Every cliched South Asian article on the burden of being South Asian
and student/graduate of Medicine (Engineering, Dentistry, Pharmacy
science) easily categorizes careers into science with money vs. glamour
professions (with or) without money.
Veterinary
medicine has always defied such categorizations. A science -- with or
without money, with glamour borrowed from the charisma of the species
worked on -- it is a profession that becomes what you decide to do with
it. It tests your ability to survive, be creative, grow up and grow
out. (If you do all that before you grow old, you are lucky. If you do
all that, and still grow old, you are luckier, as suggested by rumors of
slightly high suicide rates among vets -- which may or may not have anything to do with career-related stress, burnout or success.) Above all, this beautiful profession
tests how far you would go to live your dream.
In the
new world order, geographical distances hold little meaning, but the
price that you pay to live (in) your dream, is no small feat. And even
American veterinarians are beginning to understand what the rest of the
world has always known--that vets do relatively well when the economy
does well. These debates have been going on inside the profession,
forever, it seems, but now this New York Times article lays it all out
neatly for future veterinarians (their parents), South Asians or not.
Don't let it scare you, instead allow it to inform you about respecting
outside powers that effectively force a balance between dreams and
reality.
High Debt and Falling Demand Trap New Vets
Puppy Love Can Cost You.
The American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA)
response to the article can be found here.