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The differences between wild animal caretakers 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 wild animal caretaker and a pet care specialist. Additionally, a pet care specialist has an average salary of $31,162, 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 a pet care specialist are PET, health issues, and customer service.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $27,846 | $31,162 |
| Hourly rate | $13.39 | $14.98 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 11,735 | 117,277 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| 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.
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.
Wild animal caretakers and pet care specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Average salary | $27,846 | $31,162 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $37,000 | Between $20,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a wild animal caretaker and a pet care specialist in terms of educational background:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Biology | Biology |
| Most common college | New York University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between wild animal caretakers' and pet care specialists' demographics:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Care Specialist | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8% | Male, 25.5% Female, 74.5% |
| 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, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 2.6% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |