Considering a career in animals

[arlyt]

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I currently hold a MS in Arts Technology and am 25. The thought of spending the next 40+ years doing this brings me to tears. I am a designer for a large company and weekly I get to go to the humane society in town and take photos of the animals/volunteer on the weekends.

Ever since high school I knew I wanted to work with animals, my mother who is a LND refused this as a choice in college so instead of doing Marine Biology I did design. Her thought was if I did this I would work the rest of my life at Joe's Fish Store. I love dogs and sea life my sister works for Marine World in San Diego and spends time with the whale trainers who make around 30k a year.

My main problem is what type of degree would be best for me and it seems like animal jobs are quite limited. I can look online in Portland and find dog/shelther jobs that pay between 10-12 dollars an hour. Course they do not require a degree but again 10-12 dollars an hour doesnt pay the bills. I prefer not to do a job with animals that deals with open body parts. My mom pops a baby out of a mother and I am on the floor passed out. Blood and me do not mix well. 😱

Have any of you open your own animal shelter/babysit/dog walker/training place?

I have also thought about doing a MS in counseling for people and taking a few animal behavioral classes so I could do both. After all the majority of animal problems are the results of the owners.
Thanks for listening

 

[pressmom]

One thing the office manager at my old vet clinic had thought about doing is running a private upscale boarding facility. She had built up a big client list of animals that she watched while the owners were on vacation and last I talked to her, she was thinking about turning this into an actual physical boarding place. Of course, she had lots of experience working around animals at vet clinics and other kennels as well as a list of clients. I would probably recommend starting to dog and cat (and whatever you feel comfortable with--lots of people looking for reptile, small mammal and bird sitters too!) sit and build up a list of clients and see if this is something you would enjoy doing. Of course, to actually run a business, you'd have to have managerial and financial skills, which is why you should probably get your feet wet slowly. Maybe pick up weekend shifts at a local kennel and advertise yourself as a pet sitter in local newspapers/magazines.

 

[Pandacinny]

You could look into laboratory work. Being a lab animal caretaker, you deal with lots and lots of animals all day - providing them with housing, food, toys, and treats. Mostly rats and mice, but it depends on your facility. There could also be dogs, cats, pigs, primates, you name it. I don't know that it would start out paying great or what the opportunities are like in Portland, but it might be something to think about.

 

[BrumleyVet]

Don't cut yourself short if you really want to work with animals. I'm like you around humans - my stomach gets queasy just watching my husband inject his insulin, yet I can't even count how many animals I have stitched up by myself! At the very least try going back for your Marine Biology degree - you never know where you'll end up!

 

[twelvetigers]

There's always grooming. I have no idea what kind of money is in it, but you can work your own hours and set your own wages. Just a thought!

 

[lailanni]

Unfortunately, most animal related jobs don't pay very well.

Of the shelters I've been involved with, they have all been strapped for cash and the people were paid very little, if they got paid. From my eyes it seemed to be a very difficult lifestyle.

Degree related animal jobs (tech, vet) will require you to see blood, etc. Even if you're going into, say, research as a DVM you'll still need to see all that sort of gore in vet school.

The other suggestions are good - pet sitting, kennel person, grooming.

I'll suggest being a receptionist at a clinic. Our receptionists don't see too much gross stuff. They get to check the people/animals in, talk to the owners and play with the pets while they're waiting. Of course there are tough parts to that job too, but little blood involved.

Another suggestion (if you're in a large city) walking pets. I was house sitting a fancy downtown condo. The building had a pet walker, her job was just to walk the dogs when their owners weren't home. Seemed like a nice job to me!

 

[PrimalMU]

I agree, don't cut yourself short. You may find it surprising how quickly you get over the blood-and-guts queasiness. I remember the first surgery I watched, a kitten spay, made me pretty nauseous. After watching my second surgery I could handle anything. Its really just a matter of going in with the right frame of mind and desensitizing yourself.

 

[david594]

I agree, don't cut yourself short. You may find it surprising how quickly you get over the blood-and-guts queasiness. I remember the first surgery I watched, a kitten spay, made me pretty nauseous. After watching my second surgery I could handle anything. Its really just a matter of going in with the right frame of mind and desensitizing yourself.

Yup... right up till that time when you have to prepare for your first specimen for rabies testing... then your back to step 1.

 

[Pandacinny]

Yup... right up till that time when you have to prepare for your first specimen for rabies testing... then your back to step 1.

Oh, memories. I've never prepared one myself, but when I worked for a summer at an animal control facility, one person thought it would be funny to call me in to "help him with something near the freezer" and NOT tell me that that something was setting up a specimen to be sent out for rabies testing. He just wanted to see my reaction,. 🙄

 

[PrimalMU]

Yup... right up till that time when you have to prepare for your first specimen for rabies testing... then your back to step 1.

Dang, I knew I'd missed out on something!