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Veterinarian Salary, Marine Biologist Salary: Careers in Animal Care

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If you're the type who cringes at corporate meetings, loathes dealing with clients and would prefer to avoid humans in general, fear not, there is an option besides hermit-hood. The article "Ten Jobs That Let You work With Animals" from jobs.aol lists various animal careers and what they pay, from a marine biologist salary to a veterinarian salary.

If you're considering a veterinarian career (and veterinarian salary), there is extra schooling required, and once you graduate, the job duties for a veterinarian include diagnosing and treating animals for injuries and disease… so what is the salary of a veterinarian for all this work?  Veterinarians in Houston, Texas, with 5-8 years of experience, earn an average veterinarian salary of $79,100, with a high-end of $113,200. Not quite MD level ($152,000 – $186,500 per year), but nothing to bark at. (Want up-to-date salary information? Check out PayScale’s Career Research Center.)

How does your salary compare to the Dr. Dolittle’s? Find out with our salary survey.

What Is the Beginning Pay of a Veterinarian?

What about those just starting out in the field of veterinary medicine? What is the beginning pay of a veterinarian? A newbie Massachusetts veterinarian earns an average veterinarian salary of $72,400, up to $98,400. On the other end of the payscale, what if you were an experienced veterinarian in New Jersey? There is not typically a huge upside; average veterinarian salary is $85,100, with a high-end of $126,250 per year.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

Let’s say you want to work with animals, but don’t want to put in all those years of veterinary school?  Well, you might want to take a look into veterinarian assistant work and veterinarian assistant salaries. If you worked in Houston for our previously mentioned vet, the veterinarian assistant salaries in that area average out to $11.64 per hour with a potential of earning up to $16.00 per hour; not a very high salary, but rewarding for those who love animals.

Salaries of Marine Biologists

For those interested in the denizens of the deep, they might want to look into marine biology and marine biologists. What if you want to work on the coast of the Lone Star State? Marine biologists in Texas earn an average salary of $46,000, with a high-end of $78,000 (with 5-8 years of experience).

In the Sunshine State, life is a little brighter: the average marine biologist salary is $50,100 with a potential of $88,300 or more. Where do marine biologists work? As you might expect, many work for the state and federal government, but there is also some work to be had with private environmental consulting companies.

What Are the Salary Ranges for a Dog Groomer?

Back on land, for those who enjoy making our furry friends look their best, a choice job would be that of a dog groomer (although you may want to avoid the kind mentioned at dogblog.dogster.com). For dog groomers in Connecticut, the average hourly wage is $13.80, but they can make up to $22.50, which is actually a little more than veterinarian assistant salaries in Houston; apparently, it’s better to look good than to feel good.

Still, you may be wondering, “What is a dog groomer salary ranging in other parts of the country?” Well, dog groomers in the Bronx (that’s in New York City) earn an average hourly wage of $14.10, with a potential of $24.70. That’s not a huge difference compared to dog groomers in Connecticut. In fact, it may be cheaper to live in Connecticut; a dog groomer there might earn less, but still come out ahead by a (wet) nose.

Average Salary of Animal Trainer

If you’re interested in the behavioral aspects of animals, then a career as an animal trainer might be the ticket. California professional animal trainers earn an average hourly wage of $16.75, with a high range of $31.40. That animal trainer career description would include someone who trains dogs (and some masters) to be obedient.

On the higher end of the animal trainer salary scale is the animal wrangler who works on set in Hollywood. Animal movie trainers can earn hundreds per day, depending on whether the job is a commercial, TV series or feature film. That particular animal trainer career description sounds glamorous and exciting, but there is a lot of pressure to make animals perform on cue; it might be harder than working with people.

How is your salary these days? Is it going to the dogs? Take our free salary survey.


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Brianna Martin
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Brianna Martin

I wanted to be a marine vetinarian

Yul B. Next
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Yul B. Next

I love narwhals. haha i got you goodly bob susan. =)

bob susan
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bob susan

I like narwals!!!!!!

Sky
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Sky

if you had to choose which job would you rather have?

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