For those who have a passion for animals and enjoy studying, healing, or caring for animals, one of the following career choices might be appealing. However, although working with animals can be infinitely rewarding, it can also be physically and mentally taxing. Many professions in this line of work require physical tasks such as cleaning cages and grooming, as well as a myriad of other tasks like feeding, healing, rehabilitating, and training, etc.
If you’re considering working with animals as a career, it might be a good idea to decide on a particular species or group of animals. To assist you in finding a profession that could be right for you, we’ve included some of the most popular jobs for animal lovers as well as the qualifications needed to succeed.
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There are many varied fields when it comes to working with animals. Different jobs will therefore require different levels of skills and education, and some of the training may be very specialised. While basic, entry-level jobs may require no formal qualifications, specific jobs such as qualifying to become a veterinarian or marine biologist, for example, will require a formal university degree.
There are also a wide variety of diploma courses available and many of them can be completed online. For example, those who are interested in a career in animal care, training, nutrition, and behaviour, may be interested in gaining a diploma in those subjects.
Here are some of the most popular jobs which will allow you to indulge your love for animals by working with and caring for animals in a variety of settings:
Duties: Dog groomers maintain and enhance a dog’s appearance by bathing, grooming, brushing, as well as trimming nails, etc. They also offer pet owners grooming advice. Dog groomers usually work in grooming parlours or operate their own pet grooming businesses.
Qualifications needed: Although there are no specific educational qualifications needed to become a dog groomer, most employers favour applicants who have completed their GCSEs. Most dog groomers are trained through programs that combine on-the-job training with completing some formal courses.
Annual average Salary: £22,000
Duties: Dogs, horses, and many other animals are trained by animal trainers to stop them from engaging in certain inappropriate behaviour by teaching them to react positively to particular stimuli or training procedures. Animal trainers may also specialise in training dogs to assist the blind, work with the police to assist in crowd control or sniffing out drugs, explosives, and other banned substances, become guard dogs, discover health issues in humans, and even train various animals to appear in movies or television.
Qualifications needed: To get started, you could enrol in an intermediate or advanced animal care apprenticeship program, and then move on to completing more focused, specialised courses.
Annual Average Salary: £23,800 (this will depend on which field of animal training you specialise in).
Duties: Animals at zoos need to be fed and cared for daily by zookeepers. This includes keeping the exhibits clean and reporting any health issues. Zookeepers may also specialise in taking care of a specific species of animal, such as mammals, for example.
Qualifications needed: A bachelor’s degree in zookeeping, biology, zoo technology, or a related field is required for entry-level positions. Additionally, you could enrol for an apprenticeship or obtain a diploma in animal management.
Annual Average Salary: £20,100
Duties: When clients arrive at a veterinary clinic or hospital, receptionists attend to them with their pets. They may weigh the animals and enter data about their condition or medical history into the vet’s computer system as well as do other admin work like taking payments.
Qualifications needed: There are no formal qualifications needed to work as a veterinary receptionist, but some employers may insist on a GSCE with maths, science, and English as subjects.
Annual average Salary: £23,000
Duties: Veterinary nurses help vets care for sick animals and assist with medical treatments in veterinary clinics or hospitals. They might also assess vital signs, administer medicine, run tests, and assist with surgery and X-rays, among other things.
Qualifications needed: A university degree, a college course, or an apprenticeship are typically the three paths to becoming a veterinary nurse. A list of authorised training organisations is available from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Annual Average Salary: £ £25,100
Duties: Marine biologists research and analyse the illnesses and environmental factors that affect marine species as well as studying behavioural and physiological processes.
Qualifications needed: A degree in biology or a closely related field is required, as well as a strong interest in life sciences through volunteer, recreational, or practical experience.
Annual Average Salary: £37,100
Duties: People who are passionate about protecting wildlife might find their vocation in wild animal rescue. This type of job involves much more than just looking after sick or abandoned animals. Careful supervision is required for the rehabilitation of rescued wildlife as well as their eventual release back into the wild. This may include therapy sessions and other medical or rehabilitation procedures.
Qualifications needed: Although it is not necessary to have a college degree to work in animal rescue, a degree will be required for some higher-level positions in medicine and research. A suggested major is a bachelor’s degree in Animal Health and Behaviour.
Annual Average Salary: £35,500
