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The differences between wild animal caretakers and pet sitters 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 sitter. Additionally, a wild animal caretaker has an average salary of $27,846, which is higher than the $25,823 average annual salary of a pet sitter.
The top three skills for a wild animal caretaker include animal handling, facility laundry and general care. The most important skills for a pet sitter are PET, walkers, and clients homes.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Sitter | |
| Yearly salary | $27,846 | $25,823 |
| Hourly rate | $13.39 | $12.41 |
| Growth rate | 28% | 28% |
| Number of jobs | 11,735 | 21,735 |
| Job satisfaction | 3 | - |
| 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.
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.
Wild animal caretakers and pet sitters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Sitter | |
| Average salary | $27,846 | $25,823 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $37,000 | Between $10,000 And $62,000 |
| 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 wild animal caretaker and a pet sitter in terms of educational background:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Sitter | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Here are the differences between wild animal caretakers' and pet sitters' demographics:
| Wild Animal Caretaker | Pet Sitter | |
| Average age | 32 | 32 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 26.2% Female, 73.8% | Male, 19.7% Female, 80.3% |
| 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, 18.1% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |