Animal-Related Employment

[Chris&Akilah]

How many of you work with animals for a living? Please describe your job, if it is sustaining and rewarding, and how you managed to get into it. Thanks!! (paying job...parrot parent doesn't count )

[Tandi]

When I was studying at university I had an animal related job and I did quite well on it...I paid rent and bought groceries and paid off my varsity fees! I worked as a specimen collector at the horse racing, this means that I took either urine or blood samples from race horses to test for drugs or banned/illegal substances. It was not a bad job and I would only work when there was racing!

My fiancee works as a stud farm manager at the moment, but he is about to make a move to be an assistant trainer at a racing yard, which is what he has the most experience in (18 years)! The salary he will earn then will be almost double what he is earning now!

Animal jobs generally don't pay well here, I personally think! I'm not sure about where you are from...

[Giantmoa]

this is sort of my vague dream... I'm still a high school student but I volunteer at a zoo and get handling experience with raptors, reptiles, and exotic mammals as well as plenty of public-speaking opportunities. I love everything to do with it, even cleaning all day till I'm sore the next morning. So right now I'm aiming for anything to do with animals as my future employment (big animal or avian/exotic vet, zoo keeper... or whatever is the most realistic/works out)

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Well, now that I am pushing the half century mark, I think I SHOULD have done that veterinary degree but that's 20/20 hindsight. The closest I've come was several years as a volunteer therapeutic riding instructor, as a sideline to my day job.

[TheNzJessie]

Well, now that I am pushing the half century mark, I think I SHOULD have done that veterinary degree but that's 20/20 hindsight. The closest I've come was several years as a volunteer therapeutic riding instructor, as a sideline to my day job.

hey hey entranced its never to late my boss is a vet she is in her 50s did a vet degree 21 years ago and is still studying today. yesterday it was so temping she had a big thick book on the table called 'avian medicine' was soo temping to steal it and read it

but as for my im going to be a zoo keeper, im working at a zoo right now and aiming to enroll for captive wild animals course somewhere in november... the things i do are cleaning, food prep dishes, feeding. yesterday i got to feed a baby wallaby (a joey, to cute) and we spent half a day sparrow proofing the aviaries....the cockatoos cant stand sparrows in there food dishes, this consisted of threading netting around the bottom of the avaries and making clay will fill in gaps.....i got the clay job.... i love working there and its defiantly what i want to do since i was about 4:)

[iknowwhatiknow]

I work in a high school. That's kind of like working with animals.