Jobs in the equine world?? (long)

[ed&arch]

Ok, ok, I'm back again. I havent posted on here in AGES(well, it seems a long time to me)

Right:
I'm currently in year ten, and am doing my work experience this year, in July, at a nearby, stud. Today, I went up and had a tour and generally helped out. I loved it. I have had the same idea of what I want to do for a long time now.
I would love to get 4GCSEs(or above) and go on too do a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horse Management at our local college, with TOP equine facilities!
As for my job, I would like to work in equine administration. My parents on the other hand disagree with the ideas though. They went from saying that horses should just be a hobbie, but now they're saying if you want to do equine administration you dont need to take the equine course, it would be a waste of time. As any other parents, they want me to do well in school, and get a well paid job etc. But I want a job that I enjoy and is "average" pay.
I really want to do this course and have to apply to it in a few months (exaggeration) but it makes me excited, ok Mum says (ex instructor, groom, etc haha ) "I can teach you all you need to know with horses!" But I've said that surely, I cant go into a job, have them look at my CV, and say "do you not have any equine qualification?" and me to reply and say, "oh no, my mum taught me everything." I dont think that is right, I would of thought you would of had to have a qualification etc.
I am really set on getting a job in the equine world, but I know parents wont have me mucking out all my life, or being a general groom, grr

What other jobs are there in the equine world?
What jobs do people have, and do they enjoy it? What did you have to do to achieve this?

Sorry for blagging a lot, but am really stuck at the moment, and really annoyed with same old "what do you want to do when you're older?" and replying with a 'dont know' I know my plans could easily change, but I am really going to try with my horses this year, I really enjoy anything with horses, and I'm so lucky to have a mother that has been in horses all of her life.

again, sorry for the long post, any replies please!

 

[TandD]

hi! im in a similar position, but currently studying a levels (worst decicion everrrrr!!! haha)....but feel a little lost sometimes :/
i considered takeing a uni course in equine performance, but was also told it would be a waste of time......
so instead i am looking at a more general sports studies, which i can then narrow down into the 'horsey path' later in life through a masters degree etc

along side all of this i am going to take my bhs exams and ukcc's...plus any others :O!

what college do you want to go to? and what course are you looking to do?

 

[Umbongo]

Sorry to not be much help but if you want to go into the office work side of equine then I would HIGHLY recommend doing a non-equine based diploma/degree and having horses as a hobby. I knew many people on equine business degrees that would have had a better chance of getting the job they want by doing a normal business degree for example.

There are so many different types of jobs in the equine world that I probably cannot list them all. But your options are not simply limited to groom or equine administrator. If you are looking to go into work directly with horses then having equine related diplomas etc may help, however for a job working with horses every day I would value experience over qualifications.

If you enjoyed being at the stud then have you thought about becoming an AI technician if you do not want to be a groom? Also if working directly with horses as a groom or whatever makes you happy, then go for it!

I worked with horses for a few years until I decided I was happier with them as my hobby not work. I worked in an equine store for a while which was great as I could still talk about them with customers, advise on products etc. I did a degree in Equine Dentistry having believed it was all I ever wanted to do. 3 years at uni and a £20,000 debt later, I realised I did not want to do it anymore! I lost my passion for working with horses, and lost the passion for caring/riding my own. I now work in a small animal veterinary practice as a trainee nurse and love it.

If you do a search then there should be lots of threads about equine jobs

 

[SO1]

Why do you want to work in equine adminstration and what do you think it involves?

If you want to get into adminstration then I would avoid expensive courses and go for an apprenticeship as they you at least get paid a small amount and get work experience which is really important as well as a qualifcation at the end of it.

It is really hard as a young person to decide what to do career wise especially as sometimes you need to try someone out for a while to decide if you are suited to that or not.

 

[ed&arch]

Thankyou for your replies.

Answers to some questions:
- I am looking to go to Reaseheath College, and doing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horse Management. The good thing about the course is that you have to have 4GCSE's or above to get into it, so, I am using the "if I dont get the GCSE's I wont get onto the course." message in my head, which gives me a target to hopefully achieve.

-I want to do equine administration because I currently do a weekend/night job (not paid) doing accounting, 'bookkeeping', inc' VAT return, purchases, sales etc for my parents' business, and I love it. But I think, if I just became an office assistant for something I wasnt passionate about, eg: truck parts (laughs) then I wouldnt enjoy it as much, so thats why I chose equine admin, applying, my love of horses, to my knowledge of bookkeeping. At school, I currently, do Business Studies, IT, and Customer Service which would be my qualifications for the 'admin' part, and the course when I'm 16 in equine/horse management at college, for a year.
Thankyou, again, for your replies, they are helping me a lot

 

[TandD]

i expect it would be more benificial to do a 'general' administration course, and show you have the understanding of this side of the work, as this is what the employer is looking for, rather than the horse care side...

please remember you are still very far off making definate choices....since year 10 ive gone from wanting to be a vet...to not knowing at all!!!!!! to having the oppertuinty to run my own business after uni! - things change!

piece of advise - try as much as possible (work experince - vets, stud, comp yard, inside office, sales, auction etc etc) and look at ALL options....you can achieve almost anything!
be prepared to change your mind......and change it again...
do what you want, not want others want - its your life!

edit!!! i expect it would be more benificial to do a 'general' administration course, and show you have the understanding of this side of the work, as this is what the employer is looking for, rather than the horse care side... higher qualifications in this side of the job will allow you to get a higher paid job! and possibly progress quicker

there are many exams you can take in administration to! and apprenticeships

 

[CalllyH]

I would strongly advise you don't do an equine course. It's very likely you will find yourself doing another course afterwards

 

[dixie]

Well after forking out £100 to my equine physio for an hours work today, I would suggest going down that route!

I Think you are restricting yourself going for an equine admin course. I'm not familiar with today's qualifications but if you took a general admin course or even train for AAT qualification then you can apply to any trade.

It's very difficult deciding what to do but I find that things often work out but not necessarily the way you initially intend. Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[Umbongo]

If you are interested in the admin side of equine then I would highly recommend trying to contact Emma from www.equine-careers.co.uk They specialise in advertising admin/sales type jobs for equine companies.

If you love the accounts/book keeping part of your parents company then have you considered training to become a qualified accountant or book keeper and then going to work for an equine company? I would also suggest a general admin or business studies course would be better than an equine course, if you want to go into admin for an equine company then they would probably be more interested in you if you had an admin qualification than a horse management qualification.

As above, do lots of work experience and find out what you enjoy, making decisions about what you want to do can be so hard especially when you are younger. Be prepared to make a few mistakes in order to find out what it is you are happy doing. From my experience many people I know studied equine degrees and are now working as a groom or not working with horses at all....including me!

 

[zigzag]

You may not what to hear it, and prob think it is a long way away, but what do you want to do at 30?

 

[ruth83]

Please excuse me if I am misinterpreting but it seems you are either not a fan of school or not very academically minded? I am interpreting this from the statement that you hope to get 4 GCSEs to allow you into Reasheath - the standard of your communication and the part time job you have suggest you shouldn't struggle with this?! (This is not meant to come across as rude and I hope it isn't doing, just trying to understand everything)

If this is the case, why not consider a more practical approach to the equine industry? An apprenticeship or similar.

If you enjoy the admin side of things, have a look at some of the careers available in racing where there is generally much more admin to be done than in other equine circles. Have a look at this website which has a lot of useful information http://www.careersinracing.com/getting-started/careers/a-z

 

[SO1]

From someone who has been working for a very long time - even if you are working in a boring subject like truck parts then if the people you work with are nice and it is a good company this can make a huge difference so don't rule out other companies just because they are not equine.

If you like book keeping then definately look at courses related to that as that would give you lots of opportunties as all companies need finance staff even in a recession and it quite well paid as well. Companies may even take you on as trainee and pay for your training for you. You have already got a head start with the work that you are doing for the family business and sounds like what you are studying already will be useful too.

If you want to improve your equine skills there are plenty of courses that are part time which perhaps you could do during the weekends or holidays if you have time or partially by distance learning.

I would do an NVQ or modern appretenticeship in business administration, as most equine business looking for admin staff to work in finance will be more interested in your finance skills and experience than any interest in horses or equine qualifications.

Also if you are wanting to earn an average wage that is quite difficult in the equine careers which tend to be poorly paid and also don't always offer good career prospects/job security.

An equine physio will have trained as a human physio first so this is quite a long training period and again not much job security as often self employed.

 

[Umbongo]

Also wanted to say, imagine you are employing an administrator for your equine company. You would want a damn good administrator...so on paper the person with an admin/business type qualification with a background of having your own horses etc will look more favourable than a person with an equine qualification and some experience of admin jobs.

Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[ed&arch]

Again, Thankyou so much! (looking at admin, business courses as we speak)

I fully understand what everyone is saying now, and I appreciate everyones opinions so much.

SO1- I think that the part time course would be a good idea for me now, rather than doing a full time course. That way, I could concentrate on finance, administartion, accounting etc, but in my spare time, do an equine exam, which then I could say to an employer, that I have these qualifications in admin, but also, as an extra, I have an equine qualification aswell.

After reading everyones views, I now realise that it isnt a good idea to do a full time equine course!

(shaking my head, knowing I'm contridicting myself, with shame)haha

THANKYOU

 

[Dubsie]

As someone says above, if you are enjoying the bookkeeping side of things I would advise most strongly to look at gaining your qualifications in bookkeeping ideally qualifying as an accountant.

If you think about it, EVERY company equine or not needs someone qualified to look after the ins and outs of their finances, so you're hardly going to be short of work. FWIW I pay my bookkeeper £16 an hour, and my accountant is paid LOTS more.

I'd also look at using your experience for the family business to obtaining an apprenticeship/traineeship in the world of bookkeeping/accountancy, and aim high with your GCSEs to get the best grades you can in order to help secure the best job and training. Have a look in your area at accountancy and bookeeping firms and look up on their websites see what they offer, and write to them and ask if they will be taking apprentices or have any opportunities for employment which would encompass training. Ask your school careers advisor if they know of anything.

 

[Lolo]

In terms of horsey jobs, my sister is 18 and now works as a freelance groom essentially. She is doing very well for herself, and is getting on very well- she's in demand, and is turning away work.

She did GCSEs, and then 'proper' A-levels, and is currently in a better position than 90% of her peers who went to the large equine college nearby in terms of employment. If she needed to, her A-levels will mean she can get a job that is not horse-related, which is pretty important IMO. She's not the most academic, and did spend a lot of her time riding when she should have been in 6th form, but she got through and it's something to fall back on.

 

[Spottyappy]

I am gong to give my take on this, as a parent.
Firstly,life is too short, you should do what YOU want. If you don't, you won't enjoy it, and will struggle, makes things hard work if you are doing something you hate.
Secondly, are you sure the college need four GCSEs at c and above? My daughter is doing the extended equine diploma at another college, and requirement was 6 GCSEs at c or above, and this included English, Maths and one science.
I wanted her,in an ideal world, to do A levels,mostly as I think they port better to other jobs.
However, the decision to go to college was entirely hers and I would never have stopped her. As I said, life is too short. Plus, she can always study other things later or after this course, we are very fortunate in this country that we have many options, and you rarely close a door.
She is loving the course, it was absolutely the right thing for her to do. She is with like minded people, mostly the same age. There are some older students too. Plus, it is three days a week(considered full time). This leaves her a lot of time to work our horses, and she has a part time job.
She is not sure what she wants to do after the course finishes. At the minute,the are few jobs anywhere. She goes on and off the idea of university, mostly as you seem to end up with a lot of debt and either no job, or a job you could get straight from college/school without a degree and the debt. Not always, I know,But this seems
To be the case for many young people.
Do not discount the course. Go and look at the college as well as 6th form schools and I hope your parents will allow you to make your own decisions. You sound sensible, and are thinking over your various options in a way that is serious.
Good luck.