Many veterinary professionals reach a point in their careers where they quietly start asking a difficult question:
“What else can I do with my veterinary degree?”
It’s one of the most common questions we hear inside the Vet Stay Go Diversify community.
Sometimes it sounds like:
“I love parts of practice, but I’m not sure it’s right for me long term.”
Sometimes it’s about flexibility.
Sometimes it’s burnout.
Sometimes it’s simply curiosity about what other veterinary career options exist.
The challenge is that veterinary careers are often presented as a very structured path.
School → Exams → Rotations → Graduation → Job.
But once you’re out in the profession, many people discover that careers rarely follow such a straight line.
Roles evolve.
Opportunities aren’t always advertised.
And suddenly the path feels far less clear.
So people start asking the same question:
“Where are the jobs?”
But what if the better question is:
“What problems could I help solve?”
Because many of the most interesting veterinary career opportunities aren’t found in job adverts.
They appear when people recognise their strengths, notice a problem, and start a conversation.
In this blog, we explore how veterinary professionals can begin designing careers that feel more aligned, flexible and fulfilling.
Taken from VSGD Career 101 Workshop Ebony Escalona (Founder of VSGD) and Hugo Richardson (Founder of Nordic Locums).
Careers Are Not Ladders
For a long time we were taught to think about careers as ladders.
You climb step by step.
Graduate → Assistant → Senior → Specialist → Partner.
But modern careers rarely work like that anymore.
They look much more like climbing walls.
You move sideways.
You try something new.
You explore a different angle.
Sometimes you go up quickly.
Sometimes you pause.
Sometimes you even move backwards before finding a new route.
It’s messy.
But it’s also where most interesting opportunities appear.
Many of the people we speak to inside the VSGD community have careers that look like squiggly lines rather than straight ladders.
And that’s not a sign of failure.
It’s often a sign of curiosity. A superpower to flex.
Veterinary Professionals Have Powerful Transferable Skills
One of the biggest barriers veterinary professionals face isn’t lack of ability.
It’s underestimating their own skill set.
Every day in practice vets and nurses are:• analysing complex information
• making decisions under pressure
• communicating with emotional clients
• managing risk
• solving problems with limited resources
According to the World Economic Forum Future of Work reports, the skills most needed across industries include:• analytical thinking
• problem solving
• emotional intelligence
• adaptability
• communication
• resilience
Sound familiar?
These are skills veterinary professionals use every single day.
And yet many people struggle to recognise their value outside the clinic.
One phrase I often come back to is this:
“What is ordinary to you is extraordinary to someone else.”
The things you take for granted may be exactly what someone else is looking for.
The Clinical Method for Creating Your Own Role
Veterinary professionals already know how to approach complex situations.We do it every day in clinical practice.
Assessment.
Intervention.
Follow-up.
The same thinking can be applied to careers.
1. Assessment
Start by understanding two things:
your strengths and the environment around you.
Where do you feel most energised at work?
What do colleagues often ask you for help with?
What problems seem to keep appearing in your workplace or industry?
These questions are often far more revealing than job titles.
Opportunities tend to live where strengths meet problems.
2. Intervention
Once you start noticing those intersections, the next step isn’t to redesign your entire career.
It’s to experiment.
Small experiments are incredibly powerful.
This might look like:
• taking ownership of a task others avoid
• proposing a small improvement project
• volunteering to help with something outside your usual role
• offering support to someone struggling with a problem
You’re not trying to prove yourself overnight.
You’re simply testing where your strengths create value.
3. Continuity of Care
Careers grow through relationships.
Conversations often open doors that applications never will.
That might mean:
• asking someone about their role over coffee
• reconnecting with an old colleague
• reaching out to someone whose work you admire
Most people are surprisingly generous with their time when someone approaches them with curiosity.
And those conversations often reveal opportunities you never knew existed.
The Power of Small Experiments
One of the most freeing realisations in career development is that you don’t need a perfect plan.
In fact, most interesting careers rarely begin with one.
They begin with small experiments.
Some will work.
Some won’t.
But each one teaches you something about what energises you, what drains you, and where you can create the most value.
And over time those experiments start forming a path.
Not a straight line.
But a squiggly, interesting, evolving career.
Your Veterinary Passport
One of the great advantages veterinary professionals have is that their degree provides a strong foundation.
Even when exploring new directions, clinical work remains a valuable safety net.
That freedom allows you to experiment more than you might think.
To try something new.
To explore an idea.
To start a conversation you’ve been putting off.
Because often the worst outcome isn’t failure.
It’s simply learning something useful about yourself.
The Next Step
If you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about your next step, the most important thing is not finding the perfect answer.
It’s simply taking one small action.
Send the message.
Ask the question.
Book the coffee.
Start the conversation.
Join VSGD Membership.
Because often the difference between feeling stuck and discovering a new path is surprisingly small.
It’s simply choosing to look at the same situation and ask what do I see?
#OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE
“Opportunity is nowhere”
or
“Opportunity is now here.”
You can watch the full replay in the FREE Career Career Curious membership. PLUS a workbook to go with it!
- Sign up for a FREE account here
- Enrol in Career Curious Membership here
- Access your resources anytime you are signed in here
AND if you want personal support in crafting your CV, making applications and supercharging that LinkedIn - then join our Career Lab membership and work alongside Ebo weekly to take action on your squiggly career: https://www.vsgd.co/membership
Feel free to book a call with Ebony to see if it is a fit for you.