Animals are great coworkers: They do not talk about their personal problems, they are generally in a good mood and they're excellent listeners. Employment opportunities for people who love animals are as varied as the creatures themselves. Depending on your personal goals and education, animal-related careers exist for people who love puppies and wish to sell them to people with doctorate degrees planning to follow their work around the world.
Biological Anthropologist
The Society & Animals journal explains that animal behavior and the way species interact provide insight into human behavior and evolution. Therefore, biological anthropologists conduct field work all across the globe to study animals. Their career can take them to Tanzania to study chimps or to Costa Rica to analyze amphibians.
Becoming an anthropologist who works with animals starts with years of schooling. Undergraduates can specialize in biology or anthropology; later, they can get a Ph.D. in anthropology, focusing exclusively on research and academic endeavors. Their work is highly technical and scientific, but by working with animals, they contribute to society's understanding of humans.
Pet Sitter
People who seek a more hands-on, less technical role with animals may find contentment as a pet sitter. Pet sitters can go to a client's home or have the pets come to their home; their job is to make sure the animal is well-fed and properly exercised and played with. Pet sitters must be trustworthy and tolerant: Some animals are unruly, loud or messy when their owners are away.
Pet sitters are usually paid hourly, or if the owner is gone for an extended period of time, daily. Pet sitting can be lucrative business, especially if employed through an organization or hotel specializing in pet sitting. Writer Leeann Trotter tells NBC that even in an economic recession, some pet hotels can thrive, offering dogs massages, pools and fancy suites. At the helm of these hotels are pet sitters.
Zoologist
Zoologists study animals in a number of different settings. Sometimes, they travel to an animal's natural habitat and make observations about how the animal eats, mates and hunts. They also study animals in laboratories and artificial habitats. Zoologists are like anthropologists in terms of their meticulous study, but zoologists make no connections between animals and people. Zoologists have years of fieldwork experience and are educated in biology. The office of a zoologist might be housed at corporation, nonprofit organization, university, zoo or museum.
Veterinarian
Veterinarians tend to sick or injured animals. They can also provide routine checkups and monitor the health of pets of all sizes. Veterinarians who aren't in business for themselves can work for zoos, universities, clinics, dairies and other animal-related enterprises. Vets usually specialize in a certain field, such as small animals like cats and dogs or commercial farm animals like cows and pigs. Vets, like doctors, attend four years of school after completing their undergraduate studies. They must complete rigorous exams and gain certification before working on their own.
Animal Breeding
If you love pedigreed animals, you might consider breeding them for money. This field elicits some scorn from animal rights activists and citizens who believe in adopting stray pets, but despite the criticism, breeding is big business. In 2009, a litter of purebred Pomeranians can easily fetch $500 per puppy. The same is true for exotic felines, such as Bengal and Chausie cats.
Becoming an animal breeder requires little more than possession of a male and female creature with good lineage, but breeding should be done responsibly: You must be willing to cover many veterinarian bills to ensure good health of the litters as well as provide constant care and attention.
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