Career Explorer Personal care
Human edge, growing
Animal trainers
Train animals for riding, harness, security, performance, or obedience, or for 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.
Among the most resilient careers: more resilient than 94% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +4.2% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision and emotional intelligence.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $39,990
- Job growth to 2035
- +4.2%
- Openings a year
- 6,500
- People doing it (2025)
- 47,800
- Usual route in
- High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Maintain facilities or equipment
- Care for plants or animals
- Confer with clients to determine needs or order specifications
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Train animals
- Evaluate personnel capabilities or performance
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
What the work looks like
- 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.
- Cue or signal animals during performances.
- Talk to or interact with animals to familiarize them to human voices or contact.
- Conduct training programs to develop or maintain desired animal behaviors for competition, entertainment, obedience, security, riding, or related purposes.
- Use oral, spur, rein, or hand commands to condition horses to carry riders or to pull horse-drawn equipment.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
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Also known as: Dog Trainer, Guide Dog Mobility Instructor (GDMI), Horse Trainer, Trainer, Agility Instructor, Dog Obedience Instructor, Guide Dog Instructor, Guide Dog Trainer.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.