Zoos & Aquariums

Caring for wild animals in human care, and using them to inspire people and save species in the wild.

Top pay: highest pay, longest training

• Zoo or Aquarium Director: Leads an entire zoo or aquarium: animals, staff, fundraising, and conservation mission. Typical pay $200k.
• Zoo Veterinarian: Provides medical care for every species at a zoo or aquarium, from frogs to rhinos. Typical pay $120k.
• Zoo Conservation & Science Director: Leads a zoo's field conservation and research programs around the world. Typical pay $115k.
• General Curator: Senior leader in charge of an entire zoo's animal collection. Typical pay $115k.

Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship

• Curator of Animals: Manages a zoo's animal collection: which species live there, how they're cared for, and breeding plans. Typical pay $85k.
• Zoo Nutritionist: Designs diets for hundreds of species, from leaf-eating monkeys to fish-eating penguins. Typical pay $75k.
• Zoo & Aquarium Exhibit Designer: Designs the habitats and visitor spaces that make zoos and aquariums feel like the wild. Typical pay $78k.
• Aquarium Life Support Systems Operator: Keeps the water in aquarium tanks clean, balanced, and safe with giant pumps and filters. Typical pay $57k.
• Zoo Animal Registrar: Keeps the official records of every animal in a zoo: births, deaths, transfers, and permits. Typical pay $55k.
• Behavioral Husbandry Manager: Leads training and enrichment so zoo animals stay mentally healthy and cooperate in their own care. Typical pay $60k.
• Zoo Reproductive Physiologist: Scientist who helps endangered animals breed using hormone monitoring and assisted reproduction. Typical pay $100k.
• Studbook Keeper & SSP Coordinator: Tracks the family tree of every zoo animal of a species and decides which ones should breed. Typical pay $68k.
• Zoo Animal Care Supervisor: Supervises a team of zookeepers in one section of the zoo. Typical pay $58k.

Starter: fastest way in

• Zookeeper: Feeds, cleans up after, trains, and cares for zoo animals every day. Typical pay $37k.
• Aquarist: Cares for fish, jellyfish, corals, and other aquatic animals in public aquariums. Typical pay $40k.
• Zoo Educator: Teaches visitors and students about animals and conservation. Typical pay $40k.
• Animal Enrichment Coordinator: Invents toys, puzzles, and activities that keep zoo animals curious and active. Typical pay $40k.
• Zoo Veterinary Technician: Assists zoo veterinarians with anesthesia, lab work, and treatments for exotic animals. Typical pay $48k.
• Animal Show Presenter: Performs live educational shows with trained animals like birds of prey, sea lions, or parrots. Typical pay $36k.
• Zoo Horticulturist: Grows the plants that make zoo exhibits look wild and that animals eat. Typical pay $45k.
• Zoo Commissary Keeper: Prepares the daily meals for hundreds of zoo animals. Typical pay $37k.
• Jellyfish Culturist: Raises jellyfish from tiny polyps to glowing adults for aquarium displays. Typical pay $42k.
• Zoo Animal Transport Specialist: Plans and rides along on moves of zoo animals, from penguins to giraffes, between zoos for breeding programs, by truck or cargo plane. Typical pay $50k.

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.