I am in Atlanta at one of the largest food expos in the world: IPPE, the International Production and Processing Expo. Over 30,000 people involved in all aspects of food production attended last year. That's a really huge meeting! People involved in production of poultry, beef, and pork are here. People involved in growing grain and other feed ingredients are here. People who make machines that process meat parts are here. People who make feed supplements (for health and growth promotion) are here. Animal pharma is here. The exhibit halls (yes, halls plural; there are three of them) are jaw dropping. Entire semi-trucks, enormous machines that pellet feed, robots shifting egg crates around a knot of conveyer belts, even functional devices that bread and cook real meat. There's a lot of fake meat parts used in the displays too, which never fail to attract my attention. I just have to give them a poke to see what they feel like.
So what am I doing here? I am working my butt off looking for a job. I don't like cold contacts but I absolutely can walk up to someone, introduce myself, chat them up a bit, then say, so, are you hiring veterinarians? It's quite surprising how few companies advertise open positions. Some exclusively staff their professional positions via recruiters. Others rely on personal recommendations. I've gotten some good leads (and some good advice) and will be sending out a lot of follow-up emails when I get home later this week.
I completed a fourth preceptorship last week and have been traveling for two weeks. Two weeks of rental cars and public transport and hotels--it's exhausting and expensive. I will be very happy to get back home. I'll be even happier if I can get a job! That's the last piece of this long journey. I passed the national board exams. I'll shortly be licensed to practice in Georgia (that story is another blog post). I have more rotations to complete although the end of my time at OSU is in sight. The last step, the biggest one in fact, is to get a good job and start putting all my new skills to work.
