Have you ever wondered about a career working with animals? The main requirement for choosing a career working with animals is a great love of animals and a concern for their well being. If you share a feeling of kinship with animals, working with four-legged creatures is a good career choice.

People who care for animals can choose from several different career paths. Work in this area ranges from positions that involve daily, hands-on engagement with animals to management and support functions within organizations geared toward animal welfare, that may have relatively little direct animal contact, to ownership of a retail pet business.

If you want to work directly with animals you could choose becoming a veterinarian (DVM), veterinary technician, zookeeper, an animal trainer, or a State Park Ranger. These careers consist of diagnosing illnesses or injuries, handling emergency medical situations, and interacting with pet owners or/and the public. It can be very rewarding knowing you are improving the quality of life, as well, as often saving the lives of animals. However, it is difficult when an animal cannot be saved despite appropriate care or when pet owners contribute to animals’ suffering out of ignorance or selfishness.

For people who have a love of animals and possess strong people and administrative skills rather than a strong scientific background, there are careers in providing public education on animal care, and volunteer coordinator positions (e.g., with a municipal or nonprofit animal rescue shelter). These administrative careers require being a good listener, teacher, organizer, and the ability to reach out to the public.

Perhaps you are interested in the retail pet business. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, pets outnumber people in the US and 1 in 3 households include a dog or cat. Nearly half of all households own more than one pet. People everywhere have pets and there are so many retail pet businesses available that you can easily choose a career in retail. In 2006 pet owners spent more than $38 billion on their pets. Pet stores and boutiques, animal grooming, pet sitting, bakeries and specialty shops are booming businesses in this day and age. Your educational requirements will depend on what retail establishment you plan to start. For instance, if you just want to bathe animals, you will not need much education on the different breeds. However, if you are looking to provide a more comprehensive business to a wide variety of breeds, you will need more information and possibly some professional training.

If you are interested in a career working with animals, you can begin by volunteering to work with animals. Hands-on experiences, whether they are internships, part-time jobs or volunteer positions, will help you to figure out what you like and what is right for you. Consider volunteer experiences that will expose you to various segments of the field. Pursue positions that deal directly with animals, as well as, those involving research. The experience you earn will help to clarify the capacity in which you want to work with animals, and often is a prerequisite in obtaining employment with pay.

Today, there are many volunteer opportunities available, both locally and internationally. These opportunities range from volunteering in wildlife conservation or at your local humane society to traveling to a distant country to participate in a long-term research project. Volunteering to participate is a great way to get involved in scientific research, promote environmental education, and gain experience working with animals. The volunteer work will give you exposure to many different species of animals while performing a great community service at the same time.

The international volunteer positions available are in dozens of countries and are scheduled at various time throughout the year, and some of them are as follows:

Earthwatch (http://www.earthwatch.org/expedition_search) sponsors dozens of wildlife research, conservation, and educational projects in over 40 countries. They enable volunteers to join expeditions and in doing so participate in the field studies of their choice. Earthwatch publishes an Annual Review which is a good way to find out more about their recent conservation and research projects.

Earth Island Institute (http://www.eii.org/) offers a range of employment and volunteer opportunities in environmental conservation, preservation, and restoration.

Global Vision International (http://www.gvi.co.uk/) is an organization that provides volunteers a way of working to fill voids in environmental research, education, and conservation as well as education and community development. Global Vision International offers a wide range of expeditions, projects, courses, and internships from which to choose.

Also read books and research the internet on animal careers to see how your interests and concern for animals might become a lifelong career. A good website to start your investigation on animal careers is http://www.khake.com/page10.html. Research universities’ websites and talk to admissions counselors or people within the departments at different vet schools that interest you; find out about admissions requirements, statistics, and the admissions process.