What They Do: Animal care and service workers attend to animals.
Work Environment: Animal care and service workers are employed in a variety of settings, including kennels, zoos, stables, animal shelters, pet stores, veterinary clinics, and aquariums. Some parts of the job may be physically or emotionally demanding, and workers risk injury when caring for animals.
How to Become One: Animal care and service workers typically have a high school diploma or equivalent and learn the occupation on the job. Many employers prefer to hire candidates who have experience working with animals.
Salary: The median annual wage for animal caretakers is $28,600. The median annual wage for animal trainers is $31,280.
Job Outlook: Employment of animal care and service workers is projected to grow 29 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Related Careers: Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of animal care and service workers with similar occupations.
Animal care and service workers provide care for animals. They feed, groom, bathe, and exercise pets and other nonfarm animals.
Animal care and service workers typically do the following:
Animal care and service workers train, feed, groom, and exercise animals. They also clean, disinfect, and repair animal cages. They play with the animals, provide companionship, and observe behavioral changes that could indicate illness or injury.
The following are types of animal care and service workers:
Animal trainers train animals for obedience, performance, riding, security, or assisting people with disabilities. They familiarize animals with human voices and contact, and they teach animals to respond to commands. Most animal trainers work with dogs and horses, but some work with marine mammals, such as dolphins. Trainers teach a variety of skills. For example, some may train dogs to guide people with disabilities; others teach animals to cooperate with veterinarians, or they train animals for a competition or show.
Groomers specialize in maintaining a pet's appearance. Groomers typically work in kennels, veterinary clinics, or pet supply stores, where they groom mostly dogs, but some cats, too. In addition to cutting, trimming, and styling pets' fur, groomers clip nails, clean ears, and bathe pets. Groomers also schedule appointments, sell products to pet owners, and identify problems that may require veterinary attention.
Groomers may operate their own business, work in a grooming salon, or run their own mobile grooming service that travels to clients' homes. Demand for mobile grooming services is growing because these services are convenient for pet owners, allowing the pet to stay in its familiar environment.
Grooms care for horses. Grooms work at stables and are responsible for feeding, grooming, and exercising horses. They saddle and unsaddle horses, give them rubdowns, and cool them off after a ride. In addition, grooms clean stalls, polish saddles, and organize the tack room, where they keep harnesses, saddles, and bridles. They also take care of food and supplies for the horses. Experienced grooms sometimes help train horses.
Kennel attendants care for pets while their owners are working or traveling. Basic attendant duties include cleaning cages and dog runs, and feeding, exercising, and playing with animals. Experienced attendants also may provide basic healthcare, bathe animals, and attend to other basic grooming needs.
Nonfarm animal caretakers typically work with cats and dogs in animal shelters or rescue leagues. All caretakers attend to the basic needs of animals, but experienced caretakers may have more responsibilities, such as helping to vaccinate or euthanize animals under the direction of a veterinarian. Caretakers also may have administrative duties, such as keeping records, answering questions from the public, educating visitors about pet health, and screening people who want to adopt an animal.
Pet sitters look after animals while their owner is away. Most pet sitters feed, walk, and play with pets daily. They go to the pet owner's home, allowing the pet to stay in its familiar surroundings and follow its routine. More experienced pet sitters also may bathe, groom, or train pets. Pet sitters typically watch over dogs, but some also take care of cats and other pets.
Zookeepers care for animals in zoos. They plan diets, feed animals, and monitor the animals' eating patterns. They also clean the animals' enclosures, monitor their behavior, and watch for signs of illness or injury. Depending on the size of the zoo, they may work with one species or multiple species of animals. Keepers may help raise young animals, and they often spend time answering questions from the public.
Animal caretakers hold about 290,700 jobs. The largest employers of animal caretakers are as follows:
| Other personal services | 38% |
| Self-employed workers | 17% |
| Retail trade | 14% |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | 13% |
| Social advocacy organizations | 4% |
Animal trainers hold about 52,900 jobs. The largest employers of animal trainers are as follows:
| Self-employed workers | 36% |
| Support activities for agriculture and forestry | 24% |
| Animal production and aquaculture | 11% |
| Retail trade | 8% |
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | 6% |
Animal care and service workers are employed in a variety of settings. Many work at kennels; others work at zoos, stables, animal shelters, pet stores, veterinary clinics, and aquariums. Their work may involve travel.
Although animal care and service workers may consider their work enjoyable and rewarding, they face unpleasant and emotionally distressing situations at times. For example, those who work in shelters may observe abused, injured, or sick animals. Some caretakers may have to help veterinarians euthanize injured or unwanted animals.
In addition, a lot the work involves physical tasks, such as moving and cleaning cages, lifting bags of food, and exercising animals.
Animal caretakers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. Animal care and service workers may be bitten, scratched, or kicked when working with scared or aggressive animals. Injuries may also happen while the caretaker is holding, cleaning, or restraining an animal.
Although most animal trainers work full time, part-time work is common for both trainers and animal caretakers. Work schedules may vary to include evenings, weekends, and holidays. In facilities that operate 24 hours a day, such as kennels, animal shelters, and stables, animals may need care around the clock.
Get the education you need: Find schools for Animal Care and Service Workers near you!
Most animal care and service workers have a high school diploma and learn the occupation on the job. Many employers prefer to hire people who have experience with animals.
Most animal care and service worker positions require at least a high school diploma or equivalent.
Although pet groomers typically learn by working under the guidance of an experienced groomer, they can also attend grooming schools.
Animal trainers usually need a high school diploma or equivalent, although some positions may require a bachelor's degree. For example, marine mammal trainers usually need a bachelor's degree in marine biology, animal science, biology, or a related field.
Dog trainers and horse trainers may take courses at community colleges or vocational and private training schools.
Most zoos require keepers to have a bachelor's degree in biology, animal science, or a related field.
Most animal care and service workers learn through on-the-job training.
Some animal care and service workers may receive training before they enter their position. For example, caretakers in shelters can attend training programs through the Humane Society of the United States, Inc. and American Humane. Animal trainers also may learn their skills by training under an experienced trainer. Pet groomers often learn their trade by training under the guidance of an experienced groomer.
Although not required by law, certifications may help workers establish their credentials and enhance their skills. For example, several professional associations and hundreds of private vocational and state-approved trade schools offer certification for dog trainers.
The National Dog Groomers Association of America offers certification for master status as a groomer. Both the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and Pet Sitters International offer a home-study certification program for pet sitters. Marine mammal trainers should be certified in scuba diving.
Many states require self-employed animal care and service workers to have a business license.
For many caretaker positions, it helps to have experience working with animals. Nearly all animal trainer and zookeeper positions require candidates to have experience with animals. Volunteering and internships at zoos and aquariums are excellent ways to gain such experience.
Compassion. Animal care and service workers must be compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners. They should like animals and must treat them with kindness.
Customer-service skills. Animal care and service workers should understand pet owners' needs so they can provide services that leave the owners satisfied. Some workers may need to deal with distraught pet owners. For example, caretakers working in animal shelters may need to reassure owners looking for a lost pet.
Detail oriented. Animal care and service workers are often responsible for keeping animals on a strict diet, maintaining records, and monitoring changes in animals' behavior.
Patience. All animal caretakers and animal trainers need to be patient when training or working with animals that do not respond to commands.
Physical stamina. Animal care and service workers often kneel, crawl, bend, and lift heavy supplies, such as bags of food.
Problem-solving skills. Animal trainers must be able to assess whether the animals are responding to teaching methods and identify which methods are most successful.
Reliability. Animal care and service workers need to care for animals in a scheduled and timely manner.
Trustworthiness. Pet sitters must demonstrate that they can be trusted when caring for animals and properties while the owner is away.
The median annual wage for animal caretakers is $28,600. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $21,380, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $38,750.
The median annual wage for animal trainers is $31,280. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,160, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $58,790.
The median annual wages for animal caretakers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Other personal services | $28,580 |
| Retail trade | $27,880 |
| Social advocacy organizations | $27,540 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $27,460 |
The median annual wages for animal trainers in the top industries in which they work are as follows:
| Arts, entertainment, and recreation | $38,110 |
| Retail trade | $28,910 |
Although most animal trainers work full time, part-time work is common for both trainers and animal caretakers. Work schedules may vary to include evenings, weekends, and holidays. In facilities that operate 24 hours a day, such as kennels, animal shelters, and stables, animals may need care around the clock.
Overall employment of animal care and service workers is projected to grow 29 percent over the next ten years, much faster than the average for all occupations.
About 80,900 openings for animal care and service workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Many people consider their pets to be a part of their family and are willing to pay more for pet care than pet owners have in the past. As more households include companion pets, employment of animal care and service workers will continue to grow.
| Occupational Title | Employment, 2021 | Projected Employment, 2031 | Change, 2021-31 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percent | Numeric | |||
| Animal care and service workers | 343,600 | 444,800 | 29 | 101,200 |
| Animal trainers | 52,900 | 67,200 | 27 | 14,300 |
| Animal caretakers | 290,700 | 377,600 | 30 | 86,900 |
For more information about pet groomers, visit
National Dog Groomers Association of America, Inc.
For more information about pet sitters, including information on certification, visit
National Association of Professional Pet Sitters
For more information about animal trainers, visit
The Association of Professional Dog Trainers
International Marine Animal Trainers’ Association
For more information about keepers, visit
A portion of the information on this page is used by permission of the U.S. Department of Labor.