Wagga CSU: Ben Tett taking on the world one sick animal at a time

A new survey has revealed CSU is the best university in the country for job prospects, something vet Ben Tett knows all too well.

Ben Tett is one of the many successful Charles Sturt University vet science graduates.

Students at regional universities are more likely to land a job than graduates from prestigious “sandstone’’ institutions.

Only two big-city universities are among the top 10 for graduate employment this year, exclusive new data obtained by News Corp Australia reveals.

Among the top eight universities nationally, at least three quarters of last year’s graduates found full-time work this year.

Charles Sturt University, which has a Wagga campus, is the nation’s best for job prospects, with 84.7 per cent of students finding full-time work within four months of graduating.

Veterinarian Ben Tett, 30, arrived in Wagga as a fresh-faced student with dreams of combining his love for animals and working in the country to good use.

“I grew up on a dairy farm in the Bega Valley,” Dr Tett said. “I looked at CSU because their desire to graduate rural practitioners and fill the demand for vets in rural areas really spoke to me.”

With six gruelling years of study ahead, Dr Tett gave the university life his all.

He joined the football and cricket team and took advantage of the endless opportunities his course offered at CSU.

“The course was absolutely brilliant, second-to-none and it would be my recommendation to any inspiring vet to attend,” Dr Tett said. “The staff were dedicated, professional and extremely caring.

“They went above and beyond to get me across the line to become a successful vet.”

He graduated in 2018 and is one of the 81 per cent of veterinary science students who graduate from CSU and obtain full-time employment.

But Dr Tett’s story is a little different to many graduates as he began his own business straight out of university because he felt his CSU course gave him all the skills he needed to go out on his own.

“The practicals of my course were started midway through the first year, which got us applying ours skills early.

Dr Ben Tett is fulfilling his dreams after studying at CSU Wagga.

“I think the great mix of theory and prac throughout the course is what made me be able to go out on my own as a graduate,” he said.

After graduating, Dr Tett headed back to his hometown of Cobargo and began treating a few family friends pets.

But soon this helping hand turned into a business and is now known as South East Veterinary Services – a mobile vet clinic.

“It all began as a bit of an accident,” he said. “But it was a real golden stroke because a lot of people love to get a vet over to their house because that’s the place where the pet and the client feel most comfortable.

“It‘s quite challenging, I have to use my resources and use my instincts to ensure the animals are cared for at the highest standard because I don’t have the benefit of superiors to ask questions to, or resources I would normally have in a clinic environment.

“You couldn't really ask for more of a harder entry position,” he said with a laugh.

But after nearly two years as a mobile operator, he has been inundated with appointments from locals.

“It‘s humbling working mobile because it’s a real team effort between you and your client, because they need to know what to look out for and we really work together in the animals recovery,” Dr Tett said.

Dr Ben Tett returned to his home town and works as a mobile practitioner. Picture – supplied.

He also raced across the region helping save sick and injured animals after the summer bushfires ripped through Cobrago earlier this year.

“It was a drain personally, professionally but also financially on my business,” he said.

“The bushfires hit my family farm in the morning, so once we were done putting those out, the community began reaching out in need of support for their animals.

“It was quite hard but at the same time so rewarding because as a mobile vet these locals invited me inside their home at one of the lowest points in their lives.

“My role as a vet changed after that. Not only was it about looking after the animals but looking after the owners who were clearly distraught.

“It was really raw.”

Dr Tett has now spent the past year rebuilding his pharmaceutical stock after volunteering and donating the majority of his stock during the bushfires.

While working with the Cobargo community to rebuilding the small town, he has also been working hard on his business and has plans to transform his mobile practice into a traditional veterinary hospital in the next year.

Dr Tett said without the personal and educational opportunities he was given at CSU Wagga he could never of been able to return home and do what he loves everyday.

“As a young student I was able to fulfil my dreams by attending CSU Wagga and it was a privileged to graduate as a successful, qualified and employable vet,” he said.