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The differences between animal attendants and pet sitters 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 a pet sitter. Additionally, an animal attendant has an average salary of $26,394, which is higher than the $25,823 average annual salary of a pet sitter.
The top three skills for an animal attendant include PET, patients and animal handling. The most important skills for a pet sitter are PET, walkers, and clients homes.
| Animal Attendant | Pet Sitter | |
| Yearly salary | $26,394 | $25,823 |
| Hourly rate | $12.69 | $12.41 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 53,000 | 21,735 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
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.
A pet sitter is responsible for taking care of household pets while their owners are away. Pet sitters perform services for pet maintenance, including taking them to the veterinarian, monitoring their food, walk them in the park, and administer medications, if any. They also reach out to the pet owners for possible updates and emergencies, taking their instructions immediately. Apart from being highly communicative and organizational, a pet sitter should have an interest and passion in taking care of pets to ensure high-quality services.
Animal attendants and pet sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Animal Attendant | Pet Sitter | |
| Average salary | $26,394 | $25,823 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $34,000 | Between $10,000 And $62,000 |
| Highest paying City | Ithaca, NY | Newport, RI |
| Highest paying state | New York | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Baylor College of Medicine | CARE |
| Best paying industry | Education | Non Profits |
There are a few differences between an animal attendant and a pet sitter in terms of educational background:
| Animal Attendant | Pet Sitter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Ohio State University | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Here are the differences between animal attendants' and pet sitters' demographics:
| Animal Attendant | Pet Sitter | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8% | Male, 19.7% Female, 80.3% |
| 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, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |