Aquarist vs animal care technician

The differences between aquarists and animal care technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both an aquarist and an animal care technician. Additionally, an aquarist has an average salary of $32,605, which is higher than the $29,617 average annual salary of an animal care technician.

The top three skills for an aquarist include animal husbandry, scuba and water chemistry. The most important skills for an animal care technician are patients, animal husbandry, and pigs.

Aquarist vs animal care technician overview

	Aquarist	Animal Care Technician
Yearly salary	$32,605	$29,617
Hourly rate	$15.68	$14.24
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	737	96,973
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Aquarist vs animal care technician salary

Aquarists and animal care technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Aquarist	Animal Care Technician
Average salary	$32,605	$29,617
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $48,000	Between $21,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	-	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	Oregon
Best paying company	-	Emory University
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between aquarist and animal care technician education

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

	Aquarist	Animal Care Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 84%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	New York University

Aquarist vs animal care technician demographics

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

	Aquarist	Animal Care Technician
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 43.3% Female, 56.7%	Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.3% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between aquarist and animal care technician duties and responsibilities

Aquarist example responsibilities.

Manage complicated water filtration systems, and implement nutrition plans for a variety of snake species.
Prepare and assist with an AZA accreditation.
Assist with first AZA accreditation process of the zoo.
Maintain facility cleanliness to meet and exceed all USDA standards.
Exceed all minimum requirements set by USDA, and assist USDA personnel during facility inspections.
Complete physical checks and monitor patients to detect unusual or harmful behavior and report observations to professional staff.

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.

Aquarist vs animal care technician skills

Common aquarist skills

Animal Husbandry, 15%
Scuba, 14%
Water Chemistry, 7%
Food Preparation, 6%
Cleanliness, 6%
Life Support Systems, 5%

Common animal care technician skills

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