{"id":36942,"date":"2026-01-09T19:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/?p=36942"},"modified":"2026-01-12T18:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:57:12","slug":"starting-late-but-right-on-time-veterinary-medicine-as-a-later-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarypractice.com\/diversity-equity-inclusion\/starting-late-but-right-on-time-veterinary-medicine-as-a-later-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting Late, But Right on Time: Veterinary Medicine as a Later Career"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>My 22-year career in veterinary medicine has been anything but a straight line between destinations, but it has always been guided by my love for the human\u2013animal bond. It\u2019s my north star, although professionally, I didn\u2019t start out following it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>This article is brought to you in partnership with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pawsibilitiesvetmed.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\" data-feathr-link-aids=\"68dc472812c291a8c3077f4a\">Pawsibilities Vet Med<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>By the time I found the courage to walk away from the mind-numbingly boring comfort of a job in financial publishing in New York City to finally chase down a lifelong dream of working with animals and pursuing a veterinary science technology degree, I had already earned degrees in political science and international relations.<\/p>\n<p>There are pros and cons to changing careers midway through life (<strong>BOX 1<\/strong>); naturally, there can be some hesitation and fear involved, but there is also the excitement of starting over and doing something that makes you eager to show up each day.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#003d45;border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#007078;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:1px;border-top-right-radius:1px\">BOX 1. Pros and Cons of Starting a Career in Veterinary Medicine Later in Life<\/div><div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:1px;border-bottom-right-radius:1px\"> <strong>PROS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have greater self-awareness of who you are and what you want in your professional life. This enhanced sense of purpose has been linked to higher satisfaction and resilience.<sup>1<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>You possess transferable skills that others may not have (e.g., possible experience with schooling structure, communication skills, teamwork and collaboration, critical thinking, adaptability). These skills broaden your opportunities.<\/li>\n<li>You are likely to have more financial resources available to pursue a new pathway.<\/li>\n<li>You have greater career autonomy and a sense of agency over your work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>CONS<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>There can be a financial sacrifice (e.g., schooling costs, student loan debt, time costs, possible lack of income if you decide to quit your day job to attend school full time).<\/li>\n<li>There is potential to earn less in your new role than what you earned previously.\n<ul>\n<li>The average annual gross income of veterinary technicians is $53,759 but entry-level salaries may be less.<sup>2<\/sup> Low salary is cited as the most significant issue facing veterinary technicians by 56% of NAVTA\u2019s 2024 Demographic survey respondents.<sup>2<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>The AVMA has a veterinary salary estimator for new veterinarians based on years of experience, location, and practice type (<a href=\"http:\/\/go.navc.com\/4ieexVp\">go.navc.com\/4ieexVp<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>There is risk of encountering ageism. A 2019 British Veterinary Association study showed that 6% of respondents aged 55+ reported discrimination on the basis of age.<sup>3<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>There are potential physical limitations. See Today\u2019s Veterinary Nurse\u2019s Movement is Medicine column for practical exercise tips and videos catered to veterinary professionals of any age (<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/46WCY3Z\">bit.ly\/46WCY3Z<\/a>).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>My job dissatisfaction back then was a blessing in disguise because I had made the decision not to continue working in a field that left me unfulfilled. As I shifted to veterinary medicine, I brought with me the skills, aptitudes, and perspectives I gained from previous work experiences. I benefitted from the maturity and greater sense of self that comes from being a bit older than other students. However, there were still challenges.<\/p>\n<h2>Challenges in the Veterinary Medical Workplace<\/h2>\n<p>Like most new vet tech grads, I was excited to start working in practice. I was eager to meet new like-minded technicians and to use the clinical techniques I had learned. I was an eager \u201cbrand new baby tech!\u201d I had a romanticized notion that my new world would be the polar opposite of the one I had left behind. Since we were all people who were passionate about the same things, there would be minimal drama, very little space for negativity, and teams that were in sync and who worked well together. After all, we were there to help animals! So, you can imagine the shockwave I felt when the reality of life on the treatment floor didn\u2019t exactly match up to what I had envisioned. I was not prepared for the toxic culture I had walked into and started to realize that it was not a place for me. In one case, I developed a deep distrust of the practice manager because she openly encouraged infighting among the technician staff. In another instance, I watched the head technician openly berate a colleague who had confided in another colleague his desire to leave and work at a different hospital. The atmosphere was one of disrespect and mistreatment, which was a huge red flag for me.<\/p>\n<p>For a brief period, I even questioned whether I still wanted to be a tech at all, let alone a tech at that hospital. The workforce challenges in our profession are well researched, and it has been documented that a negative\/toxic work environment is a contributing factor to veterinary technicians\u2019 decreased interest in remaining in the field long term.<sup>4<\/sup> Toxic environments and attitudes can cause friction within teams and confusion over responsibilities<sup>5<\/sup>; therefore, encountering both early on in my new career journey was troubling.<\/p>\n<p>However, I knew that I could not let those negative experiences color my entire journey. In that practice, I felt misaligned between being my authentic self and who I thought I needed to become just to fit in, and it resulted in a form of code-switching that left me exhausted and disillusioned. I don\u2019t know if it was due to the age difference between me and other technicians, but I found myself not calling out unprofessional or inappropriate behaviors in the interest of not rocking boats. It was a \u201cgo along to get along\u201d mentality that wasn\u2019t consistent with who I was. My private turmoil was feeling like I couldn\u2019t bring my best professional skills to that environment because they might not be appreciated, or worse, viewed negatively.<\/p>\n<h2>The Power of the Pivot<\/h2>\n<p>A few months later, my world was upended when I learned I had stage III non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Because of the impact chemotherapy had on my weakened immune system, my oncologist advised me to stop working directly with animals. So, there I was fresh into a new career and sidelined from doing the very thing I came here to do. It took a little over a year to get through recovery, and during that time I learned to appreciate the \u201cpower of the pivot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My longevity in this profession isn\u2019t merely the sum of the number of years I\u2019ve been a licensed veterinary technician; it\u2019s better attributed to how I found ways to leverage new opportunities and continue in a profession that I simply was not done with yet.<\/p>\n<p>A survey of veterinary technicians published in 2020 found that among the 1642 respondents, the highest percentage (25.5%) reported having been in the profession only 6 to 10 years.<sup>6<\/sup> In a paper published by the AAHA in 2024, it was noted that among surveyed veterinary clinical professionals who had left working in practice, many \u201ccited issues with workplace culture and leadership as contributing factors to their departure.\u201d<sup>7<\/sup> Another smaller study outlined how the physical demands of the work, burnout, and a perceived lack of career advancement and flexibility were impediments to longevity as a technician.<sup>8<\/sup> Those were big considerations that factored into my decision years ago to serve our profession in another way.<\/p>\n<p>Joining veterinary medicine later in life meant I could benefit from wisdom gained in past work. There were many lessons from my financial publishing life that helped me navigate the opportunities that eventually lay ahead in veterinary medicine (<strong>BOX 2<\/strong>). My postclinical career has involved positions in academia, state association leadership, and the animal health industry. Each experience was richer than the previous one because I was able to build upon existing talents, learn new ones, and grow relationships along the way. Regardless of where any of us is in the field, we all bear a responsibility for professional stewardship in one way or another. Early on, my contribution was hands-on in treatment rooms and surgical suites, then I supported the pipeline of the profession by lecturing at conferences and teaching veterinary technician and veterinary students. Later, in industry, I supported the people who make up veterinary healthcare teams.<\/p>\n<div class=\"su-box su-box-style-default\" id=\"\" style=\"border-color:#003d45;border-radius:3px;\"><div class=\"su-box-title\" style=\"background-color:#007078;color:#FFFFFF;border-top-left-radius:1px;border-top-right-radius:1px\">BOX 2. Skills, Lessons, and Experiences That Contributed to My Career in Veterinary Medicine<\/div><div class=\"su-box-content su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"border-bottom-left-radius:1px;border-bottom-right-radius:1px\">\n<ul>\n<li>The veterinary profession is both large and small. We are large in number, but it can feel like there are only 2 degrees of separation between everyone. Connections are easy to make, and many of the people you meet are linked to others you already know. Every conversation can lead to an opportunity.<\/li>\n<li>Learn the power of communicating your value. Be your best advocate and, where appropriate, step up and take initiative.<\/li>\n<li>Resilience is not about toughing it out, it\u2019s about building your ability to bounce back after adversity or challenging situations. A good support network and mentors can be an impactful resource to help you strengthen your resilience.<sup>9<\/sup><\/li>\n<li>Be afraid and do it anyway. There were many times I wanted to quit and simply settle back into the familiar, but being fully tuned into my \u201cwhy\u201d propelled me forward.<\/div><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Following My North Star<\/h2>\n<p>Many of the skills that sustain me now weren\u2019t taught in school\u2014they were shaped by time, people, and perspective. I\u2019ve been blessed to do and see a lot in our field, and I\u2019m still not done. I\u2019m completing another graduate degree\u2014this time in anthrozoology. This interdisciplinary area of study has revealed a myriad of new ways I can continue contributing to our noble profession. Although my occupational directions may have changed over the years, my north star never has. The human\u2013animal bond is still my purpose and passion, and the guiding arc that has stretched from the beginning to today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shifting to veterinary medicine as a later career allows individuals to bring unique skills, aptitudes, and perspectives gained from previous work experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":817,"featured_media":36948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":142,"footnotes":""},"categories":[342],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-exclusive","column-digital-exclusive","clinical_topics-diversity-equity-inclusion"],"acf":{"hide_sidebar":false,"hide_sidebar_ad":false,"hide_all_ads":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.7 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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