Animal keeper vs pet care specialist

The differences between animal keepers and pet care specialists 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 keeper and a pet care specialist. Additionally, a pet care specialist has an average salary of $31,162, which is higher than the $30,829 average annual salary of an animal keeper.

The top three skills for an animal keeper include animal husbandry, zoo animals and animal exhibits. The most important skills for a pet care specialist are PET, health issues, and customer service.

Animal keeper vs pet care specialist overview

	Animal Keeper	Pet Care Specialist
Yearly salary	$30,829	$31,162
Hourly rate	$14.82	$14.98
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	5,971	117,277
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Animal keeper vs pet care specialist salary

Animal keepers and pet care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Keeper	Pet Care Specialist
Average salary	$30,829	$31,162
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $45,000	Between $20,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between animal keeper and pet care specialist education

There are a few differences between an animal keeper and a pet care specialist in terms of educational background:

	Animal Keeper	Pet Care Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Cornell University	Northwestern University

Animal keeper vs pet care specialist demographics

Here are the differences between animal keepers' and pet care specialists' demographics:

	Animal Keeper	Pet Care Specialist
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%	Male, 25.5% Female, 74.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between animal keeper and pet care specialist duties and responsibilities

Animal keeper example responsibilities.

Manage complicated water filtration systems, and implement nutrition plans for a variety of snake species.
Prepare diets according to USDA guidelines to help maintain foodsupplies and animal weights.
Aid in vaccinations, wind treatment, artificial insemination procedures, castrations, tagging and tattoos.
Assist in producing illustrations and animation material to develop tutoring videos for math and physics.
Help with incoming pets as well as with the adoption of the pet by their forever home families.

Pet care specialist example responsibilities.

Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
Interact on a professional level with other pet food company representatives and honor their interaction with customers.
Handle cash and perform all transactions at customer checkout -inform customers on exceptional pet care while offering excellent customer service
Perform euthanasia once lab exercises are complete.
Complete and certify to administer euthanasia.
Assist in answering customer questions regarding grooming, scheduling grooming appointments and maintaining salon cleanliness and safety.

Animal keeper vs pet care specialist skills

Common animal keeper skills

Animal Husbandry, 17%
Zoo Animals, 11%
Animal Exhibits, 10%
Exotic Animals, 6%
Animal Handling, 5%
AZA, 4%

Common pet care specialist skills

PET, 64%
Health Issues, 27%
Customer Service, 3%
Work Ethic, 1%
CPR, 1%
Walkers, 0%