Can you become a vet if you don't like people?

Woman in a red jacket walks with her dog through a tea plantation, with no other people

You might have heard it said that vets are basically just human doctors who hate people.

Well, its not really that simple. Although many of us enter this field due to a love of animals, I can tell you that dealing with people is a HUGE part of the job.

In as a mixed practice vet, not only do I spend all day with a team of professional colleagues, but when I’m consulting, I have to interact with a different owner every 15 minutes for hours at once! That’s literally dozens of strangers I have to speak to each day. And not just speak to- I have to explain complex medical conditions, I have to convince people to spend money on (often expensive) tests and treatments, and I have to be empathetic when I break devastating news. That is a lot of intensive interaction with someone who you’ve only just met!

It turns out that in vet many clinics, being a vet or nurse is largely a customer service role. While no one plans to become a vet to just to look after humans, we have to realise that those who pay the bills and pass judgement on our treatment are the owners- not the animals. So while we do love the animals, we have to learn to like (or at least tolerate) the people too!

Its all communication, and for me, that’s the most challenging part of the job. But remember- communication is a skill! It can be trained, and it gets easier with experience. So with the right development and attitude, even someone who thinks they hate people can learn to be a fantastic clinical vet.

So, what’s the consensus among my peers?

The Survey

I asked the instagram veterinary community- can you become a vet or vet nurse if you don’t like people.

Out of 146 responders, 51% (74 people) said yes! It was a very close survey!

Here are some of the explanations given by the responders:

– ‘Yes, but it will make you work life harder (if you don’t like people). You might end up preferring surgery to consults’ ‘You may want to specialise, some specialists deal with less people/owners’

– ‘The key is understanding the important role of owners, being empathetic and learning to communicate with them’

– ‘Yes. You don’t have to love people to be a good communicator’

– ‘Yes. Its a struggle though QQ’

– ‘No, you have to deal with people on a daily basis, they know their animals best and there’s no way to know whats wrong without speaking to them’

– ‘There are pros and cons to every job. You don’t have to love people, but you have to listen and be nice’

Overcoming Social Anxiety

I think one important question to ask yourself if you think you don’t like people is- why not?

Is it because I am shy, and talking to strangers makes me anxious? Is it because I struggle to make small talk, or worry I’ll be embarrassed talking to people?

Maybe you’d be surprised to know that the majority of veterinary professionals consider themselves to be introverts- meaning they tend to be quiet, reserved, and find it tiring to be interacting with people all the time. For me, I experienced lots of social anxiety in high school, and had a hard time making friends, or speaking in front of the class.

If you ‘don’t like people’ because they make you anxious, you might be suffering from some social anxiety. The good news is, you can absolutely overcome this if you work at it!

For me, things that really helped to break me out of my introverted shell was working as a waitress in high-school. At first, I hated it. But it taught me to be confident, to smile at customers, and make small talk even when I didn’t want to, and that skill has served me really well at work as a vet. Later on, travelling internationally by myself for volunteer projects and backpacking trips really forced me out of my shell. As a solo traveller, I learned how to make new friends on the fly, and how to be confident in new situations, and now I take that confidence into the vet clinic with me every day.

When I asked other veterinary professionals if they suffered from social anxiety and if they had any tips, they said:

– ‘Fake it till you make it! One day it will click. I’m an extrovert at work, but introverted elsewhere’

– ‘Yes! Practice, practice, practice, and be extra well informed before you speak to clients so you don’t get caught out’

– ‘Absolutely! I had so much phone anxiety when I started my first vet job. Just gotta jump in and start somewhere!’

– ‘Every single day! I used to pretend I was the main character in a medical drama and had to act out my day. It gave me confidence’

– ‘I’m generally shy with new people, but I try to set attainable small goals to talk to people’

– ‘I overtalk in situations. So I make a script for certain conversations, and I stick to it’

Veterinary Roles with Less Human Interaction

And if you REALLY don’t like people, there are roles for vets and nurses that involve less human interaction. But you will still need to learn how to work with people if you’re going to get through vet school and placements.

Professionals in this situation could consider a non-clinical veterinary role, meaning you wouldn’t need to interact with the public every day. You’d still have to work with colleagues, but there would be much less interaction than in a veterinary clinic:

– Research roles (eg. in universities or private businesses)

– Government roles (eg. inspecting live animals for export, or food inspection)

– Laboratory work (eg. analysing samples, pathology lab work)

– Private company work (eg. being the on-site vet in a feedlot or abattoir)

If you do want to remain in a veterinary clinic setting, there could be certain roles that would make it easier. For example, if you specialise your skills (eg. neurologist or medicine specialist), you would still interact with the public, but you might only have a couple of patients a day (instead of dozens in a GP clinic). If you take on a primarily surgical role, rather than consulting, you would also deal with fewer people daily than a consulting vet.

Further Information

So in conclusion, yes you can be a vet or nurse if you don’t like people, BUT you’ll have to either work on your ability to communicate with the public, or consider a non-clinical role!

I hope that’s answered your question- and if not, feel free to contact me anytime on the Contact Me page.

Now, check out the rest of the articles in the ‘Can I be a Vet if’ series: