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Pet counselor vs animal care technician

The differences between pet counselors 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 counselor and an animal care technician. Additionally, a pet counselor has an average salary of $31,404, which is higher than the $29,617 average annual salary of an animal care technician.

The top three skills for a pet counselor include PET, customer service and sales floor. The most important skills for an animal care technician are patients, animal husbandry, and pigs.

Pet counselor vs animal care technician overview

Pet CounselorAnimal Care Technician
Yearly salary$31,404$29,617
Hourly rate$15.10$14.24
Growth rate28%28%
Number of jobs44,05096,973
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age3232
Years of experience33

Pet counselor vs animal care technician salary

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

Pet CounselorAnimal Care Technician
Average salary$31,404$29,617
Salary rangeBetween $22,000 And $44,000Between $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 counselor and animal care technician education

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

Pet CounselorAnimal Care Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 37%Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common majorBusinessBiology
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNew York University

Pet counselor vs animal care technician demographics

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

Pet CounselorAnimal Care Technician
Average age3232
Gender ratioMale, 26.8% Female, 73.2%Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 2.8% White, 68.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between pet counselor and animal care technician duties and responsibilities

Pet counselor example 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.
  • Used touch point and SMS and can quickly adapt to other computer software's.

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.
  • Show more

Pet counselor vs animal care technician skills

Common pet counselor skills
  • PET, 57%
  • Customer Service, 30%
  • Sales Floor, 4%
  • Product Knowledge, 2%
  • Coats, 2%
  • Customer Complaints, 2%
Common animal care technician skills
  • Patients, 10%
  • Animal Husbandry, 9%
  • Pigs, 5%
  • Patient Care, 5%
  • Animal Handling, 5%
  • GLP, 4%

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