5 Weird and Wonderful Jobs For Animal Lovers

If you’re thinking about pursuing a career working with animals, you’ve probably already wondered about becoming a Veterinarian, Zookeeper, or Marine Biologist. These are all great professions, but there are so many other animal-related jobs to choose from. You may have heard of Groomers, RSPCA Inspectors, or Breeders, but chances are you’ve never considered these five weird and wonderful jobs for animal lovers:

Insect Wrangler

Lots of Sci-fi/adventure/horror films involve scenes where a swarm of insects descend upon the unsuspecting heroes/victims. Unfortunately, insects are not natural actors and struggle to follow even simple instructions.

Enter the Insect Wrangler. The Insect Wrangler is typically responsible for either breeding or procuring a colony of insects for production and directing the bugs during filming. A Wrangler knows, for instance, that ants are drawn to lines of sugar, spiders move away from streams of air, and honeybees flock to sugar water.

Snake Milker

No, a Snake Milker does not extract milk from a snake. They extract venom. Why? Snake venom is, to put it mildly, highly dangerous. If you get bitten, you’re going to want an antidote. What are antidotes made from? Ironically, they’re made from venom, so it’s helpful to have some in supply. This is not a job for the faint-hearted.

Animal Acupuncturists

Animal Acupuncturists are trained vets, having obtained a degree approved by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, who incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into their veterinary practice.

Acupuncture involves inserting needles into an animal’s skin, once the animal has been massaged and calmed. In theory, acupuncture can help treat a wide variety of medical issues, including allergies, digestion problems, and seizures. Of course, Acupuncturists will also prescribe regular medication when it is needed.

Pet Hotel Worker

Pet-owners check their pets into Pet Hotels when they go away on holiday and can’t take their furry/feathery/scaly friend with them. Part of the job for a Pet Hotel Worker is to keep an eye on their guests, making sure they’re happy, healthy, and safe.

But there’s so much more. Many of these hotels are full-service resorts complete with grooming services and ‘Yappy Hours’ where the residents have a chance to mix and mingle. Hotel Workers need to keep on top of what is often a very busy itinerary!

Trainer

Animals need to be trained for all sorts of weird, wonderful, and sometimes essential roles. Many dogs need to be trained for service in the police force or army and as guide dogs for the blind. A whole variety of different animals, from horses through to parrots, may need training in order to appear on film or in the theatre. Sometimes pet-owners just want help training their pets to become more obedient and comfortable with human interaction.

Finally, if you love animals, but aren’t sure you want to work with them up close, there are a whole host of jobs involved with wildlife documentary production that might suit you.

There are technical roles operating cameras, editing footage, and recording sound. There are creative roles, such as presenting and script-writing. There are organisational roles; director, producer, researcher, runner, and so on.

These jobs all allow you to fill your life with animals without getting your hands too dirty. Depending on your chosen career path, you may want to invest in a zoology, literature, or media-studies degree. It’s also important to take as many work-experience opportunities as you can, since this is a fiercely competitive industry.

Oliver Hurcum writes for Inspiring Interns, which specialises in sourcing candidates for internships and graduate jobs.