Can you become a Veterinarian or a Vet Tech without a strong Science background?
After being in college for 2 years now I’ve decide to switch my focus. I’m thinking of becoming a vet tech. I have become the animal lady to my family. they come to me for consultation when they are having behavioral or sometimes medical problems with their pets because i read up on things like that just for fun. I have taught my dogs and parrots several tricks and have successful diagnosed at least 2 of them after reading up and checking with my vet.
They believe I would be best as a vet but I’m not good at science. They want things like a bachelors in microbiology and things like that. definitely not my strong suit. I’m better in the liberal arts area. writing, computers, and things of that nature. But I’m loosing interest in my Mas Communications degree. The only area I’ve found myself particularly good at is the area of genetics. I find it interesting and have studied a lot on dog genetics for fun. I worked through high school doing what some have called a tone downed version of a vet tech. I was called a kennel operator at a private animal clinic/boarding house.
My duties included prepping for surgeries, cleaning up after surgeries, cleaning the kennels, feeding and giving water to the boarding animals, taking them out individually to go to the bathroom. hosing down the big dog kennels, checking on the sick cats and making sure they hadn’t pulled out their ivs, doing the laundry and wiping down and sweeping examination rooms.
Even though it was a lot of grueling work sometimes I liked the job and the dogs were always happy to see me. I’ve read that becoming a vet tech can vary state to state. I live in Ohio. Other than that I haven’t been able to see what kind of coursework a vet tech program would entail. Does anyone know?
Also, just as an afterthought, is it possible to be a veterinarian without having a strong science background beforehand? Could there be a way to try and depend more on genetics over other sciences?
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
9 Answers
Probably not, it would require quite a bit of biology and laboratory work.
A vet tech, yes. Although there is some basic science in the material. A vet? No.
If you liked genetics, why not try a biology course and see how it goes? You may find it more interesting than you think.
Vet techs don’t need tons of science. Some, but not much really..
While the prereuqisites for vet school aren’t that difficult, once in vet school the science will come hard and fast. And vet school is really hard to get into because there are not all that many programs (less than 30), so you need very good grades. For example, all vet schools have biochemistry in their curriculum, and that’s a very difficult class. Organic chemistry is a killer. My point isn’t to discourage you, only that I used to want to be a vet, so I know what it takes. Vet school is a mighty expensive mistake, so you need to make sure you can handle it first.
Do you like chemistry? Have you taken any biology/anatomy and know you don’t like it? The class I took last quarter in chemistry is known for being the class that drops a lot of people’s med school ambitions, because people’s expectations don’t always meet reality. But if you haven’t taken any/much science, maybe you should start exploring that and seeing if something beyond genetics interests you and you are good at.
One of my bosses (and owner of the clinic) has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and a DVM. Is it harder without a science background? A bit. You’ll need to take some prerequisite courses before starting your first year. Vet school is extremely competitive, so you’ll need excellant grades and lots of extracurricular experience.
A vet tech program is a two year degree (although there are now BS degrees in veterinary technology), and while they can be a bit competitive, it’s of a completely different caliber. Take a good look at tech salaries in your area – it’s not a very lucrative job unless you wind up at a university or working in a research lab.
@syz Good point on the money.
the salaries ranges for vet techs in my area are between13–21 dollars an hour. i recently saw one job that paid 100,000 a year but it was a laboratory position at a college. what is the difference between the in house clinic jobs and the laboratory?
I suggest you get a part-time job with a vet, or do volunteer work at the local animal shelter for a better idea of what is involved. You might even find someone willing to offer paid training.
Understanding biochemistry is an important aspect.
You can definitely become a vet tech without a strong science background. BUT you will need to meet all of the science pre-requisites for the Vet Tech program you are going into. If you plan on going to Veteranarian school to be a Veteranarian than you will most likely have to do 4 chemistry (2 of which are organic) 2 Calculus, 2 Physics 2 Biology and a biochemistry, some schools require you to take statistics. Go to your school counsellor and see what they have to say, they will know everything about this process.
Answer this question 
This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.
Composing members:
0
