Also called: Animal Portrait Photographer
Takes professional portraits of pets for families, shelters, and brands.
Squeaks a toy just above the camera to get a beagle to tilt its head, shoots adoption photos for a shelter, and edits images for a pet food ad.
Estimate; mostly self-employed.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No formal degree; photography skills and portfolio.
Ways in: Self-taught, 2-year college. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Photography.
Growing slowly. Competitive.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI image tools take over stock and simple commercial shots; live shoots with wiggly pets and shelter photos still need a photographer.
Age 14+. One way to start: Offer $25 pet photo sessions to neighbors and post your best shots online; a phone or used camera works
Classes: Photography, Digital media, Art, Business.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-4021.
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.