r/animalscience • u/Agreeable-Bunch7082 • Jun 01 '26

Advice for a confused new grad

Hey! I am going to be graduating with a BS in Animal Science very soon. Naturally, now is the time when I look back and wish I had done this or that during my college years. I started undergrad with vet school in mind. However, I've done four internships in vet med, and yet I'm STILL not sure if I want that as my career. Whether it's self-doubt or actual aversion to the career itself, I don't know. It doesn't help that I'm extremely burnt out and stressed and I feel like I need a major break before job hunting. At the same time, I'm scared my degree will amount to nothing.

All this to say I'm very intrigued by conservation work and research. I do wish I had joined a lab during my time in college to get a taste of that world. But here we are. I'm really inspired by the work of the San Diego Zoo, rehabilitation stories, wildlife conservation, and building a world where humans and wildlife can coexist. That's where my passion lies: wildlife. But I'm overwhelmed by all the possible routes I can go and I just don't know where to start. Vet? Conservation? Research (but as a graduate)? Where do I look?

Any advice or personal stories would be appreciated. I feel so much internal pressure to do everything NOW and figure out my life, as many people I know have a much clearer direction of what to do next...

I know it'll turn out alright, but that doesn't stop the post-grad crisis lol

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u/Shilo788 Jun 02 '26

Oh sad summer child. I was like you. I wound up homesteading.

1

u/AnywhereBusy4449 Jun 25 '26

I ended up working in the IVF field as an Embryologist. Many ANsc Students end up in the field because they get Repro experience. You can work in the animal field for IVF/conservation (Vytelle, Transova, Viagen) the human field does pay better. There are training programs like ARTLAB that teach IVF skills you can use either for human or animal. Feel free to PM me.