Animal shelter worker vs animal care provider

The differences between animal shelter workers and animal care providers 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 shelter worker and an animal care provider. Additionally, an animal shelter worker has an average salary of $33,011, which is higher than the $24,866 average annual salary of an animal care provider.

The top three skills for an animal shelter worker include crisis intervention, mental health and direct care. The most important skills for an animal care provider are PET, administer medications, and husbandry.

Animal shelter worker vs animal care provider overview

	Animal Shelter Worker	Animal Care Provider
Yearly salary	$33,011	$24,866
Hourly rate	$15.87	$11.95
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	72,185	70,701
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Animal shelter worker vs animal care provider salary

Animal shelter workers and animal care providers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Animal Shelter Worker	Animal Care Provider
Average salary	$33,011	$24,866
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $49,000	Between $14,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between animal shelter worker and animal care provider education

There are a few differences between an animal shelter worker and an animal care provider in terms of educational background:

	Animal Shelter Worker	Animal Care Provider
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 48%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Psychology	Biology
Most common college	Texas A&M University - Commerce	Stanford University

Animal shelter worker vs animal care provider demographics

Here are the differences between animal shelter workers' and animal care providers' demographics:

	Animal Shelter Worker	Animal Care Provider
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3%	Male, 25.1% Female, 74.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.4% 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, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between animal shelter worker and animal care provider duties and responsibilities

Animal shelter worker example responsibilities.

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Maintain an aquatic system of zebrafish and rotifers.
Assist veterinarians, veterinary technicians and veterinary assistants in providing the best care possible for patients.
Milk animals such as cows and goats, by hand or using milking machines.

Animal care provider example responsibilities.

Maintain care on the horses, pigs, goats and sheep.
Work with turtles, snakes, frogs, skunk and owl.
Fed and water horses, chickens, goats, pigs, cows and dogs.
Locate pet product merchants willing to donate food/ toys/ litter to families struggling to financially provide for their pets.
Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.
Milk animals such as cows and goats, by hand or using milking machines.

Animal shelter worker vs animal care provider skills

Common animal shelter worker skills

Crisis Intervention, 15%
Mental Health, 14%
Direct Care, 11%
Emergency Shelter, 10%
Client Intake, 10%
Community Resources, 9%

Common animal care provider skills

PET, 35%
Administer Medications, 17%
Husbandry, 9%
Animal Housing, 7%
Customer Service, 7%
Laboratory Animals, 6%

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Animal Shelter Worker
Animal Shelter Worker vs Animal Care Provider

Updated January 8, 2025

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