How to become a veterinarian?

I like your fave answer. Yeah, people think the money is great. Vets have expense and insurance issues just like regular doctors, but most don't believe that. I had a friend who "played" with this idea. I had to be the best friend I could and asked him to answer some hard questions like: Can you take being bitten? Can you handle blood? How do you handle an emergency w/an owner who will be distraught? Can you take having to tell people that their animal is seriously sick or dying? Can you put an animal to sleep? Tell me how you would tell a person that there is nothing you can do for thier animal and it has to be put down? How do you comfort the owner? Afterall, the animal is not your only client. Needless to say, my friend did not become a vet.

It probably takes a lot of science and chemistry courses and labs. I started on a pre-medicine course of study when I was in college, and had such courses. I got drafted for the war effort at the end of my first year. Never became a doctor.

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/students/admissions/required_prevet_courses.cfm

be sure and read the entire page
but it says your bachelors can in anything that interests you as long as you take the prereqs
[quote]
Applicants may select majors and schools on the basis of interest and aptitude as long as prerequisites are fulfilled.
[/quote]

and the prereqs are listed on that page


also go here
http://aavmc.org/Students-Applicants-and-Advisors/Pre-Vet-Student-Resources.aspx

read it and the 2 links on that page that say
Click for: AVMA's "Veterinary Admissions 101" Page
Click for: Frequently Asked Questions

here is a list of accredited vet schools
https://www.avma.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/Education/Accreditation/Colleges/Documents/colleges_accredited.pdf

and here's a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkmyphUeEAQ

go here
http://www.aavmc.org/Students-Applicants-and-Advisors/Veterinary-Medical-College-Application-Service.aspx
and click on the link
"Prerequisite Chart**"

Yes, you get a bachelors degree first with the courses required to get into vet school. The are less than 30 vet school in the whole US, so you will apply to several. The degree is a clinical doctorate, more than a simple diploma. The undergrad uni can guide you to the pre vet classes, but if you want to look at some vet school, Uiv CA at Davis has one, as does Kansas.

https://www.avma.org/professionaldevelopment/education/accreditation/colleges/pages/colleges-accredited.aspxdd your answer

It's best to get a biology degree with as much anatomy, physiology, and microbiology coursework as possible. You do know that veterinary schools are substantially rarer than medical schools, right?

you have to have done a medicine degree before becoming a vet proper. it's a difficult job and surprisingly requires even more knowledge that that required to operate on a human body (because if you think about it, there a tonnes of different kinds of animals who all have different organ structure/immune systems etc, so its like learning human medicine then a bunch of extras.). it will take around 8 years if you want to do it properly, but the upside is that you will have a guaranteed job at the end of it, unlike most degrees.