Animal Care & Veterinary Careers

There are amazing opportunities to work with animals. If you're interested in making positive impact for animals and their owners, there are many ways to gain experience and practical skills that open doors to careers in animal preventive care, rehabilitation, and conservation. This guide showcases a few animal care career paths, the employment outlook, median salaries and local and state programs to get you on the path forward.

• Projected Employment
• Typical Wages
• Education, Certifications, Licensure & Apprenticeships
• Activities, Knowledge, Abilities & Skills
• Related Occupations

One of the best ways to learn about a range of career opportunities is through experiential (hands-on) learning through volunteering, internships, or job shadowing. There are numerous opportunities across Wayne and neighboring counties to gain this type of real-world exposure to careers in animal care and service.

These include:

Veterinarian assistants and laboratory animal caretakers play an important role in animal surgeries and overall care. They sterilize all equipment and operating tables, provide veterinarians tools during surgery, and closely monitor animals after surgery. Additionally, they may also disinfect kennels, administer medication to animals, perform routine laboratory tests such as x-rays, and collect samples, such as blood, urine, or tissue needed for diagnostic testing.

Veterinarian assistants and laboratory animal caretakers need a high school diploma. They don't always need certification to be hired, however certification demonstrates levels of competency in animal care & related business and can increase employment opportunities. Additionally, there is typically on the job training involved.

FAFSA Code: 015383

Veterinarians diagnose, treat, and research diseases and injuries of animals. Some work with smaller, domesticated animals, while others work with wild, farm & larger animals.

Veterinary technologists and technicians are responsible for the careful and humane handling of laboratory animals. Veterinary technologists and technicians, supervised by licensed veterinarians, do medical tests that help diagnose animals' injuries and illnesses.

Pre-Veterinarian courses are assigned to students who enter college after high school. Most veterinarians earn a Bachelor's degree in a related field and continue four additional years of education to earn a Doctoral Veterinarian Medical (DVM) degree.

Veterinarian technologists and technicians must complete a postsecondary program in veterinary technology. Technologists/Nurses usually require a four-year bachelor's degree and technicians need a two-year associate's degree.

FAFSA Code: 008906

There are also information webinars for those wanting to learn more about veterinary career pathways and programs offered by MSU.

FAFSA Code: 002290

Zoologists and wildlife biologists study animals and other wildlife and how they interact with their ecosystems. They study the physical characteristics of animals, animal behaviors, and the impacts humans have on wildlife and natural habitats.

Zoologists and wildlife biologists typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation. Students may pursue a degree in zoology, wildlife biology, or a related field, such as natural resources. Some students major in biology and take coursework in zoology and wildlife biology. Coursework focuses on life and physical sciences, data analysis and often includes academic, laboratory, and field work.

FAFSA Code: 002282

FAFSA Code: 002259

FAFSA Code: 002290

• Obtain FSA ID
• Complete the FAFSA Form
• Add the FAFSA school code

• 1-2-3 approach to paying for college
• Comparing financial aid offers

• Decoding financial aid offers

• Explore Health Careers
• Vet Set Go
• Purina Animal Nutrition Scholarship
• APVMA Pre-Vet Scholarships
• How to Become: Careers in Animal Care

This document includes just a sample of programs available in the Metro-Detroit area. Remember to check college or university websites for program offerings. Your school's career exploration tools will also highlight a variety of related careers and education and training institutions.

References: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook

Note: Inclusion of a program in our database does not indicate an endorsement by Wayne RESA. The database is for informational purposes only.

Department of Workforce Development, CTE, Adult Ed and Career Counseling