Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IRC

Animal Scientists

Conduct research in the genetics, nutrition, reproduction, growth, and development of domestic farm animals.

Also called: Animal Nutritionist, Animal Scientist, Beef Cattle Nutritionist, Research Scientist, Animal Nutrition Consultant, Beef Cattle Specialist, Companion Animal Nutritionist, Dairy Nutrition Consultant.

O*NET 19-1011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $68,940; Middle half earn $49,770 to $103,300. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 43% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Study nutritional requirements of animals and nutritive values of animal feed materials.
Write up or orally communicate research findings to the scientific community, producers, and the public.
Develop improved practices in feeding, housing, sanitation, or parasite and disease control of animals.
Advise producers about improved products and techniques that could enhance their animal production efforts.
Conduct research concerning animal nutrition, breeding, or management to improve products or processes.
Study effects of management practices, processing methods, feed, or environmental conditions on quality and quantity of animal products, such as eggs and milk.
Research and control animal selection and breeding practices to increase production efficiency and improve animal quality.
Determine genetic composition of animal populations and heritability of traits, using principles of genetics.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Science4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5
Active Listening3.9 / 5
Speaking3.9 / 5

Knowledge areas

Biology4.6 / 5
Mathematics4.1 / 5
English Language4.1 / 5
Chemistry4.0 / 5
Food Production3.8 / 5
Education and Training3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic71
Investigative99
Artistic16
Social16
Enterprising23
Conventional39

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

animal behaviourist · DE Tierverhaltensforscher/Tierverhaltensforscherin · FR comportementaliste animalier/comportementaliste animalière
biologist · DE Biologe/Biologin · FR biologiste
aquaculture biologist · DE Biologe im Bereich Aquakultur/Biologin im Bereich Aquakultur · FR biologiste en aquaculture
general veterinarian · DE Allgemeintierarzt/Allgemeintierärztin · FR vétérinaire
official veterinarian · DE Amtstierarzt/Amtstierärztin · FR inspecteur vétérinaire
specialised veterinarian · DE Fachtierarzt/Fachtierärztin · FR vétérinaire spécialisé

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Veterinarians (2240)34,600 employed
Veterinary nurses (3240)26,600 employed
Natural and social science professionals n.e.c. (2119)36,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.04. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-1011).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test