eMentor Profile | Pete Wedderburn

Vet and eMentor Pete Wedderburn, who is based in County Wicklow Ireland, talks about his time at University and where is career has taken him since including writing for the Daily Telegraph.

Your time at the University

My family home was in Fife, so Edinburgh was the natural university for me; it helped that the Dick Vet had an excellent reputation, and that they accepted my application (Glasgow rejected me).

The veterinary course is a tough five year academic challenge, and it was even more of a challenge to combine the study with a full social calendar - it has always been said that vet students work hard and play hard.

The annual Veterinary Ball was always a highlight, with breakfast at the Caledonian Hotel at the West End to finish the evening. As a vet student, holiday jobs had to include a work experience angle; the lambing jobs at Easter were a highlight, because they were well paid as well as enjoyable.

Tell us about your Experiences since leaving the University

I started off as a new graduate as one of the two-man team on a University of Edinburgh veterinary project in Swaziland, studying cattle ticks.

I started off as a new graduate as one of the two-man team on a University of Edinburgh veterinary project in Swaziland, studying cattle ticks. I went on to work in mixed practice in Galashiels for five years before taking 15 months off to backpack around the world.

I then settled in Ireland (having married an Irish girl) in a small animal (pet) practice. I'm now a co-owner of the practice, and twenty years on, we are just completing a new purpose-built veterinary hospital.

I have developed an interest in working with the media, having done weekly national television vet slots in Ireland for the past fifteen years. I also have regular radio slots, as well as writing for many national papers in Ireland.

Over the past decade, I have focussed more on this media angle, so that I now divide my working life fifty:fifty between clinical practice and media work. I have written a weekly "Pet Subjects" column for the UK's Daily Telegraph for the past six years. I have two daughters, aged 15 and 18, and a menagerie of dogs, cats, rabbits and poultry.

I'm a keen triathlete, planning to represent Ireland in my age group at the World Triathlon Championships in London in September 2013.

Alumni wisdom

Don't let the academic work completely dominate your life: your aim should be to pass your exams, not to get 100%. University offers unique social possibilities and you should seize these opportunities while they are available to you.