Animal Trainers

Description

Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or assisting persons with disabilities. Accustom animals to human voice and contact; and condition animals to respond to commands. Train animals according to prescribed standards for show or competition. May train animals to carry pack loads or work as part of pack team.

Tasks

Observe animals' physical conditions to detect illness or unhealthy conditions requiring medical care.
Cue or signal animals during performances.
Administer prescribed medications to animals.
Evaluate animals to determine their temperaments, abilities, or aptitude for training.
Feed or exercise animals or provide other general care, such as cleaning or maintaining holding or performance areas.
Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
Conduct training programs in order to develop and maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding and related areas.
Keep records documenting animal health, diet, or behavior.
Advise animal owners regarding the purchase of specific animals.
Instruct jockeys in handling specific horses during races.
Train horses or other equines for riding, harness, show, racing, or other work, using knowledge of breed characteristics, training methods, performance standards, and the peculiarities of each animal.
Use oral, spur, rein, or hand commands to condition horses to carry riders or to pull horse-drawn equipment.
Place tack or harnesses on horses to accustom horses to the feel of equipment.
Train dogs in human assistance or property protection duties.
Retrain horses to break bad habits, such as kicking, bolting, or resisting bridling or grooming.
Train and rehearse animals, according to scripts, for motion picture, television, film, stage, or circus performances.
Organize or conduct animal shows.
Arrange for mating of stallions and mares and assist mares during foaling.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Sales and Marketing: Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills

Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Abilities

Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Work Activities

Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Thinking Creatively: Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Training and Teaching Others: Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Work Context

Structured versus Unstructured Work: To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
Freedom to Make Decisions: How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls: How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in non-controlled environmental conditions (e.g., warehouse without heat)?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Spend Time Standing: How much does this job require standing?
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions: How much does this job require making repetitive motions?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results: How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Outdoors, Exposed to Weather: How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?

Interests

Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Persistence: Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Leadership: Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Work Values

Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

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National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $12.15 hourly, $25,270 annual.

Employment (2008):: 11,170 employees