Animals are an important part of our lives: domestic animals give us comfort and love by being present in our homes, and other wildlife and exotic animals keep our environments stable. If you are passionate about animals, there’s a way to take your passion out of the home and into the world. There are a number of careers that cater to different interests, but all fall under the umbrella of working with animals and taking care of their wellbeings.
Most of these careers need certifications from universities, but you can consider some of these career paths while you’re still studying!
Here are 6 ways to make money working with animals
- Become a pet-sitter and dog walker
If you’re fond of taking care of domestic animals such as dogs and cats, you can become a part-time pet sitter for your neighbors or relatives! This is a good way to make money working with animals if you’re still a student.
As a pet-sitter, your responsibilities would be to take your clients’ pets on walks, feed them, manage their waste, and make sure they’re happy while their owners are away. You can charge clients on an hourly basis, and increase your salary based on your services.
Some higher-paying clients may require a high school diploma from you before they entrust their fur babies with you. If you want to continue working with animals for the long term, establish connections and find the best ways to take care of your clients’ pets!
Professional pet sitters and dog walkers earn between $17,000 to $34,000 per year.
- Become a professional animal trainer
Good with teaching tricks and disciplining animals? You can consider becoming a professional dog trainer! Clients will ask for your assistance in finding ways and exercises to train their pets for particular needs. Some may want their pets to be trained in assisting their owners, especially those who may be disabled or may be having difficulty in certain areas. Others may simply want their pets to be a bit more disciplined and obedient in the home.
To become an animal trainer, formal education is not required, but it is definitely preferred. Usually, the job is labor-intensive, so you will have to be physically able to handle animals or equipment that will help in training. You may also need to prove your experience through seminars or workshops.
Animal trainers’ salaries range from $18,000 to $57,000, depending on the animals you specialize in, and what kind of purposes you will be training them for. Be sure to identify your niche and specialty first before learning more about how to work with these animals for money.
- Become a veterinarian.
Veterinarians are essential to keeping animals safe and healthy. They are essentially the doctors who specialize in animal care: treating animals who have diseases, conditions, and injuries. If you’re passionate about being in the medical field and working with animals, this is most likely the career path for you.
To become a vet, you will need to graduate from university with a pre-med course, such as biological sciences, or any course related to the medical field. After this, you must attend medical school in a Veterinary Medicine course. After passing, take the needed exams to become licensed to practice as a vet!
This is a difficult yet rewarding career path. Veterinarians earn around $79,000 to $120,000 per year.
- Become a veterinary assistant or technician
If becoming a veterinarian is too daunting to you, but you still want to help animals in need, you can consider becoming a vet assistant or technician. These roles are needed to help vets treat their animal patients.
Veterinary assistants, their responsibilities usually include recording information about animal patients for the clinic, feeding the animals, and administering treatments. Assistants don’t need to go through medical school–you may not even need a college degree. Most of these skills can be learned on the job.
Veterinary technicians, on the other hand, assist vets during animal surgery, as well as performing other procedures such as preliminary tests and x-rays. Aspiring technicians will need to study veterinary medicine and get licensed before performing any of these tasks on patients.
Veterinary assistants make around $25,000 per year, while veterinary technicians make $31,000 per year.
- Become a pet groomer
Passionate about keeping people’s fur friends tidy? You can consider being a pet groomer at a grooming salon. Pet groomers are responsible for washing clients’ pets, trimming their nails, and shaving or cutting off fur. Since pets need to get groomed on a regular basis, groomers are essential in keeping pets healthy and happy.
Pet groomers make an average of $35,000 per year.
- Work under careers that protect wildlife
If you want to branch out from simply taking care of domestic animals, you can work towards a career in wildlife conservation. Jobs such as being an Outdoor Education Instructor or Park Ranger, Zookeepers, and Marine biologists, are all important in keeping our wildlife safe. The salaries and requirements for each of these careers differ, but they all concern dealing with animals.
Being a park ranger and zookeeper is more laborious, as you will have to travel and stay under the sun for long hours monitoring animals. Becoming a biologist will require you to undergo lots of research and studies concerning the animals you’re concerned with.
Regardless, these careers are important in conserving the animals we love and treasure today. Turn your passion into more than advocacy and dream: turn it into a reality, and make money enjoying it!
