Ploymint

Is Doctor Doolittle your spirit animal? Then consider a career where caring for animals is your primary concern. Whether they’re creepy and crawly or soft and cuddly, you love them all — so check out these top careers for animal lovers of all stripes:

Zoologist: As a zoologist, you’ll study the behavior of animals and how they’re impacted by the human world. You’ll need a bachelor’s degree for entry-level positions, but a master’s or even a PhD are often needed to advance in the field. Zoologists often work for museums, conservation centers, or research teams at universities.

Veterinarian: Caring for sick or injured animals can be an incredibly rewarding career, but you’ll have to have the emotional fortitude to sometimes deliver bad news to pet owners. You’ll need a Veterinary Medicine degree to practice, and the average salary for vets is a little more than $87,000 a year.

Vet assistant: Want to work with animals in a clinic setting without having to get that advanced degree? Vet assistants get a lot of interaction with the animals at a vet’s office, and you typically only need a high school diploma and some on-the-job training to enter this career.

Trainer: If you’ve got a natural repertoire with animals and a ton of patience, you can become a trainer, who teaches animals of all kinds to respond to commands, including dogs, cats, horses, and even dolphins. Some trainers even work for themselves by offering one-on-one training with pets or opening their own training school.

Pet sitter: You can turn this side-gig into a full-time career if you market yourself and harness the power of referrals from current clients. Also, instead of simply pet sitting, consider adding house sitting to your line up of services — around-the-clock care for pets will net more than just a few stops by a client’s house will.

Groomer: You’ll have to be able to balance a gentle demeanor with a firm hand in this job, when ornery pets try to wriggle out of your grasp! Groomers often work inside vet offices, pet stores, or posh grooming outfits.

Wildlife naturalist: Naturalists often work for local, state, or even national parks, and they share their knowledge of local animals and wildlife with visitors. If you are looking to combine a love of teaching with your soft spot for critters, this may be the career for you.

Wildlife photographer: Being a wildlife photographer requires just as much patience as it does skill — capturing skittish animals in their native habitats means you may be waiting around for a while with camera in hand to snap them. While only a very small percent of wildlife photographers ever see their work on the cover of iconic mags like National Geographic, there are a lot of regional magazines or trade journals that need impressive animal pics too.

Pet adoption counselor: Work with local shelters to match shelter pets with people looking to adopt. Often, adoption counselors will work some nights and weekends, since potential adopters typically need to fit in shelter visits around their own nine-to-five jobs.

Aquarist: Fish your thing? Then consider a career as an aquarist, where you’ll be in charge of keeping tanks at aquariums in tip-top shape. You’ll clean algae off tanks, check pH levels of water, and keep a close eye on the amphibians and reptiles to make sure they’re looking healthy and happy — and report to the aquarium vet if you think an animal needs some extra TLC.

As an animal lover, what other careers have you considered? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!