So I started a blog... part two

So anyway, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted yesterday,* I moved back home around August. I decided to try to branch out from chemistry, and I was absolutely determined to avoid another desk job. I immediately hit upon veterinary medicine as something that would be fun, engaging, and rewarding.

Unfortunately, after a quick Google search, I discovered that veterinary assistants make minimum wage. But I also discovered that with a two-year Associate's degree and after passing a state licensing exam, I could become a Licensed Veterinary Technician** (LVT), and LVTs make, like, a little bit more than minimum wage, and they could also be a lot more hands-on than an assistant. Basically other than diagnosing, prognosing, prescribing medications, or performing surgery, LVTs can, in a legal sense, do anything a veterinarian is capable of doing. To me, that sounded pretty awesome.

I knew I didn't really have anything going for me in the way of experience or education in the field other than having taken four or five bio courses when I was in college. So I typed up a really bangin' cover letter, gushing about how eager I was to learn, and how I was enrolling in vet tech school, and how I was super smart and motivated and please, please hire me because I'm 27 and still living with my parents. Well, maybe not the last part, but I really sold it.

I sent out at least a dozen résumés to every vet in a 15-mile radius. I only got one call back. Fortunately it was from one of the more interesting facilities. It was an animal hospital that not only treated emergency cases, but also accepted exotic patients. (Score!) They called me in for an interview, and after spending a few hours shadowing one of the assistants there, I was offered a position at $10 an hour.

So, that's how I ended up where I am now. It took me about three months to learn my way around and observe enough patients that I was comfortable taking charge, but the other assistants I worked with and the two vets at the hospital were enormously patient and helpful. The sheer volume of information I've absorbed in the past five months is truly staggering. And there's so much more to learn. I really can't wait for classes to start!

*  I had a crucially important meeting scheduled for Settlers of Catan.

**  Depending on what state you're dealing with, they could also be called Certified Veterinary Technicians or Registered Veterinary Technicians (CVTs or RVTs).