Vet tech student seeking perspectives on shelter medicine and alternatives

I am a veterinary technician student who is interested in shelter medicine. For my first externship, I intend to apply to a local shelter program in order to develop exposure to the field, but I wanted to also ask here to see if anyone had firsthand perspectives they would be open to sharing. I am interested in hearing about the pros and cons of the field, what you wish you would have known before working in the field, and anything else you think might be helpful to know or think through. I would also be interested in hearing about alternative settings you think might be a good fit for me, as I recognize that the available positions in shelter medicine are numerically limited and there might be other opportunities I have not thought about.

For context, I am interested in shelter medicine for the following reasons:

• Genuine passion for and commitment to animal rescue work
• The opportunity to work in a nonprofit, mission-driven setting (in my current career, I have only ever worked for nonprofits; it is what I am most familiar, comfortable, and aligned with)
• Interest in animal behavior and behavioral medicine
• Interest in community engagement, education, and welfare work (I like both people and animals, and have a background in human services)
• Ability to also support community medicine initiatives (low-cost vaccine clinics or spay and neuter programs, for example), which fits in well with my passion for economic justice
• Not needing to euthanize animals primarily or only due to caretakers' inability to afford treatment (while I recognize one sees a multitude of other heartbreaking situations in shelter medicine, I have assessed at this point that this would be the most difficult circumstance for me to cope with)

It might also be worth sharing that I live in a well-resourced, northern U.S city where it is rare for an animal to be euthanized primarily or only due to lack of shelter space/capacity. In addition, if a stray animal needs and has a good chance of benefitting from treatment (even complex treatment), they will likely receive it; one of the shelters/humane organizations in the city is directly attached to a major emergency/critical care and specialty referral center that does this work.

That being said, I recognize that there are almost certainly downsides, challenges, and/or dynamics that I simply do not yet know enough about. As noted, I am also interested in hearing about alternative possibilities to explore.

Thank you!