Vet Jobs

[RhubarbAndLowFatYoghurt]

My DD graduated last summer, and hasn't got a vet job yet. She did most of her vet practice at an IVC practice near us, which with hindsight was a mistake, as she didn't want to work for a big chain, particularly IVC!

There don’t seem to be many jobs to apply for – she's looking at independent small animal vets. I'm not sure what to suggest (and I'm sure she doesn't want my advice anyway, as she's more than capable 😀). However, I'm worried she's spent all these years studying, has great qualifications and feedback in her EMS, but will soon be competing with vets graduating this year.

Is it particularly hard for new grad vets to get their first job at the moment??? Are there many others in the same boat?

@RhubarbAndLowFatYoghurt that Facebook page has lots of job come up and many are suitable for new grads. I'd also suggest sending CV and covering email to any practices she likes - send to practice manager or lead vet. Know several of DDs friend who got a job this way. Saves them advertising !

genifer She made a spreadsheet of university requirements, and worked out how to qualify for the maximum number of universities with her volunteering. I think they require less volunteering now, though. She found a farm park, and volunteered there every Sunday for over a year, so that showed long-term commitment. Also, she is academic, so has top grades, which is totally unnecessary. I do wonder whether if she'd have had more hurdles before, she might have realised how difficult it is to find a job! 😁

I thought practices were desperate for vets our local Facebook page seems to be busy with practices looking.she could write to practices she fancied and ask to be considered or to shadow in case a vacancy came up (and she could assess for whether she'd like to work for then)gain experience.id also recommend street vet to volunteer for.

Yes, she has done that. She had one interview, but they said they didn't want to take someone on at the moment. They have contacted her a couple of times since, to see if she's got a job yet... but they aren't ready to take someone on! She does know a few other vets in the same boat. If only she'd been proactive in Oct 2024...

Practices need a trained grad gdp advisor now and that costs money and takes time. Many small places can't afford it. It's v tough for them.

Most practices are desperate for vets with some experience. Newly qualified vets need mentoring - I don't really know the details, as I've only just started looking into vet jobs! 😂 I'll look at Street Vets.

@RhubarbAndLowFatYoghurt it's so tough for her as none of them realised it would be so hard. Think they were the first year in such a bad position, partly due to the CMA report and Unis didn't advise them. I think careers advice will now change for 5th years to warn them to start asap.
Can she contact her Uni for support / they'll have careers dept and the Uni vets might take her for shadowing on the meantime.

Street Vets looks like a really good charity. Looking at the Volunteer Vet role, it looks like they are aiming at practising vets who will be volunteering for a day a month as part of their CPD. However, it's worth her contacting them to see if she could do a volunteering block.

I'd do street vet and see practice (shadow) until finding the right role.its worth trying places out anyway,she needs a supportive team to work with.

Yes, and there seem to have been more vets qualifying in 2025, as new courses came on stream, so I think she's been really unlucky. I'd already suggested she contacted the uni, so I guess that's for next week!

Thank you all for giving me some leads to pass on. Hopefully, she will get a vet job!

Just looked at StreetVet, and it says "Our Volunteer recruitment is currently on hold whilst we update our systems. Please check back in a few weeks for more information." ...sigh! 😂

Vet here (although not small animal!) and honestly, this post absolutely amazes me! We just cannot recruit. It used to be practices readvertising were a big 🚩, but now we know it’s because they can’t find anyone.

But what I will say is, financially times are hard, people just are not able to spend on their animals like they did and so I can imagine in some sectors the jobs may be thinning. I also second what’s said above- new grads are hard work for a practice.

Anyway, wishing your daughter the best of luck. 🤞🏻

Also, to add, as a new grad (many moons ago) I wanted to go into large animal work and at the time, people weren’t keen to hire a new grad for that (an employers market at the time) so I had to move away for my first job. I was nervous at the time but it turned out great and I moved home after getting a few years experience so my CV had more clout and I had more choice.

feelingalittlehorse Love your name - very appropriate. Yes, DD wanted to move away, so it's been a bit of an unexpected shock for her to have come back home after university!

Vet of many years here
can she just do some volunteer work for a local practice while she is looking for a job ?
it’s experience practices are looking for
even if they use her as a nurse to start with , she can gain experience talking to clients , using the computer system etc
they would probably let her do more and more as they got to know her ( we do with vet students that come on rotation)
having done that would give her a real leg up on those graduating and applying this year

Anonyalphamom She had a temporary job to get some money, working nights (not vet related!) so couldn't do any voluntary work then. That finished at Christmas. She did a week at a vets this month (which won't be leading to a job, but as you say, it's really good experience). She is hoping to do more, but really she needs to be earning something.

I can see she needs to earn something but also needs to invest in her future career. Even if she did a few days a week, it would give her that edge .
i also agree that corporate is the route to take to start with. Unless really desperate , independent vets often just don’t have the resources to take on new grads as they need so much input and hand holding and it’s just not economically viable to do that on a small scale .

Yes, you're right, she should have applied for corporate jobs, as very few independent vets seem to be hiring. I think she may even be too late now for corporate jobs starting this September - she's already been rejected by one.

I'm sure she'd be keen to volunteer more, if we financed her. She's been volunteering, doing EMS, studying etc for years now, and still not started on her career. 😂DH was musing that he'd already been working for six years by the time he was 24 - sigh!

Anyway, thank you everyone for your help. She's got lots of leads to follow for next week, to give her new impetus.

If she's interested in adventure there's the wvs and mission rabies to check out.id still tell her to message street vet direct.

https://wvs.org.uk/

Yes, they look nice, but you have to pay and mainly need experience. DD is looking to make money, after years of volunteering and eyewatering graduate debt, and she needs her first year of vet practice after graduating. She is planning to email StreetVet, even though they say they're not taking any volunteers at the moment.

There were an extra 90 new vet graduates last year, from the new course at Harper Keele, so I guess that's not helped. That's an extra 10% with fewer openings. I wish I'd looked into it all before, to advise her!

If she's got an interest in farm animal she could try abbatoirs as they get a lot less interest.
A friend's daughter was in a similar situation as she graduated late during COVID as her whole intake struggled to complete the final year placements.
She took a final year placement in an abbatoir which was not her first choice but ended up working for them & ultimately look for roles in farm animal practices.

Need to have taken the extra exam now (can't remember its name but it's a 3 day course). Can take it at Bristol Uni (they have an on site abattoir at the vet school)

Yes, it's definitely in high demand, and she's been round that abattoir. However, she's been a vegetarian for the last twenty years (to my annoyance), so I think she would have taken a different career route altogether if she thought that she would have to work in an abattoir 😂 I will suggest it to her though. Great that it worked out well for your friend's daughter.