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UF CVM Careers February Newsletter
Welcome to the February edition of the UF CVM Careers monthly newsletter!
We encourage you to keep up-to-date by following our Facebook page and watching for emails about dinners, workshops, and more!
Student email reviews and/or consultations are available with a 5 business day return period, if you’d like to request an email review please send us your document or list of questions/discussions and a short description of the purpose and goals for using the document to jerles@ufl.edu.
Student Article: Breaking down Budgeting- While in School and After
There is no denying that a well-designed and implemented budget helps in reducing expenses and increasing your financial control, however, designing and implementing your budget can be the hardest part. Whether you are in veterinary school or crafting your first post-graduation budget there are some helpful numbers to consider and resources to use when keeping your spending in check to support your future goals.
In School -
While in vet school, income is mostly determined - you know how much you have saved and/or how much you plan to borrow or receive for the semester. The expenses you incur are where you have the most ‘control’. Keep in mind that every $1,000 borrowed during veterinary school can end up costing you $2,243 when you pay that loan back. That is a 220%+ up-charge! Imagine purchasing a coffee that you pay $5 when in actuality you will be paying $11, more than double! Controlling your budget can help you reduce the amount you borrow.
The most harmful budget hits are the recurring monthly payments that can be reduced - think rent, utilities, cable/internet, insurances, car payments. Decreasing these expenses can have a much larger impact than decreasing small one-off expenses. If your apartment includes rent/cable - what is the cost of this as compared to another apartment that may not offer rent/cable included? Does your location offer other cable or internet providers? Areas with only one option may charge a lot of money! If you live closer to campus then you can you save on gas/parking, but what are the exact numbers? Work the math out to see the numbers to make an informed decision.
There are plenty of resources with suggestions on budget breakdown percentages to help you stay on track. Typical housing expenses ranges from 25-40% of your total budget depending on what is considered to be included. Check out these example budget percentages to start:
Keep in mind, some of these categories may not be a priority for you now. It may not make sense for you to have a savings category (although we would always suggest a savings account if you can!) or you may or may not have current debt payments. Use these as guidelines to adjust and alter your personal budget as needed. Use the budget resources in your Pro DVM Canvas site to assist you in this process.
After School-
Estimating your budget after school can be tricky! You have been living as a ‘student’ for so long that any regular salary that allows you to turn on your heat sooner sounds wonderful. However, you will probably have more payments too and have to start paying back debt in the near future. Transitioning with as much data as possible is helpful to make informed budgeting decisions and negotiating for a salary that you can survive (and thrive!) on.
Use the same percentage examples as above and the VIN Student Debt Repayment Simulator (https://www.vin.com/studentdebtcenter/default.aspx?pid=14352&id=7578014) then estimate your monthly payments use the various resources below:
Health Insurance (if not provided by your employer or to see if it may be cheaper in the marketplace) - https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/
Rent - https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/ or explore and have some fun on Zillow.com
You can utilize the estimated budget percentages and your expected ‘rent’ and/or expected ‘student loan payments’ to calculate your total needed salary. For example, if your estimated rent is $1,500 per month and if you plan for rent to be 25% of your overall budget then your overall monthly budget should be around $6,000 - meaning your take home pay should cover this total amount (or more!). Working backwards you can then calculate what salary would be required for this total through the steps below.
Even if you won’t be paying rent or a mortgage or student loan payments, these can still be used in calculating your negotiated salary. Your personal situation should not allow your employer to pay you less for your value/worth!
Utilities, Food, Transportation - utilize cost of living comparisons (above) to estimate if these expenses are higher or less than the average cost of living, compare them to Gainesville to get a good idea of what they might be in comparison to your current budget
Standardized payments - calculate what your student loan debt repayment might be https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/repaymentEstimator.action#, These won’t change much depending on your living location/situation.
Professional Related Costs - Does your employer cover your licenses and fees? Estimate out the cost of your license, professional memberships (AVMA, FVMA), conference attendance (VMX, AVMA, FVMA), and insurances (professional liability, disability - long term and short term, examples include: https://www.policygenius.com/blog/best-disability-insurance-companies-for-veterinarians/ or https://avmalife.org/Login-SSL or https://avmalife.org/Products/Disability/Disability-Income or https://www.leveragerx.com/blog/best-disability-insurance-for-veterinarians/) and any other costs you can predict
Savings - Now is a great time to beef up your savings account. Follow or up the suggested percentages for your savings in your monthly budget.
Cushion - Also plan for some discretionary income to pad your budget, some suggestions range from 5-10%. There will be unexpected or annual expenses that you may not estimate for and it is helpful to have some flexibility to support these within your budget plan.
Now, how does this translate into a salary? Estimate your take home pay and deductions using one of the free online calculators (https://smartasset.com/taxes/paycheck-calculator or https://www.calculator.net/take-home-pay-calculator.html) These are just estimates but helpful to have a general idea.
Spread the wisdom, share your ingenious budget hack on our Facebook page!
Looking Ahead to Events
Learn more by clicking the links and don't forget to RSVP!
VIRMP Match Results Posted - February 10, 2020; 8:00am
VIRMP Open Positions Available to Public - February 24, 2020
SAVMA General Body Meeting -February 25, 2020; 6:00pm| New Auditorium
VetCAN DVM Virtual Career Fair- Saturday March 28, 2020| Online
Highlighted Gator CareerLink Job Postings
We have over 110 jobs currently listed on our job widget; below are three of the most recent. Click on the button below to view all current postings.
Emergency Veterinarian | Full-Time, Part-Time, Internship, Residency
Lakeshore Veterinary Specialists (Oak Creek, WI)
Posting Dates: February 6, 2020
Small Animal Internist, Surgeon, or Emergency Clinician | Full-Time
Veterinary Referral and Emergency Centerl (Clarks Summit, PA)
Posting Date: January 30, 2020
Veterinarian | Full-Time
Dade City Animal Clinic (Dade City, FL)
Posting Date: January 29, 2020
For the full list of all current job postings, please click the link below:
UF CVM Careers Facebook Page
Interested in staying up to date with career opportunities and other career related information that is accessible to you? Consider following us on our Facebook Page! Check out the three most recent visitor posts below:
For requests to receive this newsletter or to include information or events in this newsletter, please contact UF CVM Careers at careers@vetmed.ufl.edu
