Animal Caretakers vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors: $35K vs $47K Median Pay

Animal Caretakers vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors: what changes?

Consider Animal Caretakers if you want to feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise provide care to promote and maintain the well-being of pets and other animals that are not raised for consumption, such as dogs, cats, race horses, ornamental…. Consider Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors if you would rather instruct or coach groups or individuals in exercise activities for the primary purpose of personal fitness. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Animal Caretakers and Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Animal Caretakers

National median pay (2025): $35,360
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 62,800

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Animal Caretakers brief

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

National median pay (2025): $47,160
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Observe participants and inform them of corrective measures necessary for skill improvement.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 68,000

Know before you choose

Long periods of standing are part of the normal workday.

See the full Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors brief

How the national numbers differ

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors has the edge on median pay

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors is at $47,160, compared with $35,360 for Animal Caretakers.

Typical preparation differs.

Animal Caretakers: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors: High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Animal Caretakers has the edge on projected growth

Animal Caretakers is at 12.1% projected growth, compared with 7.3% projected growth for Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors.

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors has the edge on annual openings

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors is at 68,000 annual openings, compared with 62,800 annual openings for Animal Caretakers.

63.8/ 100

Animal Caretakers

63.2/ 100

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Animal Caretakers vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

Dimension	Animal Caretakers	Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
Median pay (2025)	$35,360	$47,160
Pay percentile	3 percentile	23.7 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	12.1%	7.3%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	62,800	68,000
2025 employment	365,300	388,400
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 3
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Animal Caretakers brief Read Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors brief

Animal Caretakers vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Animal Caretakers

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

How the national numbers differ

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors has the edge on median pay

Typical preparation differs.

Animal Caretakers has the edge on projected growth

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors has the edge on annual openings

Animal Caretakers vs Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

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