Pet Groomer
✂️Bathes, clips and brushes dogs and cats, trims nails, cleans ears and coats, does show and creative cuts, and calms nervous pets.
Prospects & pay
What the work is like
💼 Job market
🇺🇸 $39.5k a year on average · +12.1% jobs by 2035 · 62,800 openings a year
Nonfarm animal caretakers — US: Census ACS 2020–24 (full-time), BLS projections 2025–35
🇬🇧 £25.1k median a year · 17,000 jobs
Animal care services occupations n.e.c. — UK: ONS ASHE 2025 (full-time)
🤖 AI & automation
AI can help with bookings and marketing, but clipping a wriggling dog and calming it down will stay a job for skilled hands.
Who it suits
Interests: 🐾 Animals, 💄 Beauty, style, fashion, 🔧 Making things by hand.
Key strengths: manual dexterity, strength and stamina.
Where to study
- Course Dog grooming certificate (City & Guilds Level 3, NDGAA)
- Apprenticeship Grooming apprenticeship in a salon
Key school subjects (A-level / IB / AP): Biology, Business.
🧗 Short courses (City & Guilds in the UK, NDGAA certification in the US) or training in a salon. No degree needed; income grows with experience or your own salon or mobile van.
Things to know
🛢️ Dirt, noise, smells
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