Should I get a cockatiel?

[Sulphiria]

All my birds have come from craigslist and with cages, food and accessories, all at very good prices. I see craigslist as somewhere people place unwanted pets, so id rather get one there.

As far as cost goes, there are a lot of ways to keep costs low. Make your own toys, make perches, buy fruits and veggies from the farmers market, etc. As far as time, when we leave the house, we leave the tv or music on for the birds, they really seem to enjoy it, although it doesnt replace human interaction.

Good luck, sounds like you're doing all the foot work.

 

[mcw009]

I think you might be overestimating how much time you'd have to spend with the bird, anyway. If you're planning on veterinary school, you're going to be looking at a demanding undergraduate career (with the likes of organic chemistry, biochem, physics, etc, with 3-4 hour lectures plus 3-4 lab time a week; and it'd be wise to get into an organismal research lab, and this is all before thinking about volunteering/interning/working outside school at a veterinary hospital/animal shelter/wildlife rehab/zoo too), and then vet school itself is naturally challenging (and do you know for sure if you'll stay in the US? There are only 26 schools in the country; I know quite a few people who've gone abroad to study in the UK. Though you do have the home state advantage in Ohio).

So to me it's not simply the expense, but also the fact that your life is probably going to be very busy and relatively unstable for the next 8 years (at least!)

On the flip side, I also have friends in grad school with birds, including one PhD candidate who got her cockatiel (and a dog) while working on her masters. So it's not impossible, but I would advise you to at least get a taste of college life before deciding.

Yeah, I know veterinary school is tough^^; That's the sad part about it. Being a vet was sort of my 2nd career choice. My first one was animation, but the salary of an animator isn't as good, and neither are the working hours. 12-16 hours a day every day to work on animation isn't ideal for me. So, I'm going with veterinary sciences.

I'm going to stay in the US since I DEFINITELY can't afford to leave.

And I'm glad I did research and thought about it as well. I wouldn't want to assume I could afford to get a bird then find out I can't and have to give the poor birdy away.
And if I do get a bird in the future, I'll be sure to get it from a rescue shelter. I'd rather adopt a rescued one. Adopting should be done first before anyone goes to a breeder c: It can give an older bird a second chance at having a good owner who will care for it. It will also help decrease demand for birds from breeders, which is good since there are so many birds that are in rescues or are abandoned and need to be cared for rather than producing too many new birdies and causing the older ones in need of homes to be ignored.
I wish everyone did their research before buying birds. I bet if they did, then a lot less birdies would be in rescue!

Thanks again, everyone for all your advice! I really appreciate it X3

I know this is totally OT and completely unsolicited advice, so feel free to ignore me if you want. I used to be interested in becoming a vet as well, until I worked in a veterinary clinic as a kennel assistant/vet tech. For one thing, most vet schools won't even bother with you if you haven't worked/volunteered in an animal hospital for at least 20 hours, so you need to do this either way. But you would be wise to try to get that experience as soon as possible, before dedicating a lot of other time and resources to this, to make sure it's something you would enjoy. A lot of vets do work very long hours like that, and if you have to take out loans to pay for school, a healthy chunk of your salary is gonna get eaten up by that right off the bat. This is why I know freshly-minted vets who moonlight as pizza deliverymen.
Plus, as I mentioned earlier, admission to vet school is extremely competitive, and you'll be competing with people for whom veterinary medicine is hands-down their top choice and passion. I have one friend who went to a prestigious "public Ivy" college, didn't get accepted at first, and so spent 2 years getting a masters degree before applying again. Another few friends spent a year after college doing wildlife rehab internships for the princely sum of $150/week.
For all I know you've already considered all of this, but if not, it's never too soon to start! Me, personally, decided in high school that I no longer wanted to be a vet, then very nearly applied for vet school this year because I didn't really know what else to do with myself. Instead I applied for a masters program. I still don't know for sure what I want to do with myself, but all my stuff's here anyway and at least the school's paying me to get this degree! I'm hoping to land a job as a wildlife biologist for a government agency.


Also: I wish everyone did their research before buying ANY animal! Easter's just around the corner and you know what that means: bunnies are about the flood all the shelters. I hate my species sometimes.