Are you animal obsessed? Do you find yourself scrolling through cute cat videos before bed? Do you stop to pat every single dog on the street? Perhaps animal rights issues keep you up at night?
Animal care is a growing industry which means there is high demand for skilled animal carers. It’s a good time to consider turning your passion into a career.
In this article, we will discuss some of the jobs you can pursue in the exciting world of working with animals.
We’ll touch on career options, study and training, placement work options and career pathways in this rewarding industry.
How to get into a Career with Animals?
We’ve established that you’re a massive lover of animals. There are a range of jobs that will have you encountering a number of furry (or feathered) friends all day long.
Getting qualified for these types of jobs isn’t too intimidating either. There are many courses available which can serve as your first step into this enticing new world. Depending on which direction you decide to go after completing study, such as a Certificate II in Animal Studies, you should qualify for a number of entry-level animal care jobs.
Your first role working with animals could be at a shelter, kennel, cattery, or other animal care environments. This is just the beginning. If you undertake additional study or a traineeship, you could find yourself working in an aquarium, as a pet groomer, a dog trainer or even a veterinary nurse.
Once you start working and studying, the sky is the limit in the animal care industry.
In Demand Jobs That Involve Working with Animals
So you’ve decided to embark on a career working with animals. Exciting stuff! You’re ready to take the leap but which direction will you go? Determining what kind of job to work towards can be daunting as there are so many animal care careers to choose from.
Let’s make this decision a bit easier by first exploring which animal-related jobs are currently in high demand. If you aim for one of these, you’ll have a good shot at securing a role during or after your animal care course:
Animal Care Attendant
Animal care attendants work directly with all kinds of animals. They assist in providing basic care and exercise as well as activities that enrich the animals. They will be expected to perform diverse daily tasks to keep animals happy and healthy. Shifts and hours will vary depending on the organisation you work for.
The average hourly pay for an animal attendant is $21.25. Remuneration will depend on skills and education, where you live and experience.
Dog Groomer
Groomers provide a number of services for dogs and their owners. Professional grooming sessions usually include dogs being brushed, bathed and blow dried. Depending on the dog breed and customer preference, groomers will also cut and style a dog’s coat. Nail care is also provided by groomers including trimming and clipping nails. Dog grooming settings can vary from veterinary clinics, devoted grooming salons and even mobile dog wash/grooming businesses.
The average salary for a full-time dog groomer is over $51,000 per year in Australia. Not a bad wage for getting to beautify a bunch of friendly pooches all day.
Veterinary Nurse
Veterinary nurses usually work in a vet clinic setting and provide care to injured and sick animals. Roles differ greatly depending on the specific position but vet nurses can be expected carry out a number of day-to-day tasks as well as some higher-level responsibilities.
What does a Vet Nurse Do?
Veterinary nursing is a dynamic and lucrative career for animal lovers. Veterinary nurses work closely with veterinarians to provide both routine and emergency care. Working in a clinic setting, vet nurses will be expected to provide quality care to all animals being treated in the practice.
A major responsibility is assisting veterinarians with surgical procedures. During surgery, vet nurses may have to administer drugs, anaesthetics or injections, hold and monitor animals, sterilise equipment and clean up post-surgery. Besides the duties associated with surgical procedures, vet nurses will also prepare and send off lab samples, execute dental procedures, and take x-rays among other technical tasks. They must communicate with pet owners; explaining procedures and giving aftercare advice.
Vet nurses also must undertake administrative duties including keeping records, writing and filing reports. The average vet nurse salary is over $59,000 per year making it a pretty attractive career path.
To become qualified as a veterinary nurse, it is a general expectation that applicants have attained a Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, which is offered at TAFE Gippsland and only takes 18 months to complete.
Careers in Animal Rescue
If you feel a genuine compassion for animals or you’re the type to call wildlife rescue whenever you see a bird or possum in distress, you might be a good fit for job in animal rescue. There are a number of careers in animal rescue but the most popular ones are animal care attendants and animal welfare officers.
Animal Care Attendant
An animal care attendant can work in a range of settings including shelters and sanctuaries, protecting the wellbeing of all animals residing within the premises. To gain animal care skills, you can start by enrolling at TAFE Gippsland’s Certificate II in Animal Studies. This six – 10 month course will qualify you for jobs such as assistant animal care worker and assistant animal shelter attendant.
If you want to aim for a more senior role, a Certificate III in Companion Animal Services + traineeship will qualify you for positions such as a shelter, kennel or cattery attendant or a wildlife carer.
Animal Welfare Officer
The main responsibilities of animal welfare officers are to implement and enforce all laws regarding the prevention of cruelty to animals and to educate the public about the proper treatment of animals.
The tasks involved in this role include investigating complaints of animal cruelty, undertaking inspections of properties, preparing for court hearings and rescuing and caring for animals that have been mistreated. The best part, most likely, is re-homing animals to their happy forever homes once they have recovered.
The average gross salary for an animal cruelty investigator is over $47,000, making it a rewarding career choice. A Certificate II or III and some relevant experience is usually needed to obtain this kind of job. Luckily, you can do either a Certificate II in Animal Studies or a Certificate III in Companion Animal Services (Traineeship) at TAFE Gippsland, giving you all the skills you need to move forward in your animal welfare career.
Jobs for Dog Lovers
If you are dog obsessed, you’re in luck as there are a number of explicitly dog-focussed jobs out there. These include dog trainers, dog grooming attendants, kennel attendants, dog exercisers, and even pet shop assistants.
All of these roles require some study but accredited courses at TAFE Gippsland are available to get your new career with dogs off the ground.
How to Become a Dog Trainer?
Working as a certified dog trainer sounds like endless days of fun hanging out in the outdoors with a variety of dogs. This is only half accurate. The truth is, being a dog trainer takes a lot of hard work and determination. You’ll be working with rescue dogs and growing puppies who may have little to no training at all which means you’ll need endless patience in addition to a natural empathy for dogs.
To become a dog trainer, it’s recommended to take a course in animal studies. A Certificate III in Animal Companion Services will qualify you as an assistant dog trainer. Beyond this, a traineeship or volunteering at a shelter is a great way to get practical experience working with dogs.
While studying, reach out to the RSPCA or any other local organisations that have volunteer opportunities to get more hours in with your target audience: dogs!
Lesser-Known Jobs Working with Animals
Besides the in-demand jobs discussed earlier, there are many other roles in the animal care sector. While some of these are lesser known, that doesn’t mean they aren’t fun and fulfilling.
- Love cats? You could work in a cattery as an attendant or assistant
- Fish and underwater life more your thing? Work in an aquarium and hang out with your fishy friends all day
- A pet exerciser or dog walker is a great gig as you’ll get to hang out with dogs and get exercise in for yourself at the same time.
- You could be a pet shop assistant – work in an environment with a variety of animals, like-minded animal lovers and animal care products.
Animal Studies Work Placement
In order to break into any industry, one must get experience in order to get a job. But how does one get experience when they have none previously? Feels a bit like the chicken and the egg scenario. That’s where work placements and traineeships come into play.
Say you’re interested in a career as a vet nurse. You should absolutely enrol in a vet nurse course but to qualify, you’ll need to complete a Certificate II or Certificate III first. During the time you are studying, take advantage of traineeship programs such as TAFE Gippsland’s Certificate III in Companion Animal Care Services.
The more real life experience you get, especially while studying, will make you more competitive when applying for jobs later.
Preparing for an Animal Care Interview
Picture this: you’ve done it, you’ve completed your studies and you’re ready to go out there and land your dream job working with animals.
You’ve applied and actually have some interviews lined up. Exciting times but wait, you’ll need to prepare for said interviews and be ready to smash the competition.
Here are a few tips for an interview in animal care.
- As for any job interview, research the company you’re applying to. What are their values or mission statement? What exactly do they do? Be armed with all the knowledge you can find so you’re ready when they ask you any relevant questions.
- Be ready to explain, in detail, why you love animals and what your favourite animal is. Chances are that your interviewer is also animal obsessed – so try to make your love for animals shine through.
- Come prepared with questions. There should be some aspects to the job and work environment that are important to you and you should walk away with all the answers. Will you be working as part of a team? Who will you be reporting to? Are the hours flexible? Will there be an opportunity to move up in the company?
Whoever is interviewing you should appreciate your wanting to know these kinds of details about the position. They will take it as a sign of maturity that you are confident enough to ask.
In conclusion, seeking a job working with animals may well be the best decision you’ll ever make. Your future could be one surrounded by furry friends, endeavouring to care for and protect any and every animal you come into contact with. It might not always be an easy job, but the benefit of knowing you are helping innocent creatures will be extremely rewarding.
So what are you waiting for? TAFE Gippsland has a number of courses to get you started.
Your future job working with animals awaits!