Zoo keeper vs animal attendant

The differences between zoo keepers 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 zoo keeper and an animal attendant. Additionally, a zoo keeper has an average salary of $33,617, which is higher than the $26,394 average annual salary of an animal attendant.

The top three skills for a zoo keeper include animal husbandry, animal exhibits and AZA. The most important skills for an animal attendant are PET, patients, and animal handling.

Zoo keeper vs animal attendant overview

	Zoo Keeper	Animal Attendant
Yearly salary	$33,617	$26,394
Hourly rate	$16.16	$12.69
Growth rate	28%	28%
Number of jobs	4,468	53,000
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	32	32
Years of experience	3	3

Zoo keeper vs animal attendant salary

Zoo keepers and animal attendants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Zoo Keeper	Animal Attendant
Average salary	$33,617	$26,394
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $49,000	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

Differences between zoo keeper and animal attendant education

There are a few differences between a zoo keeper and an animal attendant in terms of educational background:

	Zoo Keeper	Animal Attendant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 67%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Cornell University	Ohio State University

Zoo keeper vs animal attendant demographics

Here are the differences between zoo keepers' and animal attendants' demographics:

	Zoo Keeper	Animal Attendant
Average age	32	32
Gender ratio	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%	Male, 29.2% Female, 70.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.8% Asian, 2.6% White, 68.3% 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%

Differences between zoo keeper and animal attendant duties and responsibilities

Zoo keeper example responsibilities.

Manage complicated water filtration systems, and implement nutrition plans for a variety of snake species.
Assist in producing illustrations and animation material to develop tutoring videos for math and physics.
Provide environmental enrichment for various mammal and raptor species.

Animal attendant example responsibilities.

Assist in managing shelter for animals and arranging for adoption or euthanasia of confiscate animals.
Skil at handling, restraining, husbandry and veterinary procedures with reptiles, mammals, raptors, amphibians, and songbirds.
Clean goat and pig yards, train goats and pigs, keep records.
Serve as midwife for birthing dogs, cats and goats.
Care for goats by providing them with feed every week.
Maintain cleanliness of the shelter and medicate animals direct by supervisor as needed.

Zoo keeper vs animal attendant skills

Common zoo keeper skills

Animal Husbandry, 17%
Animal Exhibits, 16%
AZA, 12%
USDA, 4%
Hoof, 4%
Animal Food, 4%

Common animal attendant skills

PET, 59%
Patients, 6%
Animal Handling, 6%
Cleanliness, 3%
Euthanasia, 3%
Autoclaves, 2%