Animal Career Finder

There are dozens of different careers working with animals, and finding the right one depends on your interests, qualifications, and what you are willing to do day to day. This tool matches you with the animal careers that best fit your profile. Whether you love dogs, horses, wildlife, or farm animals, and whether you want to work outdoors, in a clinic, or run your own business, tell us about yourself and we will suggest the best career paths with practical advice on how to get started.

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Answer a few questions about your interests, experience, and qualifications and find out which animal careers suit you best. From veterinary nursing to dog grooming, wildlife conservation to zoo keeping.

1 What type of animals interest you most?

2 What kind of work appeals to you?

3 What qualifications do you have?

4 How much are you willing to train?

Your privacy is protected. We do not store personal information. Names, addresses and details you enter are automatically removed.

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This tool provides general career guidance. Specific entry requirements and salaries vary by employer and region. Check with relevant professional bodies for the latest qualification requirements.

What this tool does

Working with animals covers a huge range of jobs, from hands-on clinical roles to outdoor conservation work, and it can be hard to know which one actually suits you. This tool gives you a shortlist of animal careers that match your interests, background, and the kind of working life you want.

You will get practical suggestions rather than a generic list, so you can focus on the roles worth looking into properly.

Who it is for

It is aimed at anyone in the UK thinking about a career with animals and not sure where to start. That includes school leavers weighing up college courses or apprenticeships, university students choosing a direction, and people already in work who want to change track.

It is also useful if you have a clear love of animals but no firm plan yet, or if you know you want to work with a particular type of animal, say horses, dogs, or wildlife, but are not sure which role fits your personality and qualifications. If you are already qualified and working in the sector, you probably will not get much new out of it.

How it works

You answer a short set of questions about what you enjoy, your current qualifications and experience, whether you prefer indoor or outdoor work, how you feel about things like early starts, physical work, or running your own business, and which animals you are drawn to. The tool then gives you a plain English summary of the careers that fit best, with a brief note on why each one came up and what the usual route in looks like. Your answers are not saved and nothing is shared with third parties, so you can try different combinations if you want to see how your choices change the results.

2 Comments

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CareerWithAnimals Editor 22 Sep 2026

@Lewis Honestly, at 23 you're not too old for anything, Myerscough and most FE colleges take adult learners onto Level 3 animal courses, and you can often do them part-time or via distance learning while keeping your job. Get stuck into volunteering now at a local wildlife rescue or sanctuary, that's what actually opens doors and it costs nothing but time. A part-time foundation degree or Access to HE route into a BSc in Animal Behaviour, Zoology or Conservation might suit you better than jacking everything in for full-time study. Given your end goal of running a sanctuary, this free tool is worth a play with too: https://www.careerwithanimals.co.uk/tools/animal-shelter-planner. Don't rush it, five years will pass anyway.

Lewis 31 Jul 2026

Hi,

I just turned 23, I have a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Aeronautical Engineering, which I deeply regret, and for the last year or more, I've fallen more and more in love with the idea of every aspect of caring for animals, whether its biology, nutrition, conservation, all of it.

I am desperate to find a way to gain qualifications in the animal care sector, so I can gain knowledge and experience working in a sanctuary/zoo with varied animals, so one day when I'm fully qualified, possibly a degree, I can start a charity, and start an animal sanctuary for non-releasable animals, rehabilitation, research, and educating the world.

I am currently working a minimum wage job, paying rent, car insurance, every bill under the sun, and I'm researching how to get into a career as soon as possible, and gain qualifications. I've read about volunteering to build my CV, but looking at places like Myerscough College, which is my closest good education, I can't find anything that would accept someone my age, and I don't know how I would be able to afford tuition fees, studying full time and having all of these bills to pay. I'd be working part-time beside my education, but it would affect my relationship, and we would have to move into a little flat or something affordable, which is the opposite of what we want, as we want animals and space.

I did waffle a lot so I apologise, I'm just looking for advice on my situation, and how I can start on the right path.

Thank you.

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