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Personal Care39-2011.00Specialization

Animal Trainers

Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for assisting persons with disabilities. Accustom animals to human voice and contact, and condition animals to respond to commands. Train animals according to prescribed standards for show or competition. May train animals to carry pack loads or work as part of pack team.

$38,810
Median Pay
Less than 6 months
Training
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This is a specialization of

Animal Care Workers

Career Overview Video

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 4/6: low AI task exposure means AI will assist but humans remain essential

🟡AI-Augmented

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
Low+2

10% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Stable+1

+5% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 17/25

Total Score4/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09
View full methodology →

Key Responsibilities

  • Cue or signal animals during performances.
  • Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
  • Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
  • Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
  • Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
  • Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training.
  • Administer prescribed medications to animals.
  • Keep records documenting animal health, diet, or behavior.
  • Evaluate animals for trainability and ability to perform.
  • Advise animal owners regarding the purchase of specific animals.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Time to Job Ready

0-1 years

Based on Job Zone 2. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

Atlassian JIRACustomer information control system CICSDatabase softwareEpic SystemsFacebookMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft ProjectMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft WordOracle DatabaseOracle PeopleSoftSAP software

Key Abilities

Problem SensitivityOral ExpressionOral ComprehensionInformation OrderingSpeech ClarityFluency of IdeasOriginalityDeductive ReasoningSpeech RecognitionWritten Comprehension

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Compensation Details

$28,960
10th Percentile
$38,810
Median
$65,320
90th Percentile

Based on 19,240 employed workers

Also Known As

Agility InstructorAnimal HandlerAnimal TrainerBronc BreakerBronc BusterCanine HandlerCanine Service TeacherCat GroomerDog GroomerDog Handler

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 39-2011.00