Jobs with animals?

[Chrissytree]

My sister wants to work with animals but I think she's a bit uninspired. She currently works as the manager of a Blue Cross animal charity shop but doesn't get to do anything animal related.

She loves dogs. Her friend's husband is a dog handler with the RAF and she'd like to apply but needs a GCSE C in Maths (she got an E.) I'm thinking that kind of job would be a bit much for her in terms of having to spend three months abroad training then living on a base somewhere.

 She's applied for a job at a Blue Cross dog rescue centre but they hire internally even though they advertise. She'd have to volunteer before being considered and with a full time job that's not going to happen.

I suggested RSPCA but she says she wouldn't have the stomach to take people's pets or be shouted at. If only she had a bit more maths and science skill I reckon she'd make a great Veterinarian nurse.

Basically I was wondering what kind of jobs people do with animals and what kinds of qualifications you need to do it. I'd love to be able to go to her and give her some great ideas for a career

[Sukey]

I am a vet tech at an animal hospital.  I took a vet assistant 3 month course at nearby college.  Some who have been hired there have had no schooling for it whatsoever.  There are currently no registered techs at my hospital, although one of the girls was at one time.  For me it really isn't as glorious as it sounds, although I do love animals and enjoy working with them, this is not a job that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.  There is a lot of physical and emotional stress.  I hurt my back a lot trying to lift and restrain large dogs and you see a lot of sad things.  I get to clean up poop, pee and vomit all day long, and we see and smell a lot of gross things Unfortunately we are not appreciated either, even though we bust our butts everyday. On a positive note I have learned a lot about animals and things to look for with my own.  Of course I am sure every hospital is different.

She could volunteer at an animal shelter to get some experience and to see if it is something she would be interested in- it doesn't even have to be that often maybe even as little as once a month on a Saturday or something.

There are also other animal related jobs such as groomers, boarders, shelters or she could even start her own dog walking service   A few of the girls also dog or cat sit when someone goes out of town to make some extra money.

[northstar3184]

I'm an executive administrative assistant for my local SPCA. I started as a volunteer dog walker, then did event and clerical volunteer tasks, and now I work there part time. It'd be a good side job but since most SPCAs rely on donations for the majority of their funding (in our case 96%), pay is barely above minimum wage.

Also, I don't work directly with the animals, but for those that do it can be both rewarding and tough: It's rewarding to see animals get a second chance with a loving home or to see an animal get rescued from a bad situation. The aspect that usually makes it tough, to be honest, are some of the people. I've found that regardless of the model a shelter utilizes its a catch-22. I work in a shelter that basically follows a no-kill model, euthanizing only dangerous or terminally ill animals, or those with a poor medical prognosis. Because we won't euthanize healthy animals to make room for new ones, we have to turn a lot of people away because we are perpetually full. This makes people angry. There are other shelters around the area that will euthanize healthy animals in order to accommodate the high volume of surrenders. This also makes people angry. So people are mad either way, which can be tough.

[rearing_palomino164]

I agree with Sukey. Working at an animal hospital is not for the faint of heart. I'm a vet assistant and although it has its perks with seeing animals like puppies, kittens, and seeing sick animals get better, it does have its downfalls. LOTS of puke, pee, blood, poop..and yes you will get covered in it all. It even calls for a strong stomach. I love my job though even with all the stress and running around that goes with it. You never stop learning either!!!

If she wants a perky happy animal job, a groomer, boarder, even an animal caretaker at a ranch or a place like petsmart or petco may work.

[SnorkMaiden]

Something for your sister to look into is SQP training:

http://www.amtra.org.uk/index.php?page=sqp

An SQP is a registered and qualified animal health advisor. A lot of jobs with animals require an SQP. They're broken down into categories, so if your sister wants to work with dogs and other pets, she'd need a C-SQP to work with companion animals.

I passed my SQP exam earlier this year, and it's taught me so much. It's all self-study, so she could combine it with a full-time job (I did), but it is a lot of work, and if she's not the self-motivated type who enjoys studying, she might struggle. Also, you'd have to look into how expensive it is. I can't help you with that bit, as my company paid for my exam.

[kaoskat]

The vets offices around here hire kennel workers. You clean cages and walk/feed/play with boarded animals.

[Tulips]

I did a week of work experience in a vet when i was a teenager and decided i didn't want me be a vet/nurse/tech from that alone... but now I work as a groomer attached to that very same vet lol.

I trained on the job, started as an assistant bathing etc and am grooming now. My boss is a self taught groomer who came from the UK. We've both continued studying with online courses etc but nothing 'official'. While grooming is a wonderful job you do see a lot of dogs' bad sides and have to be good at handling them instinctively.

There are plenty more options of course. I'd personally love to try working in dog boarding but I've not explored that career yet.
I can also see working in a rescue as very rewarding at the same time as very trying.

[melodys_angel]

I was going ot suggest what snork said^^

Also--working with guide dogs to be sounds like something that would be up her alley--though id assume she would have to train for it first.

[pineapplecupcake]

I live in a pretty yuppie urban area, but around here you can make a decent living as a dog walker or pet sitter. Dog walking is usually steady because clients tend to buy a couple walks a week with the same person. We also have a ton of doggy daycare type businesses where people drop their dogs off for the day to get walked and cared for. Both jobs just require that you have knowledge of dogs, no special training although you can get some certifications if necessary (pet first aid and things like that).

[Chrissytree]

I think she'd make a good groomer. There's a few locally.

She can't really bring any dogs here as Gizmo, her Pomeranian, has a high play drive and barks at strange dogs. So that means Guide dog training is out and day care. She might be ok with dog walking but there seem to be quite a few advertised in the local paper but never any ads for new walkers so not sure there'd be a gap in the market.

Blue Cross is similar to the one you work for northstar3184. They don't put a healthy pet down but again they have to turn people away when they get full.

rearing_palomino164 and Sukey - Vet tech is not likely for her. She used to be a carer for the elderly and would be fairly squeamish about poop and stuff. She's finding her shop manager job stressful so I doubt she could cope with dying pets.

 SnorkMaiden - um... she's not very self motivated. Probably not right for her, lol.

She's not great at reading dogs, Tulips. I guess she's ok with her own but she's not great at dealing with Gizmo. He can be a handful and she sometimes gets annoyed by him. I'm not sure if the stress of her job that's causing her to have little patience with him sometimes. A groomer might be an option. She does ok with hers... but I do the nail cutting.

pineapplecupcake - we live in a small village. There's a couple of towns nearby so I suppose there might be enough business out there but maybe not as busy as a city would be.

Thanks so much for all the ideas. Nothing seems to be jumping out at me yet I think that's part of her problem. She's looking for perfect (and with a decent salary) but perfect just isn't out there.

[Tap Dancer]

um... she's not very self motivated.

If she wants to work with animals, she'd better get motivated. You can't be lazy when you're working with animals or children.

Our local SPCA is great because volunteers are welcome to come and go as they please. There is no schedule (unless you're an actual paid employee, of course.) You just sign in and out so they can keep track of who was there. I'm sure all shelters are run differently, though.

She could work in a pet shop, train to become a groomer or trainer, or start a dog walking or pet-sitting service.

[Chrissytree]

Oh, she's fine if she's got a target and she's a very competent shop manager she just doesn't have the self motivation to do a course where it'd be all down to her - without deadlines or support. She started learning French... she didn't keep it up long as she was doing it all by herself - if it had been an evening class she'd have stuck with it.

[Flitter]

um... she's not very self motivated.

If she wants to work with animals, she'd better get motivated. You can't be lazy when you're working with animals or children.

^this. Working with animals requires you to be constantly attentive and make decisions without direct supervision a lot of the time.
I've been working with animals, mostly dogs, for about 12 years now in jobs ranging from specialty supply retail to animal shelter attendant, but mostly grooming. I love working with dogs but have many coworkers in the past who thought the job would be like playing with dogs all day and didn't realize how hard of work it really is. It takes more than just being an animal lover to be able to work with them. If she doesn't think she can handle the spca and is not great at handling, and easily annoyed by her own dog I wouldn't suggest grooming. Maybe she's best staying more on the administrative side of helping animals.

[kellyponyfeathers]

I worked as a vet tech (nurse) for several years and LOVED it; still one of the best jobs I've ever had, and I still stay in touch with my old bosses and coworkers.  I didn't have any formal education in animal care, just a childhood filled with pets and horses, and it was good enough to get in and learn on the job.  As others have said, it's not for everyone.  There are highs and lows, miraculous recoveries and disappointing deaths, some crazy clients, and poop, pee, and vomit.  I think a lot depends on where you work; my first job had a great atmosphere and work environment, but then I moved and took another tech job, and the boss was nuts.  But some commenters have expressed frustrations with their work environments, where their bosses don't value their efforts, and I just wanted to say that it's not always like that.

All in all, if you're going to do it, I'd say work at a vet hospital in an affluent area, where the clients can afford to pay, so the business should do OK, and the vets can afford to pay the nurses a decent wage.  Vets might seem expensive from the outside, but it's actually a though gig and hard to make a profit; they spend 99 cents to make a dollar.  In my experience, the well-to-do vet hospitals also have the best work environments, I guess because there's not as much pressure on the bosses.  The down side is that you can't afford to live in that affluent area on a tech's salary, even a relatively high tech's salary, so you might have to drive in from some town nearby.

The same goes for petsitting and dogwalking.  People in an affluent area can afford to hire petsitters and walkers, but you can't afford to live there.  You can concentrate on making those people your clients, but you still have to live a bit outside.  But if you're a tech in a good hospital, the clients will come to you; they often ask for references for sitters, walkers, and groomers.  And that's a good way to make some extra money on the side.

And I guess the only other thing I would add is agreement with what others have said:  It's really hard to find a job with animals that is both rewarding and high-paying.

[Chrissytree]

thanks for all the opinions. The more I think about it the more I think she's looking in the wrong direction. It does sound like working with dogs is a bit too tough for her. I did a bit of research locally and only really found the jobs mentioned - except a hydrotherapy place where you need a bucket load of qualifications in physiotherapy, anatomy and pool maintenance.

I've suggested to her to go to a job agency and see if they can help her with inspiration. Try and figure out which parts of her job she likes the most and see if she can aim for something that includes those parts more prominently.