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The differences between pet sitters and pet care specialists 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 sitter and a pet care specialist. Additionally, a pet care specialist has an average salary of $31,162, which is higher than the $25,823 average annual salary of a pet sitter.
The top three skills for a pet sitter include PET, walkers and clients homes. The most important skills for a pet care specialist are PET, health issues, and customer service.
| Pet Sitter | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $25,823 | $31,162 |
| Hourly rate | $12.41 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 21,735 | 117,277 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A pet sitter is responsible for taking care of household pets while their owners are away. Pet sitters perform services for pet maintenance, including taking them to the veterinarian, monitoring their food, walk them in the park, and administer medications, if any. They also reach out to the pet owners for possible updates and emergencies, taking their instructions immediately. Apart from being highly communicative and organizational, a pet sitter should have an interest and passion in taking care of pets to ensure high-quality services.
Pet care specialists are professionals who are responsible for maintaining the health and safety of pets by providing them their basic needs. These specialists are required to educate pet owners about proper pet care and maintenance while creating personalized customer service to maintain customer loyalty. They must help and assist customers with their needs by providing professional and courteous customer service. Pet care specialists must also order useful items for the store while conducting in-store audits on their inventory.
Pet sitters and pet care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pet Sitter | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Average salary | $25,823 | $31,162 |
| Salary range | Between $10,000 And $62,000 | Between $20,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | Newport, RI | - |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | - |
| Best paying company | CARE | - |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | - |
There are a few differences between a pet sitter and a pet care specialist in terms of educational background:
| Pet Sitter | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Biology |
| Most common college | University of Massachusetts Amherst | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between pet sitters' and pet care specialists' demographics:
| Pet Sitter | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.7% Female, 80.3% | Male, 25.5% Female, 74.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |