Do you love taking care of your cat or dog? Do you like to raise fish, snakes, hamsters or rats? Then you may enjoy a career working with animals! While the pay in this area is not always as high as others with similar education requirements, knowing you are helping our furry, scaled or feathered friends can be tremendously satisfying. 

On this page you can learn more about how to make a living working with animals as well as information on specific careers and where you can obtain training or educational experience. 

Want to learn more about other types of careers? Check out our "Careers by Interest Area" page here!
RIASEC Categories: Realistic, Investigative

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Occupations by Education Level

Certificate or License ​
AA Degree (Community College)
​Bachelor's Degree
​Doctoral Degree (Medical School)

Local / Statewide Programs

Get Experience Now!

You can get experience in this field in the following ways:
  • Volunteer for a local wildlife rehabilitation center such as Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation, Barry R Kirshner Wildlife Foundation, the Butte Humane Society or the Chico Animal Shelter
  • Raise animals yourself! Learn how to take care of animals such as fish, snakes, hamsters or even cats and dogs. 
  • Get a part-time job at a veterinarian's office or other animal-related business.
  • Learn as much as you can from books, videos and the Internet on taking care of animals. 
  • Reach out to a business, organization or person in the career area you are interested in and ask for information on what the job is really like and what type of education or experience is recommended. 

Career Videos

Veterinary Assistant
Veterinary Technician / Technologist
Veterinarian
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists

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