aspired to be vets that could not get into vet school, but were admitted to MD school. This is no exaggeration.

ewingfly

I dont refute your claims, as I am sure things like that can happen on occasion. I just wanted to give you some statistical data to help you in making your decision.

Again good luck in whatever you chose. Let us of know what you decide