LisaCC Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 One of the things I like about my degree is we have to do so many hours of placement. I know quite a few graduates and those not even graduated with a job secured through placements. Volunteering can help so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyStar Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 One of the things I like about my degree is we have to do so many hours of placement. I know quite a few graduates and those not even graduated with a job secured through placements. Volunteering can help so much. That's nice to hear :) We have placements in our degree, too, over the 4 years. Hoping one might like me enough to offer me a job when I graduate Wishful thinking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisovar Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Read DOL threads and any other forum where pets are discussed and you will quickly see how in general the public are simply not prepared to pay what a Vets time is worth. Routine surgery like desexing are so discounted it is ridiculous, if everything was costed out to cover the Vets time people would scream even more. Starting wages for Vets are stupidly low, and really don't improve much compared to the years of study and early hard grind that is put in. The overheads involved in running a Vet business are huge and the money coming in does not allow for high wages for young Vets. I can't think of any other profession where people expect the knowledge gained during 6+ years of study and hard work to be given away for free. No ones wants to pay a Vet for his/her time, the begrudge consultation fees and whine continually about the cost of Veterinary care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wildthing Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Salary keeps cropping up time and again. I just hope those of you who are concerned about salary put a good Superannuation Plan together early in your working life. The current government pension is $21,080pa. Try living on that, it is not easy, believe me. When I was at high school, females did not usually go to Year 12 let alone university as it was considered we would get married, have children and be supported the rest of our lives. How things have changed - and for the better. I have had several different 'jobs', the last one required a 3 year on the job apprenticeship to become a Registered Nurse. If nurse training had been university based in my day, I would never have become one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveplusone Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well I've just told miss16 about the equine science degree at CSU. I think she's planning on packing her bags and moving to Wagga already! LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GABBA Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Thanks for all the replies. I didn't think this thread would attract as much attention as it had. Well I think that, having read all these posts, I have to admit to myself that I can't go down this path. It's just so unfortunate that such a profession is so poorly paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumabaar Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 (edited) I think some of it is supply and demand as well. When I started environmental consulting I was getting about 40K (BSc with hons). They wouldn't really consider people without honours. It took me 6 months to get in, but I got there in a boom time and I knew people who it took 6 years of trying to get in. Lots of us who got in on the boom were retrenched when the GFC hit. By the time I left 2 years later I was on about 54K. We did a lot of work for free. We complained about it and were basically told there were people who would give their eye teeth for our job so we should just be quiet and be thankful we are where we are. I'm in the vet science department at USyd now, and there are a lot of people doing vet science. One wonders where they all go when they graduate. Generally jobs with animals are in high demand. People will accept lower salaries so they get to do what they want to do. I am submitting my PhD thesis today (woot!), and facing what will hopefully be only temporary unemployment while I wait for my thesis to be examined etc. When I left the work force I was with the government and earning about 70K. I will be pretty bummed if I can't get at least that after another 3 years of study, but then again, I didn't leave consulting because I wasn't happy with the pay. I wanted to do something with my life that wasn't compromising my values so much! At this point I would settle for a pretty pissy entry level salary despite my qualifications so that I can do something that doesn't make me toss and turn at night. :p Case in point. Oversupply of vets is a hot topic here in Australia, US and the UK. In the past 10 years more schools have opened world wide to meet 'shortages'. I know of a grad from last year that has only recently got a job and they were happy to move to the country etc. I dont care about the lack of money, but I do want job security!! Edited August 7, 2013 by Jumabaar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well I've just told miss16 about the equine science degree at CSU. I think she's planning on packing her bags and moving to Wagga already! LOL. Wagga is great, I love it , I love the uni, I love our school (School of Veterinary and Animal Science, which equines are in too), we have some fantastic lecturers. I lived on Campus for 2 years too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 The award rate for a Level 3 vet is around $55k - that's for your average senior associate veterinarian. In my area and among my uni cohort the average actual wage is probably $70-80k after 7 years of hard slog and being general dogs bodies. As a general rule, while there are additional payments and allowances for being on call but paid overtime or time in lieu is not common (I get one or the other if I work shifts that are additional to my rostered ones - but not if my shift runs overtime UNLESS if was for an after hours procedure in which case it is charged as such). If you have any questions go ahead and ask :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efowler Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 Well I've just told miss16 about the equine science degree at CSU. I think she's planning on packing her bags and moving to Wagga already! LOL. Wagga is great, I love it , I love the uni, I love our school (School of Veterinary and Animal Science, which equines are in too), we have some fantastic lecturers. I lived on Campus for 2 years too. Second that!! I graduated last year, did animal science with honours. Had so much support and found an excellent job within 3 months of graduating!! It is what you make it of though. I did 2 overseas volunteering placements whilst studying (one fully funded) went to Thailand to help elephants and than Cambodia to free the bears fund. I did a ton of volunteering, placements and ran an animal rescue for 4 years. Can't recommend CSU Wagga enough :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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