How To Become A Pet Care Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pet care associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

As a pet care associate, your job is to ensure the health and safety of pets. In other words, pet care associates assist customers who have pets like fish, dogs, birds, and other small mammals by treating them and making sure they are in perfect health.

These associates answer questions that customers may have about their animals, whether over the phone or in person. They also provide relevant advice to pet parents about the best product or food to buy for their pets. Plus, pet care associates ensure pets under their care are fed at the right time every day.

Most pet care associates pay keen attention to detail and are very passionate about animals. The pay is only about $32,555 per year, and a person applying for this role should have quick problem solving and fast learning ability. You must also have a deep knowledge of pet needs and a degree in biology, medical assisting services, or psychology.

ScorePet Care AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,635

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.49%

Asian 2.64%

Black or African American 4.32%

Hispanic or Latino 18.31%

Unknown 6.46%

White 67.79%

Gender

female 75.20%

male 24.80%

Age - 29

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 29

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pet care associate

Explore pet care associate education requirements

Most common pet care associate degrees

Bachelor's

38.2 %

High School Diploma

33.6 %

Associate

19.3 %

Start to develop specific pet care associate skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	55.18%
Customer Service	20.96%
Sales Floor	3.56%
Quality Care	3.11%
Administer Medications	1.64%

Complete relevant pet care associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pet care associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pet care associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pet care associate resumes.

Research pet care associate duties and responsibilities

Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
Prepare foods for various animals to include reptiles, snakes, hamsters, and birds etc.
Communicate with customers about events/concerns in which include their pet.
Assist patients in meeting their personal care needs and provide individualized interventions while encouraging patient involvement and promoting independence.

Prepare your pet care associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pet care associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pet care associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pet care associate resume templates

Build a professional pet care associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your pet care associate resume.