Animal Jobs: Exploring Career Options Working with Animals You Love

Animal jobs can be not only rewarding, but also emotionally satisfying, especially if you are into animals. Some people have their own dream jobs of working closely with animals. It’s a good thing that there are actually many professional services are needed. Jobs that involve animals, especially to help them, are plentiful.

Due to natural disasters, land development, or global changes, animals are often forced to leave their habitats or got separated from their owners. So, if you are looking for full time jobs with animals, you can find some of the career options here.

What Is Meant by Animal Jobs?

In the simplest term, animal jobs refer to jobs that involve animals. We aren’t only talking about vet careers or zoo keepers, but we also cover subjects like animal care, relocation, and conservation. Some of these jobs may require proper educational background, but some may require experiences and skills.

If you want to explore some career options related to animal care or wildlife conservation, some of these jobs may be quite unusual. Marine careers, for instance, are mostly related to marine animals and care. If you are one of those adventurous people who aren’t afraid of challenges, you may be interested in becoming a snake venom milker.

Wild Animals

Wildlife is unique and fascinating, but it’s not for everyone. Not only you need to have the passion and dedication for wildlife preservation and animals, you also need to be highly adaptable. In most cases, you will be working with a wide ranges of wildlife varieties although some workers may only specialize in one type (or two) of animals. So, if you are ready to work with tigers or snakes, this would be the perfect job for you.

Some of the jobs may require you to have the educational background, but the general requirements are involving good physique, highly detailed, and good communication. Moreover, you should also be ready to work in different settings and environments. You may have to work in the conservation habitat, in the lab, or outdoors. If you don’t like interacting with animals, you can also take the administrative options, like educational programs management or project planning. Some of the cool full time jobs with animals include park ranger, wildlife biologist, zoologist, farm manager, or wildlife conservationist.

Aquatic Animals

Are you always fascinated by the aquatic life form and habitat? If you don’t mind working close to the water and get wet, you can always find jobs related to aquatic animal care. Because of the nature, you will have to spend your days close to marine park, aquarium, or even by the ocean. It’s also possible to still work on dry land although you may be required to take a dive or get into the water once in a while.

Naturally, the proper educational background is needed for this kind of job, but you need to have big curiosity and good observation. When you are in the water, it’s also important to keep your guards up all the time, because you don’t want to have dolphins or even sharks coming from your back.

There are many job opportunities in marine world. Marine mammal trainer, for instance, will often be required to work together with whales or dolphins at zoos or parks. If you want to remain dry most of the time, an aquarist would be the perfect option. They are responsible for keeping and taking care of the various fish at the aquariums. Working at the aquatic museum also presents another opportunity to keep your feet dry, but you need to have a bachelor degree (at least) as well as other certifications, like CPR or scuba diving. You can also become a marine biologist or marine scientist.

Other Options

If you aren’t really interested in having full time jobs with animals, no need to fuss. There are still interesting and fun part-time jobs to have, such as:

• Pet groomer. Your responsibility will include trimming and cleaning the clients’ pets. You need to have the experience and knowledge to work with different types of pets, including their general challenges and specific requirements. Although you may work mostly with cats or dogs, it’s possible that you may also work with other animal types, such as lizards, rabbits, or even exotic animals.
• Pet sitter. The main responsibility is to stay in the clients’ house and take care of their pets. You will be responsible for feeding, cleaning, and taking care of the animals. It’s also possible that you will also be responsible for exercising those pets or playing with them.
• Dog walker. Not everyone has the time to walk their dogs, so this is when your service is needed. It’s possible that you also walk with some dogs altogether. It’s not easy, mind you, as you need to have the experience and the skill.
• (Animal) care attendant. You will be working in general facilities, such as vet offices, pet stores, or animal care shelters. Your responsibilities include performing general tasks that include feeding and caring for the animals. You may have to clean the animals’ living spaces. It’s also possible that you are required to take them out to have their own exercises.

Unique Jobs

As it was mentioned before, there are some unique jobs involving animals that can be financially rewarding. It’s because the numbers of workers are limited, so there is always a need for such a skilled worker. What are they?

• Snake venom milker. As you can guess, you will have to extract venom (from snakes, naturally) so scientists can make anti-venom. This job is important because without the milker, we won’t have anti-venom that can be used to treat any snake bite.
• Relocation worker. The main responsibility is to move animals to safer facilities. The animals are commonly moved from kill shelters or overcrowded shelters to other safer and less crowded shelters. 

Bottom Line

Although working with these animals can be financially promising, you are required to have the love and passion for them. Without true love for them, you won’t be able to do your job perfectly. Ask yourself whether these animal jobs are the ones you want before you take the higher degree or classes.

About Garry Poer

I'm Garry Poer, and I've dedicated the past ten years to guiding individuals on their journey to fulfilling professional paths. My career trajectory took shape after I obtained a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Yale University, where I delved deep into the complexities of human behavior and its profound impact within the workplace. My… See My Full Profile on USA JOBS on LS ›

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