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The differences between animal attendants and animal technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-3 months to become an animal attendant, becoming an animal technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, an animal technician has an average salary of $31,378, 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 technician are animal handling, autoclaves, and euthanasia.
| Animal Attendant | Animal Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $26,394 | $31,378 |
| Hourly rate | $12.69 | $15.09 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 20% |
| Number of jobs | 53,000 | 39,917 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 12 |
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.
An animal technician is responsible for ensuring the animals' welfare under the supervision and guidance of a licensed veterinarian. Animal technicians maintain an organized record of animal information, assisting in medical surgeries and procedures, administering medications, collecting laboratory samples, and sending examination reports to the animal owners. They also keep the cages clean, inspecting the clinic's tools and equipment, and sterilizing laboratory materials to avoid contamination. An animal technician must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the owners' inquiries and concerns and monitoring the animals' conditions.
Animal attendants and animal technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Animal Attendant | Animal Technician | |
| Average salary | $26,394 | $31,378 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $34,000 | Between $19,000 And $51,000 |
| Highest paying City | Ithaca, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Baylor College of Medicine | Harvard University |
| Best paying industry | Education | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an animal attendant and an animal technician in terms of educational background:
| Animal Attendant | Animal Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | Ohio State University | Ohio State University |
Here are the differences between animal attendants' and animal technicians' demographics:
| Animal Attendant | Animal Technician | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8% | Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2% |
| 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, 2.7% Unknown, 6.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 2.1% White, 77.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 9% |