Work

Working is inevitable in a lifetime. Everyone must do it at some point, and some people will have to work harder than others. Some people may inherit millions and others may never see a dime. I feel that working is a good thing to start doing while you are young. I won't say that you should work your life away, but working develops maturity, responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment when the first paycheck arrives. I got my first real job when I was sixteen. It was the summer right before the beginning of my junior year. I got my foot in the door at Piedmont Animal Hospital. I have always wanted to be a veterinarian, and I wanted to start off and gain experience and knowledge at Piedmont before I finally decided that this was the path I wanted to take with my life. I had an appointment with one of our dogs towards the end of the summer and at the end of the appointment I asked Dr. Hall if they needed any help I would love the chance to work there, and it turned out that their current Kennel Tech would be leaving for college in early September. I had asked at the perfect time and I had got an interview a week later and then the job was mine. I was trained by both of the current Kennel Techs on how to do my job. I am still employed at Piedmont Animal Hospital so they must have done well.
As a Kennel Tech I work with the dogs that board at the hospital. I am in charge of feeding them, giving them water, cleaning their kennels, and bathing them. As I worked my way up I began administering medications to animals and helping more in the treatment room. My dream position for high school was to become a Lab Technician. They were in charge of working side by side with the veterinarians and running lab work, and all of the things that I found truly intriguing. I wanted that position, and the summer after my junior year I asked if I could get more hours during the summer and they allowed me to start training as a Lab Technician. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays I worked from 7:30 A.M to 6:00 P.M. The new schedule was exhausting and it forced me to manage my time over the summer, and I was not used to this at all over the summer. It did not matter, I was working as a Lab Technician and that's all that mattered to me. There were three other technicians that assisted in training me, but I give the most credit to Rebecca. She had been there the longest and understood how everything worked. She taught me how to work the lab work machines, how to draw blood, how to wrap surgical packs, and simple things like the proper way to position a dog during a nail trim or just to watch the machines that monitored heart-rate during surgery. I owe her so much. It really was an amazing experience and I got to do something I loved, however, I decided after that summer that I wanted to work with large animals. I could not tolerate being indoors for ten and a half hours of the day. I missed the sunlight. I had ridden with the mobile veterinarian, Dr. Proctor before the summer and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that day. I was outside working with farm animals and that was what I wanted and I knew it after that day. I have grown up around farm animals, and they just interest me much more. The veterinarians that stayed at the hospital told me that there was no money in large animal medicine, unless I move out of state. I have considered moving out of state before so I am open to the idea. I don't necessarily need to make more money, I just need to be happy with my job and my life. I feel like I am dedicated enough to becoming a large animal veterinarian, that in about eight or nine years I will be in the midwest treating livestock.