u/Elephant_Shrew11

I haven't yet graduated high school, but I am very interested in animals, especially exotics. I've been looking for a future career to work toward. Veterinarian seems to suit a lot of what I'm looking for, but I've stumbled across a couple things that make me second guess that. One reason being the fact that veterinaries online seem to hate the job. I've seen a handful of posts sharing their negative experience in the field, with desire to leave. The fact that I would need to do 8 years of post secondary schooling was already asking a lot, plus the fact that I could potentially be unable to get into the veterinary school. However, the amount of negativity online is what has really been getting to me.

Is the job really that bad, or is there some other factor at play that may cause people to dislike working in a veterinary clinic? Is there a way to avoid these issues, or would I likely just become miserable if I ever chose the veterinarian path? If so, what alternative careers would you recommend?

I'm extremely passionate about animals, especially non mammals like reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. I use my free time learning about animal husbandry or just simply learning fun facts about various species whenever possible. I would absolutely love to be able to learn even more about them and work with them regularly if possible. I live in BC, Canada, and hope to spend my adult life in either Calgary or Edmonton.

However, I've yet to find a path that is realistic by any means. From what I've read, it seems that careers relating to animals tend to be highly competitive and low paying. If I try for a career like that, chances are I'll be without work in my field. If I manage to find something, it likely won't pay enough for me to stay afloat. I have not yet graduated, but I am extremely stressed about the future. From what I've read, jobs just aren't as easy to find anymore and the cost of living has skyrocketed. I don't think I need to explain why this worries me.

I generally have pretty good grades, especially when it comes to core classes relating to English, math, and science. So, I should be able to get into a university if I try hard enough. I usually get very high test scores in these subjects, especially compared to my classmates. I don't want to be barred from future opportunities if I start slipping again, though. I'm not sure if I can handle going through years of studying only for it all to become worthless. This is the reason I am unsure about pursuing a career in this area.

I'm fascinated by any living being really, so any suggestions relating to that will definitely be considered. Invertebrates interest me the most because of how diverse they are. I'm pretty comfortable with sights that others find uncomfortable so I feel like surgery and such won't be much of a problem for me if needed. I'm still getting over the smells during dissections, though, so I would need to work on that. I'm fairly confident I have it in me, though.

Really, what I want most is something realistic that won't suck the life out of me. Careers that I consider realistic are those that won't pay less than 50k CAD per year (preferably more), with enough opportunities that I will be able to find job listings. If you do not think that I should go down this path, can you please give me another place to find potential careers? I want to discover something to work toward, and it has been incredibly difficult to find anything that I think suits me. Please ask me any other questions you may have if you think that it will help reach a conclusion.