Any advice or suggestions please? My 17 year old son is thinking about applying for vet.medicine at university. He did a 2 week work placement at a local vet's surgery, got on with them very well and now works for them most saturdays. When I say work he is actually of great help to them, not just observing-- cleans out all the cages etc then mans the desk for the rest of the time, taking calls, making appointments and taking payments. At the end of usually a 6 hr shift he is handed £10. This is a bit of an ad hoc arrangement as there was never any mention of being paid so he is unsure what to do. Should he be pleased to be getting anything at all or do you think they should pay him the going rate for a saturday job (whatever that might be) He doesn't want to lose the opportunity to be around animals so he is a bit reluctant to say anything but at the same time he is feeling a bit 'used'

Normally people like that in a vets will do it as work experiance, not getting paid at all.  I know when I did my work experiance at a vets on girl came in volentary two evenings after school and sometimes on a saturday for free as she wanted to become a vet.

If your son feels he should be being paid at least minimum wage then he needs to talk to the practise manager.

I think that you will find that he will get his 'rewards' later when he is accepted for Vet School because he has shown enough interest to work for 'free'........Just my opinion!  :)

Agree with Oldilocks.  With a lot of competitive, professional careers it is hard to get a foot on the ladder without a period of volunteering.  I don't necessarily think it's right though.  In my field it's expected that graduates who want to make it (working in museums and galleries) will work for a year or two for nothing which obviously precludes all but those with private incomes.  It's very disappointing for me to see really good students going into dead-end jobs because they can't afford to do this, while often the more mediocre ones end up with the good jobs. It's illegal to discriminate against people because of age, sex, race or religion in this country, but not social class.  Anyway, have gone a bit off-topic, but I'd say stick with it if he can afford to.

>It's illegal to discriminate against people because of age, sex, race or religion in this country, but not social class.

Social class has very little to do with income. ;) You're confusing 'class' with 'economic group'. :)

Has your son asked to obseve the vets doing the routine checkups, minor operations and general vet duties which don't include mopping out the cages & serving the customers on the reception desk. If not then i would suggest he does this as it will help him understand more of what goes on in a typical day for a vet. He is there for experience not to do the work of a receptionist. If they say no as they want him to be on reception then i would ask to be paid the going rate for his age per hour as they have requested this.

My daughter is still at school but worked every weekend in stables for 8 months without getting a penny, not even a free lesson which I thought was a bit off, she did it because she loved being around horses but did think it a bit mean when she had her lesson on a wednesday and we still had to pay for it.  She now works in a different stables at the weekends where she works a 8hr day and gets paid £25 for every day she works and also gets to join in lessons for free if someone doesnt turn up or she is sometimes called into to be used to demonstrate something in a jumping lesson.  Not only that, she gets an hours lunch break with lunch provided. She certainly landed on her feet at this stables!  Im thinking about asking them for a part time job myself :D ;D

Hi fifi--gosh that first lot sound a bit mean! they could at least have given her a discount on her lessons--- bet they're missing her now though!!!

Indeed! She does work very hard at stables which they do appreciate and have offered her a full time job whenever she leaves school (which much to her disgust wont be for another year and half at the very earliest as she has 2 years of exams to do).  Wish she would muck out her bedroom as well as she does the stables!:rolleyes:
I do think some places take advantage of youngsters who need the experience, most vets charge high enough prices so if the young man is working hard for long hours the least they could do is show their appreciation with a bit more than £10.

Hi Sonny
when he was there for a full 2 weeks in the hols it was arranged through school and he did see lots of ops and consults etc (as well as cleaning, desk work etc) But now he goes as and when needed to actually help out rather than observe.
I think I'll let him look at the responses I've had when he comes home from school and he will make up his own mind what to do-- possibly he may help out for a shorter time on a saturday. It's not really the money though, I think more the fact that if he wasn't helping out they would have to employ someone to do it. He does actually really enjoy being there, even if it is mucking out and desk work.
A friends son (who is now a vet) spent his whole holidays cleaning out pens in a rescue centre and got really frustrated-- He's 6ft 4ins and a rugby player and wasn't allowed to walk the dogs because of insurance cover, whilst the little old lady volunteers were being dragged around the place by enormous dogs! These budding vets have to be really committed to even get as far as getting a place to study

My daughter wanted to be a vet - unfortunately, at the end of the lower sixth, it became plain that she wasn't going to be able to get an A grade in Chemistry. She did go to a weekend course at Nottingham University for aspiring vets which was very useful. Basically, your son needs to get as much experience as possible in all sorts of work with animals - not just at a vets. He needs to work on a farm, stables, vets etc etc etc - so a lot of this will just be voluntary work. I assume that he isn't applying to uni until next year, so he has got plenty of time to get the experience. Lots of people have the required A grades, but the ones that get accepted often have shown that they have really put themselves out to get experience :)

Best of luck to your son :)

Daisy

I have worked at my vets for 2yrs now. never paid except in lower consultation fees if i go. I never even thought about being payed because i enjoyed it so much.

You/he may already know this but these are my experiences from when I was looking into studying veterinary...
If he wants to apply for veterinary he's going to have to do a lot of unpaid work experience, and not just at vets. I would not expect anyone to get an offer unless they had work experience lambing and/or on a dairy farm. There won't be much difference in grades between applicants so it's primarily the work experience they use to differentiate between the students (as well as the personal statement and interviews of course).
During the actual degree the students have to complete a certain number of weeks work placement (unpaid) each year during the holidays. Having to use the holidays to do this also means that the holidays cannot be used to earn money in a paying job.
So he needs to be prepared  for five/six years of tuition fees and living costs while studying, and little chance to earn any money during this time. And then after graduation now that the new veterinary school has opened in Nottingham Uni, when the first batch of students graduate from there in five years time it's expected there will be more vets than jobs available, and salaries will not be as competitive then as they are now as employers will have more choice.
:)

Would be interested to know what Daisy's daughter and brak3n are studying or applying for as alternatives. My other son is 2nd yr of a 6yr medicine course.  my 17 yr old  is in the lower 6th at the moment and has a hospital placement in the Christmas holidays. He is also considering biological sciences/marine biology. He may however take a gap year which will give him a bit longer to think about things and then can spend a long stretch getting some relevant experience
Ps Daisy-- how did your daughter enjoy the Nottingham W.E ? My son likes the sound of their course--it may be a good idea for him to attend. It will either inspire him or put him right off when he hears what experience the other possible candidates have!

I do fell that vet students are more likely to be accepted if they can be shown to have shown genuine committment to any animals in their care.    Of course, this need not be total care, and I suppose that on a practical basis it's unlikely to be.

Our son was lucky in that we were farming, and he was involved in all types of stock.   But I think that the biggest plus that he had was to produce a project for the KCJO (now Young Kennel Club) which he maintained over the course of a year, drawing from all the experiences he could remember - at least  - all the relevant ones!!

He was lucky enough to be Junior of the Year that year (some time ago now), and I'm sure that was a big plus for him.    Now this was his own achievement - we certainly had neither the financial circumstances nor the knowledge sufficient to help him, and the most pocket money he had was the £1 he was given for mowing next door's grass!

Jo

My daughter did Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Psychology at AS (she already had French AS). As it became clear that she wasn't going to manage an A in her Chemistry she dropped it. She was devastated at the thought of not becoming a vet - but having seen her brother get to Cambridge and getting into vet school is as difficult, if not more so, she is now in her final year studying Psychology at Loughborough, which she has really loved :)

Daisy

The law is quite clear, either he is working in which case he is entitled to a job description, terms and conditions and the minimum wage etc etc etc OR he is on Work experience, which should have a JD plus a learning outcome, but no wages.