Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Animal Caretakers
Occupation · SOC 39-2021.00
Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.
Also called: Aquarist · Dog Groomer · Groomer · Kennel Technician (Kennel Tech) · Animal Care Giver (ACG) · Dog Bather · Kennel Attendant · Pet Groomer · Pet Stylist · Zookeeper · Animal Care Attendant · Animal Care Service Worker
Job family: Personal Care and Service Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-39-2021-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- Growing fast employment outlook (+12.1% by 2034)
- 74,600 openings/yr
- High AI exposure
- Median pay $33,470/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (66th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (45th)
45th-percentile task overlap — yet about 74,600 openings a year (+12.1% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 21st | -0.9 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Moderate | 36th | 0.4 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High | 80th | 0.2 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.2), with simple added tooling (β 0.3), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.4). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.8 · 66th percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities. | 0.3% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | Growing fast · +12.1% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 74,600 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 392,100 → 439,600 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Animal Caretakers sits at the 14th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
14% mean task exposure (2025)
14th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Pet Groomers and Animal Care Workers · 5164 | 14% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 22 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions. Core · importance 4.8
- Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment. Core · importance 4.7
- Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury. Core · importance 4.6
- Mix food, liquid formulas, medications, or food supplements according to instructions, prescriptions, and knowledge of animal species. Core · importance 4.5
- Do facility laundry and clean, organize, maintain, and disinfect animal quarters, such as pens and stables, and equipment, such as saddles and bridles. Core · importance 4.5
- Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health. Core · importance 4.4
- Collect and record animal information, such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake. Core · importance 4.4
- Observe and caution children petting and feeding animals in designated areas to ensure the safety of humans and animals. Supplemental · importance 4.3
- Clean and disinfect surgical equipment. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Find homes for stray or unwanted animals. Supplemental · importance 4.2
- Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities. Core · importance 4.2
- Answer telephones and schedule appointments. Core · importance 4.2
- Advise pet owners on how to care for their pets' health. Core · importance 4.0
- Discuss with clients their pets' grooming needs. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Transfer animals between enclosures to facilitate breeding, birthing, shipping, or rearrangement of exhibits. Supplemental · importance 3.9
- Perform animal grooming duties, such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears. Core · importance 3.9
- Adjust controls to regulate specified temperature and humidity of animal quarters, nurseries, or exhibit areas. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Anesthetize and inoculate animals, according to instructions. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Install, maintain, and repair animal care facility equipment, such as infrared lights, feeding devices, and cages. Supplemental · importance 3.8
- Train animals to perform certain tasks. Supplemental · importance 3.7
- Order, unload, and store feed and supplies. Supplemental · importance 3.4
- Sell pet food and supplies. Supplemental · importance 2.9
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Scuba dive in aquariums to perform exhibit maintenance.
- Train volunteers and facility staff.
Work activities
- Clean facilities or work areas.
- Perform housekeeping duties.
- Maintain facilities.
- Confer with clients to discuss treatment plans or progress.
- Provide care for animals.
- Provide health and wellness advice to patients, program participants, or caregivers.
- Care for animals.
- Schedule appointments.
- Perform administrative or clerical tasks.
- Monitor health or behavior of people or animals.
- Respond to customer inquiries.
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
- Document client health or progress.
- Maintain supply or equipment inventories.
- Order materials, supplies, or equipment.
- Prepare foods or meals.
- Clean tools or equipment.
- Discuss service options or needs with clients.
- Monitor patron activities to identify problems or potential problems.
- Explain regulations, policies, or procedures.
- Train animals.
- Sell products or services.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.2 | |
| Administrative | 3.1 | |
| English Language | 3.1 | |
| Education and Training | 2.6 | |
| Administration and Management | 2.5 | |
| Psychology | 2.5 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.1 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.1 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.1 | |
| Static Strength | 3.1 | |
| Near Vision | 3.1 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Trunk Strength | 3.0 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.0 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 2.9 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.9 | |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.9 | |
| Far Vision | 2.9 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.8 | |
| Stamina | 2.8 | |
| Category Flexibility | 2.6 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.6 | |
| Selective Attention | 2.6 | |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.6 | |
| Written Expression | 2.5 |
Essential skills
| Monitoring | 3.1 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | |
| Active Listening | 3.0 | |
| Speaking | 2.9 | |
| Writing | 2.8 | |
| Critical Thinking | 2.8 |
Transferable skills
| Coordination | 3.0 | |
| Service Orientation | 3.0 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 2.8 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 2.6 | |
| Time Management | 2.5 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences , Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 63.5% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 13.6% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 13.4% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 9.5% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Interest areas
| Animal Service | 6.8 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 4.7 | |
| Health Care Service | 3.0 | |
| Personal Service | 2.6 | |
| Life Science | 2.6 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 2.2 | |
| Social Service | 2.1 | |
| Teaching/Education | 2.1 | |
| Agriculture | 1.9 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.2 | |
| Social | 3.8 | |
| Conventional | 3.3 | |
| Investigative | 2.8 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 2.3 | |
| Cooperation | 2.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 1.9 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $24,500 |
| 25th percentile | $28,870 |
| Median (50th) | $33,470 |
| 75th percentile | $37,160 |
| 90th percentile | $46,480 |
| People employed | 277,300 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 154,470 | $33,280 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 41,030 | $30,550 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 39,800 | $32,050 |
| Veterinary Services · National industry | 38,390 | $30,000 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 19,510 | $35,700 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 6,560 | $34,930 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 2,780 | $38,070 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 1,350 | $38,070 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector | 1,070 | $38,160 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 780 | $36,190 |
| Accommodation and Food Services · Sector | 720 | $36,230 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 590 | $32,240 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Veterinary Services · National industry | 46.03× | 38,390 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 19.4× | 154,470 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 8.62× | 6,560 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 4.11× | 19,510 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 2.12× | 41,030 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 1.42× | 39,800 |
| Theater Companies and Dinner Theaters · National industry | 1.23× | 160 |
| Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry | 0.19× | 160 |
Related occupations
Part of the Agriculture career cluster.
- Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers · 31-9096.00 Compare →
- Animal Trainers · 39-2011.00 Compare →
- Animal Breeders · 45-2021.00 Compare →
- Veterinary Technologists and Technicians · 29-2056.00 Compare →
- Animal Control Workers · 33-9011.00 Compare →
- Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals · 45-2093.00 Compare →
- Personal Care Aides · 31-1122.00 Compare →
- Childcare Workers · 39-9011.00 Compare →
- Home Health Aides · 31-1121.00 Compare →
- Nursing Assistants · 31-1131.00 Compare →
- Veterinarians · 29-1131.00 Compare →
- Animal Scientists · 19-1011.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Animal Caretakers — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences · field of study
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 14th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Animal Caretakers show 45th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 74,600 annual U.S. openings
- Animal Caretakers rank in the 45th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 74,600 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+12.1%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $33,470, across about 277,300 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Animal Caretakers show 45th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 74,600 annual U.S. openings • Animal Caretakers rank in the 45th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 74,600 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be growing fast (+12.1%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $33,470, across about 277,300 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Animal Caretakers". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-39-2021-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Animal Caretakers." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-39-2021-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Animal Caretakers. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-39-2021-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-39-2021-00,
title = {Animal Caretakers},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-39-2021-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.