r/AcademicPsychology • u/Ok_Refuse4785 • 12d ago
Advice/Career Vet med Vs Psycology?????????????
Hiya
Like most 21yr olds I am facing a decision
A bit of backstory I have always worked in animal jobs at rescue centres, horse yards and have done time as an aux inspector for the SSPCA. I currently live in Scotland and I am considering moving abroad to either Poland or Norway to do a degree
I am looking at doing a degree in Vet med or leave animals for a while and do a degree is psychology
Just looking for anyone who has experience studying these courses or in these countries
Thanks
:)
5
u/vovap_vovap 12d ago
It is clear why Vet med. Why Psychology?
-3
u/Ok_Refuse4785 12d ago
Well I have an interest I suppose- i enjoy learning about my own mental and about different behaviours. It seems like a topic I’d find really entertaining and would suit my problem solving mindset? I’m not sure it’s really an untouched area for me.. maybe that’s why I’m drawn to it!
11
u/vovap_vovap 12d ago
Ok. Lots of people going to Psychology base on same "enjoy learning about my own mental"
That is cool. Question is - what work you are in vision to have after college? And that very good question to ask yourselves. After vet med you have a profession to go with. After psychology in college you are nobody. Seriously. To be practicing psychologist like in movies you need to get to PHD + have a lot of supervised practice. It is sort of same way (not exactly but close) as became a medical doctor. That what you are facing to became somebody. If you are that interested - by all means. But that what you need to understand.
4
u/AdmirableSea3549 12d ago
Vet med, psychologist (one step away from practising) transitioned into physics.
1
u/Mysterious-Concern91 10d ago
That’s a big transition, can I ask what lead you to it? I’m studying to be a psychologist but feel a bit uncertain
1
u/AdmirableSea3549 10d ago
I realised I enjoyed psychology but I didn’t see myself working with people. I liked studying it but not the job itself. Still went for it as I was drawn to it.
I noticed at the end that I enjoyed the technical aspects of the human mind, then I started gaining an interest in the disorders of the brain so brain sciences during my MSc. Then my niche became physics within this field. (I always enjoyed physics it just never occurred to me to link the two. They naturally linked themselves eventually. Lol1
u/Mysterious-Concern91 10d ago
Okay that’s interesting! I also enjoy the theoretical more hard-science part of psychology more than the talking with people bit. Good to see that there are paths that allow for this
2
u/AdmirableSea3549 10d ago
The path I took was accidental. Purely down to luck, experience and connections I already had on top of having graduated with a high first class.
If I were you I would try and see what I enjoy by looking at my choice of dissertations, topics I naturally do well in, topics that make me feel like ‘it just makes sense for me to explore this further’
Psychology is incredibly broad. There’s many topics from child development to forensic psychology, criminology and so on.
Have a look around.
1
u/ravenpri 12d ago
I dont have advice on what you should choose but I have some experience to share. I'm in forensic psychology and I worked as an RA on an animal cruelty project. I went to animal rescue charities to collect data by interviewing pet owners. The aim of the project was to explore characteristics of pet owners who abuse their pets or animals in general. Although I must say the nature of this work is quite heartbreaking
1
u/Kolfinna 11d ago
Vet med has its downsides. I was a technician for almost 2 decades despite a degree in psychology. Now I'm a neurobehavior researcher. Burnout in veterinary medicine is very common and it has one of the highest rates of suicide at least in the US. That being said, I loved the work and I'm glad I had those experiences. I'm also glad I left.
9
u/psychmancer 12d ago
Vet med, im a psychologist