10 Coolest Jobs That Involve Working With Animals
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Let’s face it: for most of us, animals brighten our day. And that’s not just a guess! Estimates suggest that around 65% of American households include a pet. Animals are loyal and adorable, and many pet owners have probably considered how to incorporate animal facetime into their daily lives.
Maybe you have volunteered at your local shelter, or you petsit on occasion. But we have good news for all you animal lovers: it is quite possible – and even quite achievable – to make a career out of your love of our furry, feathered, or scaley friends. Animal careers ahead!
While it may seem very niche, there are actually countless careers that would allow you to work with animals. In fact, it’s such a broad and varied field that you may need to do a little soul-searching before you can begin. There are a huge number of potential professionals working with animals.
There are resources on careers with animals to help them narrow their search too. Jobseekers can find work with animals at every level of qualification, at almost any age and in many fields; you can freelance with animals or find full-time work; you can earn a bit of cash on the side or bring in big money.
But it’s not all fun and games working with animals: interacting with potentially dangerous wild animals, sometimes in their natural habitats, or being responsible for the life of a sentient being, are not tasks to take lightly. You will need to develop certain skills in animal interaction, plus the determination and patience to interact with potentially unruly animals.
Experience can be the best teacher in animal-care jobs: it is highly recommended to get hands-on experience. Start your job search by volunteering at a shelter or zoo to study animals, or participate in a training program to see if this is the career path for you.
But while working with animals can certainly be physically and emotionally challenging, it is a highly rewarding career path for animal lovers: simply put, spending all day with animals can do a great deal for your mental health and general well-being.
Further, whether you provide healthcare that saves an injured animal’s life, training that eases the integration of a new animal into its forever home, or essential research that may change how we understand our planet, working with animals is often exciting and gratifying.
Are you passionate about animal welfare? Have you dreamt of becoming a zookeeper one day since childhood? Do you think you might like to give animal-care work a try? Do you hold a degree in animal science or a related field? We’ve assembled some data below to help you start your search!
Most Sought Jobs for Working with Animals
If you can’t imagine any job that doesn’t allow you to work with animals, Lensa has got you covered. Here are the top “animal job” postings on Lensa:
But if one of these jobs doesn’t appeal to you, here are some other common jobs that allow you to work with animals with various education requirements, from high school diploma through bachelor’s degree to a doctorate in veterinary medicine or zoology:
If you think you’d like to find your love for animals into a paying job, sign up for Lensa to receive personalized job postings and start searching for jobs near you today.
