Top 5 Unusual Jobs For People Who Love Animals

Do you consider yourself to be an animal person more than a people person? When you go to a party, do you get better acquainted with the dog than with your fellow guests? If so, you’ve probably considered a career working with animals, and if you haven’t you need to. There are many more options than the typical choices of working as a zookeeper or veterinarian. There are all kinds of unique positions worth pursuing, with most requiring much less education. These are the top five unusual jobs for people who love animals.

Seeing-Eye Dog Trainer

Seeing-eye dogs are like real-life superheroes, and they didn’t get that way by chance. It takes dedicated trainers to help a dog become a seeing-eye dog. Being a seeing-eye dog trainer starts with apprenticing or certification completion before taking on the position yourself. Compared to other animal-related positions the pay for dog trainers isn’t too bad. You can make as much as a schoolteacher in this position, the median salary being $33,600 per year.

Herdsperson

Livestock like cattle requires dedicated workers to have a quality standard of living. As a herdsperson, you will be responsible for tending to cattle, or other herd animals, and making sure that your team is working together. You must be willing to work long hours and face all kinds of weather scenarios. You should be at least a high school graduate and have experience working on a farm and/or around animals. A herdsperson makes $12/hour on average and gets the benefit of working in a specialized field with secure employment. Those interested in this position can check out Smithfield Foods jobs, they currently have openings for herdspeople.

Animal Cruelty Investigator

As unthinkable as it might be, there are people out there who cause pain and suffering to animals. Thankfully, we are making it clear that we won’t stand for it any longer. Animal cruelty investigators are a crucial part of making sure animals that are mistreated receive justice. An animal cruelty investigator should have experience in law enforcement and/or tending to animals. They can make as much as $57,000 per year.

Animal Shelter Manager

Animal shelters are one of the important institutions around. As an animal shelter manager, you’ll be responsible for caretaking for a large number of animals around the year and working to keep your budget afloat. You can make as much as $43,000 a year in this position and can rise through the ranks by starting as a volunteer.

Dog Walker

If you experience with taking care of dogs, this position is perfect for you. Dog walking is a viable career, particularly in big cities where plenty of people have dogs that need to get out of their cramped apartments. As a dog walker, you can earn about $24,000 a year on average. While this isn’t a huge amount, it can be a great way to supplement an existing income and enjoy plenty of great exercise and relationships with clients, both canine and human.

Working with animals requires a special kind of bond with non-human species. It means being able to understand someone even if they don’t speak the same language as you. It means being as patient as possible and working to earn their trust. If you’re capable of accomplishing all that, any of these careers would be perfect for you.