Animal attendant vs animal care technician

The differences between animal attendants and animal care technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both an animal attendant and an animal care technician. Additionally, an animal care technician has an average salary of $29,617, which is higher than the $26,394 average annual salary of an animal attendant.

The top three skills for an animal attendant include PET, patients and animal handling. The most important skills for an animal care technician are patients, animal husbandry, and pigs.

Animal attendant vs animal care technician overview

	Animal Attendant	Animal Care Technician
Yearly salary	$26,394	$29,617
Hourly rate	$12.69	$14.24
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	53,000	96,973
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

What does an animal attendant do?

An animal attendant is responsible for administering high-quality care for the animals in a shelter, clinic, or wildlife preserve. Animal attendants monitor the health conditions of the animals, manage their food intake and medications, maintain the adequacy of animal stock inventories, and report any critical findings and unusual observations to the veterinarians. They also ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of all the facilities and cages, as well as the efficiency of tools and equipment to support daily animal operations.

What does an animal care technician do?

An animal care technician is an animal medical professional who is responsible for providing care to animals in the clinical or research setting. Animal care technicians take blood or stool samples from animals and run laboratory tests to determine the cause of an ailment. They often take charge of bathing and grooming animals as well as administer anesthesia before procedures. Animal care technicians are also required to speak to the pet's owners to help them understand the diagnosis and administer medication.

Animal attendant vs animal care technician salary

Animal attendants and animal care technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Attendant	Animal Care Technician
Average salary	$26,394	$29,617
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $34,000	Between $21,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Ithaca, NY	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New York	Oregon
Best paying company	Baylor College of Medicine	Emory University
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between animal attendant and animal care technician education

There are a few differences between an animal attendant and an animal care technician in terms of educational background:

	Animal Attendant	Animal Care Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Ohio State University	New York University

Animal attendant vs animal care technician demographics

Here are the differences between animal attendants' and animal care technicians' demographics:

	Animal Attendant	Animal Care Technician
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8%	Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between animal attendant and animal care technician duties and responsibilities

Animal attendant example responsibilities.

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Skil at handling, restraining, husbandry and veterinary procedures with reptiles, mammals, raptors, amphibians, and songbirds.
Clean goat and pig yards, train goats and pigs, keep records.
Serve as midwife for birthing dogs, cats and goats.
Care for goats by providing them with feed every week.
Maintain cleanliness of the shelter and medicate animals direct by supervisor as needed.

Animal care technician example responsibilities.

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Train in safety procedures for blood borne pathogens, GLP and GMP certification, and ISO standards.
Familiarize with the strains of various animal species to include rats, mice, gerbils, guinea pigs.
Interview prospective adopting families while counseling on animal welfare and responsibilities of pet owners.
Maintain knowledge of CPR procedures and evacuation procedures.
Assist with minor emergency procedures, perform CPR.

Animal attendant vs animal care technician skills

Common animal attendant skills

PET, 59%
Patients, 6%
Animal Handling, 6%
Cleanliness, 3%
Euthanasia, 3%
Autoclaves, 2%

Common animal care technician skills

Patients, 10%
Animal Husbandry, 9%
Pigs, 5%
Patient Care, 5%
Animal Handling, 5%
GLP, 4%

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Personal Care and Attendants Industry
Animal Attendant
Animal Attendant vs Animal Care Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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