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Alright, I'm not a veterinarian but I am a CVT who works with quite a few vets and considered vet school myself so I feel like I can at least give you a little bit of insight since no one else has answered. That said an actual vet would be able to more directly answer your questions but, here ya go!

I originally went to school for pre-vet (equine emphasis). I ended up switching programs midway through to field biology instead and graduated with my BS in that. Long story short I didn't find a job in my field and ended up working in veterinary medicine again (something I did while in high school too) and I fell in love with it all over again. I decided to go back to school for my vet tech degree and earned that while working as a vet assistant, and then started working as a tech. I now work at an ER/specialty hospital and strictly do anesthesia, which I love. Would I change anything if I had the chance? Maybe. I considered going back to school for my veterinary degree, however, the amount of debt that you come out of school with was my deciding factor.

So, assuming you go through your pre-vet program you then need to get into vet school which can be very difficult and not everyone makes it on their first try. You'll still need to go through school learning all the species so be prepared for that, you don't get to specialize right away. The majority of veterinarians come out of school in debt and tend to be paying off their school loans for a long time. A lot of the veterinary students that I have worked with are in the range of $150-200k in debt from vet school. Be prepared for that but know that costs vary depending on where you go and your individual circumstances. You might choose to pursue an internship and then residency which adds another 3-4 years onto your schooling. Veterinarians - like their human counterparts - can spend a very long time in school/learning.

Go out and shadow some veterinarians - a large animal vet would be ideal for you since that is what you want to do but consider some small animal vets as well. With the pandemic, you may find it hard or impossible to shadow/visit anywhere right now but, if you have time to wait and can do it later, I would strongly recommend that.

All that said, if this is what you want to do and are passionate about, pursue it, and fight for it. If you end up finding a new career along the way that suits you better, embrace that. You never know where your path may lead but so long as you are happy that really matters the most. I love my job and I consider myself lucky to be able to say that, I still get burnt out sometimes though so, no matter what you do, take care of yourself and your mental health because *you* are most important.

I hope that helps a little, you can always message me if you want to ask specific questions but, as I said, I'm a CVT, not a DVM. ;)