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The differences between wild animal caretakers and animal attendants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-3 months to become both a wild animal caretaker and an animal attendant. Additionally, a wild animal caretaker has an average salary of $27,846, which is higher than the $26,394 average annual salary of an animal attendant.
The top three skills for a wild animal caretaker include animal handling, facility laundry and general care. The most important skills for an animal attendant are PET, patients, and animal handling.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Attendant | |
| Yearly salary | $27,846 | $26,394 |
| Hourly rate | $13.39 | $12.69 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 11,735 | 53,000 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Years of experience | 3 | 3 |
A wild animal caretaker is responsible for administering care to animals at pet shops, kennels, aquariums, zoos, and research labs. They are tasked with grooming, feeding, giving water to, and exercising animals. They monitor animals, record their health conditions, and report any problems. They must have excellent communication, interpersonal, and time-management skills to excel in this role.
An animal attendant is responsible for administering high-quality care for the animals in a shelter, clinic, or wildlife preserve. Animal attendants monitor the health conditions of the animals, manage their food intake and medications, maintain the adequacy of animal stock inventories, and report any critical findings and unusual observations to the veterinarians. They also ensure the cleanliness and orderliness of all the facilities and cages, as well as the efficiency of tools and equipment to support daily animal operations.
Wild animal caretakers and animal attendants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Attendant | |
| Average salary | $27,846 | $26,394 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $37,000 | Between $20,000 And $34,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Ithaca, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Baylor College of Medicine |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a wild animal caretaker and an animal attendant in terms of educational background:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Attendant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 40% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | New York University | Ohio State University |
Here are the differences between wild animal caretakers' and animal attendants' demographics:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Attendant | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8% | Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |