Strange and wonderful ways to work with animals, from milking snakes to sorting chicks to chasing birds off runways.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Veterinary Behaviorist: A veterinarian who specializes in treating animals with behavior problems like aggression and anxiety. Typical pay $140k.
Pet Food Nutritionist: Designs the recipes for dog food, cat food, and other pet diets. Typical pay $110k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Primatologist: Studies monkeys and apes, in the wild or in sanctuaries and zoos. Typical pay $85k.
Chick Sexer: Sorts newly hatched chicks into male and female with amazing speed and accuracy. Typical pay $62k.
Animal Actor Trainer: Trains dogs, cats, birds, and even bears to perform in movies, TV, and commercials. Typical pay $58k.
Airport Wildlife Biologist: Keeps birds and animals away from runways so they do not hit airplanes. Typical pay $72k.
Farrier: Trims horses' hooves and shapes and fits steel horseshoes at barns and ranches, usually running their own business with a mobile forge. Typical pay $60k.
Mosquito Control Specialist: Fights mosquitoes and ticks that spread diseases like West Nile virus. Typical pay $55k.
Professional Dog Show Handler: Grooms, trains, and shows other people's purebred dogs at dog shows like Westminster. Typical pay $55k.
Wild Horse & Burro Specialist: Works for the Bureau of Land Management managing wild mustang and burro herds on public land in the West. Typical pay $68k.
Animal Cloning Lab Technician: Helps clone animals like prize horses, pets and endangered species by moving cell nuclei into eggs under a microscope. Typical pay $58k.
Starter: fastest way in
Snake Venom Extractor: Milks venom from deadly snakes for antivenom and medical research. Typical pay $45k.
Bird Abatement Falconer: Uses trained falcons and hawks to chase pest birds away from landfills, vineyards, and airports. Typical pay $42k.
Commercial Beekeeper: Keeps thousands of beehives for honey and to pollinate crops. Typical pay $45k.
Pet Detective: Finds lost dogs and cats using search dogs, cameras, and detective work. Typical pay $35k.
Nuisance Wildlife Trapper: Safely removes raccoons, snakes, bats, and even alligators from homes and neighborhoods. Typical pay $42k.
Sheep Shearer: Shears the wool off sheep for ranches, traveling with shearing crews in season and removing a whole fleece in just a few minutes. Typical pay $40k.
Elephant Keeper: Cares for elephants at accredited zoos and sanctuaries, preparing food, cleaning habitats, and running training sessions for health checks. Typical pay $42k.
Insect Farmer: Raises insects for animal feed, fish food, and even human protein. Typical pay $38k.
Targeted Grazing Operator: Rents out herds of goats or sheep to eat weeds, brush, and wildfire fuel on hillsides and vacant lots. Typical pay $50k.
Nuisance Alligator Trapper: Captures alligators that wander into pools, golf courses, and garages, under contract with the state. Typical pay $35k.
Butterfly Breeder: Raises butterflies for butterfly houses, school science kits, and wedding releases. Typical pay $32k.
Live Bee Removal Specialist: Safely removes bee colonies from walls, roofs, and trees and relocates them instead of killing them. Typical pay $45k.
Worm Farmer: Raises worms for fishing bait, compost, and gardeners, and sells "worm castings" as fertilizer. Typical pay $28k.
Goose Control Dog Handler: Uses trained border collies to chase Canada geese off golf courses, parks and corporate campuses without hurting them. Typical pay $40k.
Truffle Hunter & Dog Trainer: Trains dogs to sniff out truffles, rare underground mushrooms worth hundreds of dollars a pound, in forests and orchards. Typical pay $35k.
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.