I lost my job today. I have mixed feelings about it. Of course, I’m nervous about the future, but I’m also looking forward to what comes next. I live pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so finding a new job won’t be easy, but thankfully, due to the length of my tenure, I’ll have plenty of redundancy pay to fall back on. More than anything, I want to find a job that will leave me fulfilled and feeling good about the work I do. Sort of like how a vet must feel when looking after sick animals.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been considering a career change, but I don’t think I could ever be a vet. It would be wonderful to make a difference to the many pet owners you’d work with daily, but ultimately the job would also include so much heartbreak. I am curious about it, though. How do you care for a dog with anxiety? What do you do when your cat won’t settle in? I have great admiration for the pet care specialists out there; they have been essential in my own pet journey, given my dog’s health issues in the past, but I don’t think it’s the job for me.
I considered going into teaching for a while, but I’m not sure I can afford the two years of study it would take to get a degree. I’m also not sure I have the patience for bratty little kids or troublesome teenagers. Teaching runs in my family, so it makes more sense to me than applying for a job at my local Cranbourne vet (not that it’s that easy). But I think most likely, I’ll stay on my current career path. With the right job, I could easily go up to making six figures, which is pretty wild to me considering I am only 26. I’ve come a long way from making $24 an hour washing dishes six years ago. Hopefully, it’s only up from here.