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The differences between wild animal 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 wild animal caretaker and an animal care technician. Additionally, an animal care technician has an average salary of $29,617, which is higher than the $27,846 average annual salary of a wild animal caretaker.
The top three skills for a wild animal caretaker include animal handling, facility laundry and general care. The most important skills for an animal care technician are patients, animal husbandry, and pigs.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Care Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $27,846 | $29,617 |
| Hourly rate | $13.39 | $14.24 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 11,735 | 96,973 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| 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 care technician is an animal medical professional who is responsible for providing care to animals in the clinical or research setting. Animal care technicians take blood or stool samples from animals and run laboratory tests to determine the cause of an ailment. They often take charge of bathing and grooming animals as well as administer anesthesia before procedures. Animal care technicians are also required to speak to the pet's owners to help them understand the diagnosis and administer medication.
Wild animal caretakers and animal care technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Care Technician | |
| Average salary | $27,846 | $29,617 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $37,000 | 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 |
There are a few differences between a wild animal caretaker and an animal care technician in terms of educational background:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Care Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | New York University | New York University |
Here are the differences between wild animal caretakers' and animal care technicians' demographics:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Animal Care Technician | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8% | Male, 31.1% Female, 68.9% |
| 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, 4.3% 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% |