Also called: Assistance Dog Trainer
Trains dogs to help people with disabilities: opening doors, alerting to seizures, or calming PTSD.
Teaches a Labrador to pick up dropped keys, press elevator buttons, and wake a veteran from nightmares, then spends weeks matching and training the dog with its new partner.
Estimate based on BLS animal trainers (median about $38,000, May 2024).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 2 years after high school. Apprenticeship at a service dog organization (often 1-3 years).
Ways in: Apprenticeship, On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Animal Behavior, Psychology.
Growing much faster than average (about 8% over 10 years).
Low risk for 10 years. Training dogs to open doors or alert to seizures is hands-on work with animals and people that AI can't do.
Classes: Psychology, Biology, Health science CTE, American Sign Language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 39-2011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.