Personal Care and Service · Holland code RSC

Animal Trainers

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.

Also called: Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI), Horse Trainer, Trainer, Agility Instructor, Dog Obedience Instructor, Guide Dog Instructor, Guide Dog Trainer.

O*NET 39-2011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $39,990; Middle half earn $33,740 to $53,580. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 44% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some 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.

Train horses or other equines for riding, harness, show, racing, or other work, using knowledge of breed characteristics, training methods, performance standards, and the peculiarities of each animal.
Cue or signal animals during performances.
Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
Use oral, spur, rein, or hand commands to condition horses to carry riders or to pull horse-drawn equipment.
Retrain horses to break bad habits, such as kicking, bolting, or resisting bridling or grooming.
Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Speaking3.5 / 5
Learning Strategies3.5 / 5
Critical Thinking3.4 / 5
Active Learning3.3 / 5
Active Listening3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
Education and Training3.6 / 5
Psychology3.2 / 5
Administration and Management3.1 / 5
English Language3.1 / 5
Sales and Marketing2.8 / 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.

Realistic92
Investigative22
Artistic13
Social44
Enterprising18
Conventional33

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 care attendant · DE Tierpfleger /Tierpflegerin · FR auxiliaire de soins aux animaux
animal groomer · DE Tierfriseur/Tierfriseurin · FR toiletteur/toiletteuse
zookeeper · DE Tierpfleger Zoo/Tierpflegerin Zoo · FR gardien de zoo/gardienne de zoo
animal handler · DE Tierbetreuer/Tierbetreuerin · FR soigneur d’animaux/soigneuse d’animaux
animal trainer · DE Tiertrainer/Tiertrainerin · FR dresseur d’animaux/dresseuse d’animaux
dog trainer · DE Hundetrainer/Hundetrainerin · FR dresseur de chiens/dresseuse de chiens

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Animal care services occupations n.e.c. (6129)102,200 employed
Managers and proprietors in forestry, fishing and related services (1212)18,600 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 “Service and sales workers”. 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, Service and sales workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€32,957
Sweden	€32,596
Netherlands	€29,198
Austria	€29,068
Germany	€27,471
Ireland	€26,978
Italy	€24,995
France	€24,971
Spain	€18,303
Portugal	€10,656
Poland	€7,579

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 lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.92. 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 (39-2011).

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