DD is 25 and wants to study veterinary medicine in Europe!

[SouperMario]

Hello,

DD is 25. She has worked in politics/journalism since she graduated uni. Most people in her position I think would be very pleased with how their career is going, but I think she has become disillusioned with it all and she wants to change career.

Ever since she was little she has adored animals and wanted to become a vet until she turned 16/17. She regrets not following through with this dream and now claims there is nothing else she wants to do. She still lives at home (because she cannot find accommodation in London that will take her pets 🙄).

She cannot afford to study in the UK as she is not entitled to any government funding. She recently inherited 40k from my father and has announced she intends to use this to fund her studies abroad in Eastern Europe and become a veterinarian. She can just about afford it but she will use up all of her savings as well as her inheritance.

Am I right in thinking she is mad to consider this? I wanted her to use that money as a deposit for a house in the near future, if she goes ahead she’ll stand no chance at saving up a similar figure in my lifetime. By the time she graduates (if she actually does) she’ll be 32 and at the early stages of her career - will she be giving up the chance to start a family?

I might be overthinking this, as she hasn’t even been accepted. She’s just at the very early stages, that being said, she is incredibly stubborn and if she wants something, she tends to work until she gets it. I just think she will be making a terrible mistake if she does it.

Surprised by the reality of vets pay! The ones I knew seemed to be earning pretty well. But they were causal acquaintances so obviously I didn't know the ins and outs of their finances.

However, OPs daughter is currently working in journalism? That's properly shit pay at the lower end and an industry that's really going to be under threat from AI in the coming decades, so even if vets pay isn't as good as I'd thought, it might still be better than what she'd be on if she didn't retrain?

Interesting what @gogogoji says about the vets she knows wouldn't do it again. I know a lot of doctors who say the same.

But it is her life, not yours.

@GasPanic Well the thread is about should she do it. On finances - no. It’s not much point saying as an adult, you figure if out. It’s clearly not feasible without further savings and probably qualifications. Her mum is worried but it’s probably a non starter. The adult in the family, the OP, is getting poor advice on here with the “follow your dreams” rubbish. You cannot follow your dreams or take responsibility if you do not have the money. The answer is the DD cannot afford it. So save up more money or do something realistic.

Sadly Vets have the highest suicide rates of all professions

Couldn't she use the money to fund training in UK?
Dd is doing Vet Biosciences but the Vet training where she'll be requires A levels of three A's in Biology, Chemistry and one other subject.
Did she do Sciences at A level? If not she will struggle no matter where she goes.

Sorry team DD here!! Follow your dreams.

I retrained mid 30s from a high paying job into something completely different. I took a massive risk and now I am on better flexible job, self employed and I am less stressed

vet med will be stressful, hard and insaine BUT if she wants to do it, and she enjoys it? why not? If you don't try.....!

Not sure if the attached is correct! It seems to me that places like Writtle will charge the higher rate for a 3 year Animal Management degree, but the Vet Med degree will be 6 years at the £9260 fee for those who already have a degree. Writtle requires 1 A level! So I would advise looking around for affordable degrees.

@carly2803 ? Because she doesn’t have enough money!!! Or the qualifications or the experience to apply!

Vets who are business minded and own a chain of 10+ surgeries earn good money. Vets who do the day job of treating animals earn poorly.

@SouperMario has she considered vet nursing? maybe more realistic

Harder to get in here than in some other very credible countries

I did my degree at 43, it was something I always wanted to do but my mother never supported it. I love, that I'm finally in a job I always wanted to do (nearly 10 years). It's taught my children to follow thier dreams and that dreams change.

pretty much no vets own 10+ surgeries.

corporate groups are owned by non-veterinary investment groups. The CMA forced the change to ensure a competitive market, and it’s largely what has driven the rise in veterinary fees that the public blame vets (who are merely employees) for.

@missingeu This isn’t about a first degree. It’s about a second degree that will take 6 years. There 6 years of fees, living expenses and flights. Then no guarantee of decent earnings. There are 3 year degrees she could do with A levels. However not vet Med and not vet nursing (also competitive). Both need extensive work/volunteering. However she could look at science access courses. Work at the same time and get in the animal experience too. No guarantees of anything though..

You won’t get anywhere with unrealistic dreams! It’s simply not a sensible way to discuss a career if Dc are simply not good enough, or academic enough, it leads to disappointment. Be realistic and supportive at the same time.

It's stupid because the inheritance is a good deposit on a property. It would be IMO daft to spend that on qualifications to be a vet without having spent time in a real practice, getting a realistic view on what it's like. Not just 'always wanted to work with animals' there are other ways to go about it. There are other ways to work with animals. The OP does not give me the impression her DD has looked into this properly with an open mind the other routes. Just that she has this inheritance and so can give up the career she's fed up with to 'be a vet & work with animal' as she wanted to do as a child. She's an adult, but only 25, with a chunk if money & fed up of her job, I think she needs help to find a better way to a new career.

"Terrible Mistake" are not words that apply to further study in general, so some perspective might be in order. Determination is an admirable trait, not a negative. I thought the post would be about the dilemma on how to fund it, but that's sorted! I know a woman who began studying to become a vet at 35. It's one of those careers that is a vocation. I admire anyone with the courage to make a switch like this - much better off that she does it at 25 when she's not tied down at all.

@Caiti19 she can do all of that without using her inheritance.

From a purely practical suggestion I would encourage her and support her to undertake a placement or do some volunteering at a veterinary practice if she hasn't already. That way she'll get an insight into what it's like and what it entails. If she still wants to do it after that, then I would support her.

@Caiti19 Have you not read the thread?! The finances are far from sorted! The inheritance really won’t cover fees in Eastern Europe for 6 years. Then there’s maintenance. She needs accommodation and food! Where is that money coming from? Simply not feasible. It’s cheaper to do another 3 year degree here. But that cannot be vet Med. Other animal care degrees are available but even then she is very short of living expenses with only £40,000.

I don’t understand why, if she always loved animals, why she didn’t do something animal related at 18. Not that the clock can be out back but checking out interests, possible careers and taking suitable enabling A levels seems vital.

She could do Equine Bioscience 3 years needs ABB- BCC in Biology
Veterinary Bioscience needs 3 years needs ABB-BCC B in biology as well.
Veterinary Physiotherapy 4 years Needs a B in Biology too
There are other ways to work with animals besides being a Vet. She could try and get in through UCAS. Or get a Journalism job with Horse and Hound or be a Vets office manager.

@Caiti19 the 'terrible mistake' isn't further study, it's not using the inheritance to give her some security, it's a good deposit on a property, which will make her less vulnerable than renting. There's a housing crisis that's not going to get better anytime soon,

if she's that determined to 'work with animals' then she'll find a way that doesn't involve using her inheritance.

Tell her to go and see practice for several weeks, working the full days that vets do (10 hours pretty standard) and a couple of weekends and ask to see it ‘warts and all’ rather than be protected from the difficult conversation, the upsetting euthanasia, the endless complaints about money. I would be far more worried about the fact the profession is haemorrhaging disillusioned new graduates than difficulty getting to that point.

OK, coming from a person who is nearly totally blind, just bought a property in Greece, was excepted to study there in 2018, but then had problems with bureaucracy, I never expected that one day I would be a homeowner in Greece. Six years ago, I knew absolutely nothing about Greece, I learned it at the dentist… True story. Life can take us on pause we don’t really expect, and yes, there will be bumps along the way, today has been an especially hard day for me, but I know that tomorrow will be better. Please support your daughter, sometimes options that might seem completely unrealistic to you can actually work out for the better. Education in some of these places is still good, don’t knock it, and yes, it is definitely cheaper than studying in the UK, sometimes, the quality of life can also be a lot better. She might face challenges that she would not have had in the UK, some of them will be completely unexpected no matter how much she researches, but at the end of the day, she will learn a lot from the experience if she has an open mind and goes for it. I’m hoping my story will reassure you slightly, because I have a disability and I faced many negative opinions along the way, just because of my disability. Yes, it has been hard, but I have made a lot of friends, met a lot of people, learned so many new things, and done so many things that I would never have done and I just stayed at home.

@MrsCarson ”Try and get in through UCAS”. How else do uk students apply for degrees? Do you know if DD in question has biology A level?

YABU. Be supportive!