Career: Animal Caretakers
Do you enjoy taking care of your pets? Have you always felt a special bond with animals? Becoming an animal caretaker is one way you can turn your interest in animals into a career.
The job might involve long hours and tough physical labor, but it’s important work: if an animal gets sick, the caretaker is often the first to know. And the close relationships you develop with the animals under your care can make that work deeply satisfying.
Animal caretakers make sure that animals are clean, healthy, and happy.
Did You Know?
- Animal caretakers work with kittens, elephants, and everything in between. They're found in animal shelters, kennels, stables, grooming salons, and zoos.
Are You Ready To...?
- Feed and groom animals
- Clean cages, stalls, and beds
- Train and exercise animals
- Bottle-feed a litter of abandoned kittens
- Risk the bites and scratches of upset animals
- End the life of a sick or elderly animal
It Helps to Be...
Compassionate, patient, perceptive, flexible, and able to handle heavy physical work.
Make High School Count
- Keep your options open by taking college-preparatory classes, since you might need a bachelor's degree to become an animal trainer.
- Volunteer at your local animal shelter, vet's office, zoo, or stable. Help walk dogs, change kitty litter, and clean cages.
- Find part-time work at a groomer's or pet-sit for vacationing neighbors.
Did You Know?
- Since animals can’t talk, you'll need to be very sensitive to any changes in their behavior, such as not eating, that may signal a health problem.
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for animal caretakers to grow faster than the average for all careers through 2016. An increasing number of pet owners are interested in services for their pets, like boarding, training, and grooming. Also, community awareness of animal issues is also increasing, leading to better funding for animal shelters.
Since there is a high turnover in many animal caretaker jobs every year, government economists expect good job opportunities. However, the outlook for positions in zoos is not favorable, as they are highly competitive with few new openings.
Compensation
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the average yearly salary of nonfarm animal caretakers in 2007 was $21,180 while those who worked on farms averaged $21,860. The average salary of animal trainers was $30,390.
