Pet caretaker vs animal care technician

The differences between pet caretakers 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 a pet caretaker and an animal care technician. Additionally, a pet caretaker has an average salary of $30,478, which is higher than the $29,617 average annual salary of an animal care technician.

The top three skills for a pet caretaker include PET, administer medications and facility laundry. The most important skills for an animal care technician are patients, animal husbandry, and pigs.

Pet caretaker vs animal care technician overview

	Pet Caretaker	Animal Care Technician
Yearly salary	$30,478	$29,617
Hourly rate	$14.65	$14.24
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	19,782	96,973
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Pet caretaker vs animal care technician salary

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

	Pet Caretaker	Animal Care Technician
Average salary	$30,478	$29,617
Salary range	Between $19,000 And $47,000	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 pet caretaker and animal care technician education

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

	Pet Caretaker	Animal Care Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Michigan - Ann Arbor	New York University

Pet caretaker vs animal care technician demographics

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

	Pet Caretaker	Animal Care Technician
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 29.4% Female, 70.6%	Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 2.7% White, 67.9% 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 pet caretaker and animal care technician duties and responsibilities

Pet caretaker example responsibilities.

Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
Walk/Exercise dogs and clean up after them (pet messes, spil food or water, clean kennels )
Provide daily pet care to animals, including: walking, grooming, trips to veterinarian, overnight care.
Assist in answering customer questions regarding grooming, scheduling grooming appointments and maintaining salon cleanliness and safety.
Create styles as requested by clients to include hand scissor jobs, breed trims and maintenance clips.

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.

Pet caretaker vs animal care technician skills

Common pet caretaker skills

PET, 80%
Administer Medications, 7%
Facility Laundry, 3%
Coats, 2%
Food Intake, 2%
Scheduling Appointments, 2%

Common animal care technician skills

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