Animal care technician vs groomer assistant

The differences between animal care technicians and groomer assistants 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 care technician and a groomer assistant. Additionally, a groomer assistant has an average salary of $30,725, which is higher than the $29,617 average annual salary of an animal care technician.

The top three skills for an animal care technician include patients, animal husbandry and pigs. The most important skills for a groomer assistant are PET, customer service, and appointment scheduling.

Animal care technician vs groomer assistant overview

	Animal Care Technician	Groomer Assistant
Yearly salary	$29,617	$30,725
Hourly rate	$14.24	$14.77
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	96,973	9,294
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 39%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Animal care technician vs groomer assistant salary

Animal care technicians and groomer assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Care Technician	Groomer Assistant
Average salary	$29,617	$30,725
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $40,000	Between $21,000 And $43,000
Highest paying City	South San Francisco, CA	-
Highest paying state	Oregon	-
Best paying company	Emory University	-
Best paying industry	Health Care	-

Differences between animal care technician and groomer assistant education

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

	Animal Care Technician	Groomer Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	High School Diploma, 39%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	New York University	Vermont Technical College

Animal care technician vs groomer assistant demographics

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

	Animal Care Technician	Groomer Assistant
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%	Male, 16.6% Female, 83.4%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between animal care technician and groomer assistant duties and responsibilities

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.

Groomer assistant example responsibilities.

Manage all breeding, whelping, raising of puppies, grooming and showing of dogs for owners in the AKC.
Perform animal grooming duties such as washing, brushing, clipping and trimming coats.
Bath animals: clean ears, express anal glands, trim nails, dry & brush coats.
Wash, dry, and brush dogs of various breed and temperament, as well as clipping nails and cleaning ears.
Bath dogs and perform related activities, including nail clipping and grinding, ear cleaning and plucking, and gland expression.
Maintain electronic record of pet information and file paper documents.

Animal care technician vs groomer assistant skills

Common animal care technician skills

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

Common groomer assistant skills

PET, 39%
Customer Service, 19%
Appointment Scheduling, 12%
Coats, 5%
Teeth, 4%
Front Desk, 3%

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Animal Care Technician vs Groomer Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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