Pet care technicians satisfy their love of animals by professionally caring for other people's pets.
Pet care technicians work in kennels, pet grooming salons and animal shelters caring for people's dogs, cats, gerbils, snakes and other pets. Pet care technicians working in the state of Massachusetts benefit from a higher average salary than most of the country while also enjoying the fulfillment of working with animals that drives most people into this profession.
Massachusetts Average
The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists pet care technicians under the category of "nonfarm animal workers." In May 2009, the BLS reported pet care technicians as making a mean or average yearly income of $24,550 or an hourly rate of $11.80.
Massachusetts Metro Variation
Average salaries for pet care technicians in Massachusetts vary by metropolitan area, as they do in most states. Pet care technicians in the greater Boston area earned the highest average at $27,830 per year or $13.38 hourly, 11.2 percent more than the Massachusetts state average. Those in New Bedford made a mean $25,360 annually or $12.19 per hour. Worcester area technicians averaged the least at $21,200 per year or $10.19 per hour, 13.4 percent less than the state average.
Location Comparisons
Location is always a big factor when considering salary ranges and averages. For example, Kentucky had the highest population of "nonfarm animal caretakers" making the average pet care technician salary $20,290 per year, 17.4 percent less than Massachusetts' mean. Delaware averaged only $20 less per year than Massachusetts' pet care technicians at $24,530. The BLS listed Massachusetts as the fourth highest paying state for this profession. Hawaii, the highest paying state, was still 21.4 percent higher at a mean $31,240 per year.
National Mean Comparison
The national average salary for nonfarm animal caretakers, including pet care technicians, was $21,830 per year or $10.50 hourly in May 2009. According to the BLS, Massachusetts' state average pay of $24,550 per year ranked the only a few hundred dollars above 75th percentile pay rate of $24,190 per year.
Tags: care technicians, nonfarm animal, state average, than Massachusetts, animal caretakers