MY 7th grader is extremely interested in working in the animal field

[hmschoolmom22]

her dream right now is to become a Veterinary Technician or Technologist. Is anyone familiar with this field?

 

I feel up to this point school has been fairly laid back and easy for her but I know it's time to step things up a bit, especially in the math and science courses.

 

Any recommendations for us? Apologia Zoology would be a good start don't you think?

 

She's doing Teaching Textbooks 7th grade this year.

 

She will be volunteering at the local Humane Society(SPCA)and she has a few dog walking jobs and dog sitting jobs.

 

Any advice or words of wisdom would be so appreciated! I really want this dream to come true for her and I want to do what's best.

[Quiver0f10]

My DD is a vet nurse at a large animal hospital. When she was 16 she shadowed a vet and she also volunteered at an animal shelter. Some states have different laws regarding vet techs as far as education, so I would start there. See what your state requires and what schools are available. Then you can plan your course accordingly.

[hmschoolmom22]

thanks for you reply.

 

a few questions for ya...did you homeschool your dd through high school? did she take specific courses to ready her for vet school? did she attend vet school?

 

off to check out the laws here in Virginia.

 

Thanks again!:grouphug:

[Quiver0f10]

Yes, we home schooled her from 7th through graduation. My DD took math through algebra II and for science she did biology, chemistry and Apologia's marine biology. She was in a pre-vet course at the university, but has dropped out because she decided she didn't want to go that route. She is very happy as a vet nurse and plans to take some college courses this spring in business management with plans to open an animal shelter/boading clinic down the road.

 

I highly recommend taking as much science and math as your DD can as she will need this to be well prepared. My DD struggled with math the first semester as math is her weakness. For science I would recommend biology, chemistry, advanced chemistry and maybe animal science or another science elctive and I would try to do math through pre-calculus.

[bettyandbob]

I would talk to someone there. Have your dd make a list of questions and interview someone there about educational requirements and training. I'm not familiar with vet technician, it may require work on just the community college level or an apprenticeship or both. I would still plan on strong science work in high school simply because that background will be directly applicable to the job.

 

My dd is in 5th and she wants to be a veternarian. We live in VA too. VA has a vet school at VA Tech. I believe the official name is The Virginia Maryland Regional School for Veternary Medicine. It is considered in state for VA and MD residents. Not every state has a vet school and as a result vet school is more competitive to attend than medical school. I know if she doesn't get in she will be well prepared for other related jobs. I am planning an extremely heavy math and science load in middle and high school.

 

My friend's ds is headed this way too. People have advised him that he also needs a strong track record of volunteering with animals.

[hmschoolmom22]

wonderful feedback ladies! thank ou so much!

[GailV]

One of the vet schools I looked at was Purdue, and they have a spectrum of programs. Here is their chart on who does what on the vet team, and whether Purdue has courses for them. Here is the vet technology program home page.

 

Which isn't to say that you should go to Purdue. I just thought it was a nice presentation of the information.

 

Also, I had found a book on careers with animals. I'm not sure where in the house it has gotten to, though, so I can't give you the title. But such things exist!

 

Also, every time I take a cat to the vet's office (surprisingly often) I ask everyone what they do and what they did to end up in that job.