The Student Gig

I've got some big news! You'll recall that a few posts back I was bemoaning the fact that I wasn't having any more fabulous, exotic travel adventures. But quitting my job and going back to school has certainly opened up new kinds of adventures. I suspect that for some of you, becoming a student again sounds like entirely too much work. Well, I'm getting ready to take the student gig to a new level.

But first, some backstory (isn't there always a backstory?). With the exception of microbiology which I'm taking next term, I have finished the additional coursework that I needed to apply to the vet schools that I'm interested in (I have a short list of four schools at the moment).

All of the vet schools in the US use a single, online application form. They all use the same deadlines too. Applications are due this September for consideration for entry into vet school for fall of 2015. Yes, that's a year in advance. Actually, you are informed by March 2015 or so if you are accepted but you won't start vet school until that fall.

So I was wondering what I could do for the next 18 months. I didn't want to keep taking classes; I don't need them and college is damned expensive. I figured that I would try to get a job in a vet clinic as a tech and hang out here and see what happened. No point in moving anywhere until I knew where I might end up (my vet school choices are scattered across the US; OSU is one of them, however). And my chances of being accepted to vet school on the first application are not guaranteed. Many excellent candidates have to try a second time. I might be among them. 

I thought that for the spring and summer, I might try to get in on an undergraduate research project. I approached the professor who taught the Animal Nutrition course in the fall. I really enjoyed the course, and I learned that she had quite a lot of funding for undergrad research. So in January, I went to talk to her about this.

As she asked me more questions about my background, she got more excited, finally proposing something that I never even saw coming. 

She asked me to do a Master's degree with her in the 18 months' "gap". She's got research funding and several projects from which we could choose. She mentioned a fellowship that could pay my tuition and a small monthly stipend. She felt it was all quite doable.

I immediately sought some advice and information from a couple of other people in the department. Was I crazy to even consider this? It will be a lot of work. But the advantages are perfectly clear. Being accepted into an Animal Sciences graduate program then executing and completing a research project and thesis will be a significant boost to my vet school application. Half of the battle of going to grad school is finding an advisor and a project and funding. All of those things are being handed to me!

But wait, there's more! This professor works with poultry. Chickens, you are thinking? Really? Consider this: chickens are just about the only meat source without any major religious prohibitions and as a result chicken and egg production are taking off internationally. There is a TON of funding for poultry research from both the government and private sources. There are excellent, well paying jobs in the poultry industry all over the world. I am in fact interested in a possible international work experience. Why aren't more students flocking (heh, bad pun, it stays!) to poultry science? As one prof told me, chickens aren't cute and furry. Bah, I said. You don't have to take them home and make them pets. With respect to my vet school application, I am weak in my experience with production animals so working with chickens will help me out a lot there too.

Even better, the professor who asked me to work with her has a very strong focus on nutrition. It works both ways, you see. Better  nutrition for the chickens results in better nutrition for people who consume chicken products. Among other things, she studies how poultry diets affect the nutrient profiles of eggs. I am particularly interested in the tangled intersection of diet and disease (details are best reserved for a future post), but many vet schools don't even teach basic nutrition courses anymore. So I also see her offer as an opportunity to learn about specific topics of great personal interest to me.

So, in short, I applied and was accepted to the OSU graduate program starting in the spring term (which starts a short two weeks from now). In about 18 months, if all goes as planned, I will be getting a Master's degree in Animal Sciences with a focus on poultry science and nutrition. It was confirmed today that I'll get the fellowship that will cover my tuition.

And although this had little to do with my decision, I would mention that since I already have a BS and a PhD but not an MS, upon completion of the degree I'll have a complete set! Not a matched set since the other two are in geological sciences, but a complete set nonetheless. Sort of like shopping for dishes at Goodwill. My professional email signature will get really interesting. Imagine what it will look like if I add DVM to the list!