work experience with animals

[christy053]

hi
i am at school and will be doing work experience in the future and i just wanted to no if it is possible to do work experience at a vet or some were with animals . The only problem i can think of is if a animal were to bite you or you caught something off a animal .
cheers

[diggers15]

yes its perfectly fine i am doing my work experiance this year and we are allowed its just a case of getting someware to accept you

[Noweia]

Yes, you can do work experience at a vets or animal establishment - most places will be able to take you as long as you are at least 16 (insurance reasons).

Most zoos and wildlife parks will be booked up - popular vet practices often get filled up quite quickly so it's best to try as many as possible as early as possible.

You could also try getting working at a stables or animal charity - not neccessarily what people often do but they usually involve animal work.

Failing that, you could try and get a week's placement with a veterinarian not in general practice - e.g. the Veterinary Officer in a abattoir or the State Vet Service - you should still see live animals with these people.

Working with animals it's a fact of life that you'll probably get bitten/scratched/stomped on at some point in your life but as long as you act responsibly around the animals you'll be working with, you can minimise this risk. As for catching anything, it's usually harder to catch things off animals than it is to catch something from another person. Your supervisor on your work experience should warn you if you're likely to come into contact with something contagious like ringworm.

Hope this helps.

[Jules001]

my daughter, who will then be 15, is doing her work experience at a dog rehoming centre for 2 weeks in March, she did apply early to vets, but the places were already taken, so you need to act very quickly as soon as you know the dates. The vets etc will have their own insurance and you should also be covered under the Local Authority Insurance

[lankeela]

I wish I had had the opportunity of doing work experience in an animal environment. All we had was either a bank or a shop!

However, I would say here and now that you need to be aware that animals are very quick to pick up your vibes and if you are afraid of being bitten, then are you sure this is the right environment for you? Also if you are worried about catching something, I am not sure if you are really cut out for this type of work. Although the chances of catching something are very remote, you will be dealing with sick animals and there will be lots of cleaning up to do.

[wiggal]

I did my school work experience 4 years ago (I think!)
& I spent the week working at my local RSPCA centre, it really was fantastic & I loved every minute of it!

[indieanna86]

I worked with animals during my work experience. Well...it was a primary school but same thing really, place was full of little creatures!

[clair3934]

Most animal work experience places fill up fast appart from the research places, how do you feel about looking after resarch mice, rats etc it does take a certain kind of person not cruel you do still have to be kind to the animals in your care.
Take a look at this link it can give you some more info

http://www.iat.org.uk/careers/careers.htm

[lankeela]

Well if that doesn't put you off, nothing will!

[summersoon]

I did my work experience at a vets, i just wasnt allowed to touch the animals incase they did bite me.

Actually there was a kitten who had been abandoned and they let me play with him!

xx

[christy053]

hi thankyou for the answers and i am very positive this is the job for me . i am not scared of animals or been bitten by them because i no if i were to become a vet i would be biten at one point surly
thankyou for some of the answeers but some of there were weird lol
christy x x

[teag1rl]

If you want to become a vet, I'm sorry to break it to you but you will have to have a very good standard of education. Your last reply makes barely any sense to me.

[christy053]

lol well it makes sence o me and sorry if i arnt the best person at typing i am only 13 at the moment so no i probably arnt the most intelligent person youve ever met why is it that so many people on here just try tp put you down all the time :s

[lankeela]

There are many jobs with animals that don't entail the many years of academic work that a vet needs. You don't need a certificate to shovel sh*t! If you want to work with them, start making enquiries about kennels, vets, pet shops etc. and you will be able to see what is about.

Had I paid more attention at school and less time in the biology lab with the animals or bunking off to go dog racing then I might have got better qualifications.