What are the drawbacks of being a vet?

Answer 1

I'm a vet (veteran). Positive aspects include getting a medal. Negatives include getting killed or maimed in battle. A vet can also be a veterinarian and you can make big bucks keeping pets and farm animals healthy. Negatives: they might bite or kick you.

Answer 2

Pros

• You are the leader of the team, master of your destiny. You can determine how many animals you want to see in a day, what type of animals you want to treat, where you want to work at, etc. If you don't like one area, or are ready to move on to something else, you are free to move and cherry-pick your new job.
• You set your own hours - if you don't like working weekends or getting up early in the morning, you can find a clinic (or operate your own) that accommodates your preferences.
• You spend your day working with animals, keeping them healthy and helping them when they are not healthy. Most owners are good people who want to do the right thing for their pets and trust you with their furry (feathery/scaly) friends.
• You get to work on some really interesting cases. Every veterinarian who has been in practice longer than about three years has at least a dozen hilarious stories about notable cases, clients or pets.
• You get to think flexibly and creatively when presented a difficult case or trying to keep medical bills within a client's financial means - there are a lot of simple methods to get a reasonable idea of what is happening to a patient without spending a lot of money, and you look like a hero when you can do this.
• You are integrated into the community, even if you didn't grow up there. You get to meet about half the neighborhood as you treat their pets, and as you settle in you'll find you have friends no matter where you go in the area.
• The pay is pretty good - average in the United States is about $90,000 per year. You won't be swimming in money, but you can make a nice living for yourself while still putting away money to retire someday.

Cons

• You are the management, and if pay/benefits/hours/schedules aren't what your team members want, you are the one they are going to complain to.
• While you may get some say in when you start working on a given day, you are there until you run out of patients to treat. Some days you may be stuck at the clinic working your tail off for 18 hours straight because you get one emergency after another and can't get off the clock.
• You may have to work a significant amount of night, weekend and holiday hours depending upon the availability of emergency veterinary care in your community.
• Most owners are good people - some are crazy, lazy, cheap or flat-out stupid. Unfortunately, these owners are also the time-suckers and will turn your 15 minute recheck appointment into a 45 minute full examination with radiographs and bloodwork, then complain when it takes 2 minutes to check out at the front desk.
• You can't help every pet - some diseases are just too severe, some injuries too grievious and there are conditions that have no treatment or cure. You'll be trained to provide the absolute best medicine possible, but this is expensive and sometimes owners can't even afford $20 to euthanize the dog for humane reasons.
• Euthanasia in general is hard - you may be putting down a dog that you've treated since it was an 8 week old puppy, or a cat that is an owner's last link to a dead loved one.
• You are known as the veterinarian in town and will be fielding questions about "my cousin's dog" or "my roommate's cat" while shopping at the grocery or visiting the park with your kids. Particularly in a small town, you are effectively on duty 24/7.

Answer 3

You would have to put down animals that are unable to be helped.