Nope, despite the title, I haven't graduated quite yet. I still have a couple of hideous rotations to slog through, and a couple of fun ones right at the end. And I have to pass them, of course. Then all the credits have to be counted up and the degree awarded.
But the worst parts are over. I have been kind of serially paralyzed by some pretty big stressors. I took the national board exam in November, but had to wait until mid-January to find out if I passed. I did. Then I started to apply for jobs. That's never fun but I kept slogging away at it. Many of my classmates already know where they will go after graduation in June. If they applied for residencies or internships, they were informed of those results in January. Some of them are going back to their hometown clinics--they knew that was their destination even before they started vet school. That left the rest of us scratching our heads, wondering where we would end up.
Last week I set off for a series of interviews. Typically for this sort of thing, some went very well, some were just duds. I got home, still wondering where I was going to end up. But by Monday of this week, I had three firm offers in hand. Written offers. Good offers. Great, right? A problem of privilege to be sure. But it was also a new kind of stress!
And the three offers could not have been more different. One was from the USDA. The offer was to be a supervisor inspector at a poultry plant in Georgia. Pros: good government benefits, very low cost of living, I'd come in at GS12 with a very good starting pay, and a very pretty place to live. Cons: I'd have to stick with a rather unstimulating job for a couple of years before I could move into something more exciting. Another offer was from a small animal clinic in Texas. They wanted to hire me to work overnights. Pros: excellent salary and benefits package, lots of new challenges and learning opportunities, schedule was four nights on, four off, leaving plenty of time for daytime activities. Cons: high cost of living in that area, and my heart was just not into being a small animal clinician. But I could name half a dozen of my classmates who would have given a digit or two to get that job offer.
The final offer was from the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Little Rock, Arkansas. I wanted that job from the moment I read the job description. I did a phone interview in January then a site visit last week. I worked my ass off in that interview. And in a strategic move, I added a fourth reference to my usual three to provide additional depth and breadth. Pros: good salary, low cost of living, great work-life balance, interesting work. Cons: it would be picking nits to find some. Even better, that particular position can be eligible for a loan repayment program. Not guaranteed, I have to apply to the program, but there is a decent chance of getting at least some loan relief.
I gave all three offers a reasonable evaluation (more in depth than I have done here, of course). Then I accepted the Arkansas offer as I already knew in my head and my heart that I would.
And it should not be a surprise to anyone that I am now pre-approved for a home loan (that literally took only 20 minutes, the result of extremely clean financial living for the past few years--the banker guy and I laughed when he pulled my credit scores) and am working with a realtor to find a house. I may even fly out next weekend to look at some properties.
I'll be in Little Rock by the end of June, and I'll start my new job (more on that to come) in July. Exciting times.
