How to Choose a Career Working with Animals

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It's your dream to work with animals. But this can mean many different types of work and job conditions. Here are some questions to ask yourself to find the right career path.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Think about how much physical work you want to do. Much animal work involves getting dirty and using your muscles. A vet tech has to restrain large dogs for procedures that they don't care for. A zookeeper needs to lift bales of hay and heavy bags of feed. Nearly all animal work involves at least some cleaning up of waste products.

Step2

Consider your tolerance for seeing animals in distress. Working as a vet, vet tech, or in an animal shelter or animal control may be too stressful if you are easily upset by animals that are hurt or frightened.

Step3

Figure out whether you want to work for yourself or for someone else. You can start your own petsitting business or dog daycare if you like independence. Other careers like animal control officer, wildlife researcher or zookeeper require working for established organizations. A groomer can have her own business or work for a major petstore.

Step4

Consider the differences in schooling and training for different careers. Vet school is hard to get into and takes many years. Veterinary assistants, on the other hand, are often hired without experience and can learn on the job. Zoo jobs often ask for relevant college degrees, but it's essential that you have hands on experience with exotics from volunteering or internships. Simply having had your own pets is enough experience to get hired by most petsitting services or kennels.

Step5

Think about your geographical limitations and the job market. Can you move anywhere in the country to attend vet school or work at a zoo or aquarium? If not, jobs like petsitter, groomer, and vet assistant are likely to have many openings in almost any geographic area.