Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello I'm Glitters and I'm autistic and also have ADHD.
Since I was little I've loved animals and have always been excited at the idea of working with animals as a veterinary surgeon. I'm lucky enough to live on the outskirts of a town in the country, there's a lot of space and a good sized building that's used for storage. If I become a vet I could use the building as my practice where I could treat the animals.....
But!
I'm low functioning and as people constantly tell me I'm stupid I don't know if I'm even capable of being a veterinary surgeon and that is really upsetting for me. It's my passion and my special interest! I don't want to do anything else. I constantly research animals, watch videos on animal health and welfare, read books, lookup equipment...
But it all feels like it's for nothing. I don't know if I'm smart enough to get through training. No one believes in me and I'm nearly 30 and I worry that there's not enough time left for me to do this.
I feel like I want to just go for it but my anxiety is so bad I feel like I'll just spend the rest of my life dreaming and wanting but never succeeding.
Do you think it's something I should pursue?
Does my lack of intelligence mean I'll not be good enough?
I don't know what to do.
There are so many ways to work in animal care without being a vet. Vets need high grades at A-Level as it’s very competitive to gain a place on the degrees. There is also a very high level of burnout and mental health issues. You also have to factor in that you will have to deal a lot with the pet owners not just the animals themselves. There is a huge amount of knowledge involved and it can be a 24hr job, you still need to be on top of your game at 3am if an emergency comes up. But you may find that as it’s your special interest you may excel at the academic work. I failed the final year of the degree I did straight out of school. (Failed it twice and the second year once) but my second degree (which I graduated from when I turned 30) I did through work I got first class honours, am at the end of the masters equivalence process (just waiting to hear the final interview outcome) and may do the PhD if hospital funding allows. You could also look into veterinary nursing (which usually also requires university tuition but on a smaller scale to vets) or a veterinary nurse assistant. If you think going to university won’t be the right thing for you at all then you could volunteer at an animal sanctuary or zoo if there are any nearby. Or look out for assistant zoo keeper jobs. My husband got his zookeeper job after volunteering for a few months one spring/summer. There are lots of options for you, you’ll need to see if you can work out which is the best fit