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

What is a pet counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pet counselor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.1 an hour? That's $31,404 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 28% and produce 101,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a pet counselor?

Dr. Tommy Casarez Ph.D.

Dr., Assistant Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, Vanguard University

Opportunities come in many different shapes and sizes, but they are still out there. Whether you are seeking to land a job in education or the non-profit sector, you will need to familiarize yourself and get used to all things digital, for the sake of communicating effectively. The younger your student or service partner's mindset, the more digitally savvy you will need to be, especially in the classroom and in the non-profit world.

ScorePet CounselorUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $31,404

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 2.77%

Black or African American 4.76%

Hispanic or Latino 16.95%

Unknown 6.22%

White 68.85%

Gender

female 73.21%

male 26.79%

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 counselor

Explore pet counselor education requirements

Most common pet counselor degrees

Bachelor's

36.6 %

High School Diploma

35.6 %

Associate

20.9 %

Start to develop specific pet counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
PET	56.97%
Customer Service	30.50%
Sales Floor	3.90%
Product Knowledge	1.92%
Coats	1.62%

Complete relevant pet counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pet counselors 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 counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pet counselor resumes.

Research pet counselor duties and responsibilities

Achieve detailed grooming including skin, ear, nail care, coat clips and dental care.
Perform grooming duties such as washing brushing, clipping, and trimming coats.
Educate family of personal family pet necessities.
Assist in answering customer questions regarding grooming, scheduling grooming appointments and maintaining salon cleanliness and safety.

Prepare your pet counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pet counselor 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 counselor 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 counselor resume templates

Build a professional pet counselor 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 counselor resume.