Headline risk
7%
Low RiskAnimal trainers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Weighted task overlap from O*NET
Median annual from BLS OEWS
BLS employment projections
O*NET job zone level
Occupation profile
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.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 0% effective coverage
Method contract
structural_pressure = exposure × (1 - bottleneck)
headline_risk = structural_pressure × (1 - country_demand_resilience)
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 38,750
Employment 2024
47.3K
Projected Change
5.1%
Openings
7.1K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Overall employment of animal care and service workers is projected to grow 11 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact. AI 0%
- 2. Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training. AI 0%
- 3. Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes. AI 0%
- 4. Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas. AI 0%
- 5. Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care. AI 0%
- 6. Evaluate animals for trainability and ability to perform. AI 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 36.9 · 55K employed
Under 25: 22% · 25–54: 53% · 55+: 24%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
major_group_fallback · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Animal care and service workers attend to or train animals.
Animal care and service workers are employed in a variety of settings, including kennels, zoos, stables, animal shelters, pet stores, veterinary clinics, and aquariums. Some parts of the job may be physically or emotionally demanding, and workers risk injury when caring for animals.
Animal care and service workers typically have a high school diploma or equivalent and learn the occupation on the job. Many employers prefer to hire candidates who have experience working with animals.
The median annual wage for animal caretakers was $33,470 in May 2024.
Overall employment of animal care and service workers is projected to grow 11 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.