Can I live on this salary?

As someone who is looking at careers before I enter college in about a year and a half, I've been wondering about what sort of salary a single person can live on reasonably. Now, I could go into almost anything I wanted to and make tons of money (I'm lined up to be valodictorian of a large school) I want to do something that interests me. And I don't really want to go to school for a lot of years. I'd prefer a bachelor's degree, and would be willing to get a master's if it was necessary for the field I wanted to go into.

I love animals and lately have been looking at being a veterinary technologist (which is a bachelor's, not an associate degree). However, the mean salary is only about $30,000. Is this a reasonable salary for a single person - would I be able to save up for cars, maybe eventually a small house, etc, as well as cover essential costs of living? If not, are there other options I should look at for getting into veterinary medicine without going to school for many years to become a doctor? Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated!

?2013-03-26T07:34:57Z

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All depends, you cant live in my neighborhood on $30K, but you can where I grew up.

Go to the best college you can get into and afford. A large high school is not inherently a good high school; congrats on being the best though, that will help. When you get to college you will understand; 1 in 7 of my freshman class at college (a pretty good school mind you) was valedictorian of their HS and around 60% were 1, 2 or 3 in their class.
I don't mean to dismiss your acheivement; you should be very proud of your work.

Why not go full Vet? I know you don't want to go to school forever, but it can be a wonderful career that cannot easily be outsourced. You will also make enough money to live comfortably.