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Original poster

If one of your kids wanted to work with animals.... what would you encourage career wise ?

36 replies

LardLizard · 25/09/2018 15:18

Smile
OP posts:
WerewolfNumber1 · 25/09/2018 15:21

Veterinary science? Either being a vet or veterinary nurse or assistant.

Zoology is great but jobs in zoos are v difficult to come by, it’s highly competitive and badly paid.

Farming? Working in a stables? Dog trainer?

Soubriquet · 25/09/2018 15:25

If you find anything let me know

I have a national diploma in animal management...yet it’s worth sod all

Zoo’s won’t take me without experience...which they won’t give me without me being a voluntary worker for x amount of time. I’m happy to do that...but there’s no spaces.

I did work in a rescue kennel for a while which was good but I didn’t really need my diploma for that

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 09:49

Oh dear doesn’t sound too great then 😨

OP posts:
Weenurse · 26/09/2018 09:52

My daughter wants to run a doggy day care. Currently studying a business degree and volunteering at RSPCA for experience with different dogs. I will be encouraging work experience at a doggy day care in the next year.

villainousbroodmare · 26/09/2018 09:54

I'm a vet, and while I like my job, I would suggest that they choose another career that pays as well as possible, with normal working hours, allowing them to spend time enjoying their own animals.

BluthsFrozenBananas · 26/09/2018 09:58

There seems to be plenty of work in doing doggie things, walkers, groomers, trainers, daycare and boarding kennels. I have a few friends who do walking and daycare and they get more requests than they can cover, but it’s not really a career you can build on.

Igottastartthinkingbee · 26/09/2018 09:59

Animal welfare, veterinary jobs, set up own business as dog groomer/walker (surprisingly in demand services), groom in racing/showjumping/eventing yard (training on the job or at the British racing school and opportunity to move up to head groom/yard manager position).

If she became a groom at a large/successful yard it’s a great way to see the country travelling to different competitions or race meetings. Long hours but an amazing experience (I did it for 10 years). Lots of big racing yards also compete internationally so potential to get to travel the world if you’re lucky. Obviously no good if child isn’t horsey!!! Although there were a couple of kids on my course at BRS who did never even sat on a horse before Shock they soon learnt!

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 09:59

Really villain ? That’s the sort of thing my dh advises her, he’s in finance and is v well paid, and he tends to think the same, down job that earns as much as possible, so you can enjoy your free time doing things you really want to do

Where as I think, try n do something you enjoy, but I’m not sure how realistic that is

What parts of being a vet do you find makes you think this way ?

OP posts:
Miladymilord · 26/09/2018 10:01

I have told dd to get the best paid job that she can and keep animals as a hobby. Not sure she's going to listen though.

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:01

Bluths why do you think a pet sitting dog walking type thing isn’t really something you can build on ?

OP posts:
Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:02

Milady you seem to think same as my dh as well, can you expend at all on why you think this please? As I’m really trying to think about all angles

OP posts:
Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:03

Oh she’s not really that into horses, she likes riding them but I’m sure she wouldn’t enjoy being. A horse groom
She prefers zoo animals or cats n dogs type animals to hoses

OP posts:
PositivelyPERF · 26/09/2018 10:04

Weenurse That’s what I do and I absolutely love it. Mind you, I also take holiday dogs and can work for over a year at a time before getting a day off. However I work from home so that makes a huge difference. I’ve also written a book on dogs and sell handmade treats and toys, to subsidise the business during the off season times. It’s very very difficult to get established, I had only one dog for the first six months! 😁 I’m now at the stage where I can pick and choose my clients.

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:05

She is also interested in structural engineering and being a primary school teacher

OP posts:
ZeroFuchsGiven · 26/09/2018 10:06

My dd is currently doing Animal management, when she started the tutor was quite honest with her that working with animals does not pay well and she would end up having to do a lot of voluntary work. As long as she's happy doing it though, Im happy.

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:06

Perfect what do you do run doggy day care ? What do you do have a warehouse type building ?

OP posts:
ScottyDog7 · 26/09/2018 10:07

Agree with PPs. Working with animals is usually paid well. How old is your child?

I always wanted to work with animals, but the lack of money working in at a large petting farm just wasn't enough to live on, never mind take proper care of my own animals with. And the number of disagreements with management on animal welfare was ridiculous. IMO I like animals too much, in managements opinion I was too soft (getting rid of animals because something better needed that space, and not always rehoming them!) and day to day things too like the quality of food and basic care.

I wanted to be a vet but felt it wasn't for me after shadowing a vet. This time mainly due to clients, many so lacking in care or unknowledgeable and just not willing to listen. But also the vet I shadowed mainly did routine treatments, lots of teeth cleans, neuters etc. Less interactive with animal care than I wanted and nurse wages were low when I looked.

I was a dog trainer for a good few years, worked for someone then set up my own when that company shut down. LOVED that! The people who came to you wanted your help to fix things, and if it didn't work because they couldn't be arsed they wouldn't come back! HAHA! But then I needed my evenings and weekends back so gave it up. I would love to do it again and hope to.

Lazybonita · 26/09/2018 10:07

I think it can be very hard to make good money working with animals. I have a friend who is an animal physio who does quite well, another who runs a doggy day care and does behavioural stuff, she works very hard and does not make much. My husband is a vet and I think he would agree with villainousbroodmare, while he enjoys it for the most part he says he would never advise anyone to become a vet, considering the education required and how hard it is to get onto the course there are many other things you can do that pay much better, are lower stress and have better hours.

Miladymilord · 26/09/2018 10:09

My vet told me not to encourage her to go into vet med as it is not so well paid these days. The only people I know who do quite well are good equine physios and farriers! a good farrier makes a really good wage. But it is backbreaking work.

Miladymilord · 26/09/2018 10:10

I know a girl who did vet nursing degree who now works in an estate agent as she just couldn't get any work at all.

PositivelyPERF · 26/09/2018 10:15

I run it from home, but I’m lucky enough to have a large extension, suitable for dogs and a pretty big garden. I’m also close to the beach and surrounded by some very dog friendly parks, three within ten minutes drive. You do need to start it from home and look to building it up by buying/renting a warehouse type building, if you can’t extend. I actually started as a dog walker and I can tell you it was exhausting and very very time consuming. I definitely prefer daycare/holidays, however it’s a great way of establishing yourself and seeing if it’s what you want to do, without spending lots on overheads. I also foster dogs, now that I can afford to.

Your daughter could start by volunteering to walk a neighbour’s dog and it will give her the opportunity to meet other dog owners and ‘sell herself’ as a dog walker. She doesn’t have to say she’s volunteering to walk this dog, just that she one of her clients. 😉 Check the prices and regulations for dog walkers in her area.

Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:16

I have no idea what a farrier is
I shall google, think she would like to work in a zoo with the large animals like tigers etc! but we don’t really live near a zoo for starters
Or do something more cat and dog based

Perhaps she would be better off following dh advice then!

OP posts:
Original poster
LardLizard · 26/09/2018 10:19

Perf why was it so time consuming as a dog walker ? I can get why it was exhausting of course, great excercise though I guess

Hmm that’s a good idea to start off with, this is very enlightening

OP posts:
Miladymilord · 26/09/2018 10:20

She could train as a human physio then specialise in animals

then she will always have work!

villainousbroodmare · 26/09/2018 10:33

My background is all equine. V long hours, lot of driving, one bad injury (kick in the face). Very enjoyable (aside from kick in face!) but not particularly well paid considering. Spend a lot of time at the shitty end of animals that clients are either making good money from or having a lot of fun with, which does make you think. If you are in the UK it's worth bearing in mind that working with the horses of non-professional riders is a very dangerous occupation, much more so than in Ireland, Australia or South Africa. But you say she's not keen on horses.
I work with small animals now which is dull imo but much more family-friendly. One issue is that there is not much career progression when compared to human medicine or other careers. Another is that clients undervalue the work we do and service we provide.
The reason that grooming, dog walking etc can be limited in terms of expanding the business imo is that there is a physical limit to how many animals you can walk or wash or clip or train while still doing a good job, and also a limit to how much people will pay for same.
I think she should look at all this differently. Would she like to travel? For work or for holidays? Would she be happy with a simpler life or does she want a more high-flying lifestyle? What would be her ideal weekend? (Hint: would she like to spend it working or not?!) Does she need colleagues or would she be happy to work alone? Would she mind being filthy and covered in hair and worse?