Animal technician

Animal technicians look after animals in medical and scientific research laboratories.

• Starter salary£21,000 a year
• Experienced£30,000 a year
• Typical hours37 to 40 a week

What you'll do

As an animal technician, you could:

• provide exercise, food and water to animals in a research unit
• make regular checks on animals' weight and behaviour
• monitor conditions like heating, lighting and humidity
• make sure that animals are clean and comfortable
• report signs of animal illness or distress
• follow hygiene rules in the facility
• maintain accurate records
• stay up to date with animal welfare regulations

Working environment

You could work at a research facility or at a university.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to work well with others
• knowledge of biology
• maths knowledge
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• the ability to use your initiative
• excellent verbal communication skills
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

How to become a animal technician

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• applying directly

College

You could do a college course to learn some of the skills and knowledge needed to get a trainee position. Courses include:

• animal care
• applied science
• animal science
• biology
• T Level in Animal Care and Management

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an Animal Care and Welfare Assistant Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, or Animal Technologist Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

These can take between 1 and 2 years to complete. They combine training on the job with study off site.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Direct application

You could apply directly for trainee animal technician jobs if you have GCSEs, for example, in maths, English and science.

Experience as an animal care assistant or veterinary nurse would be useful though not essential.

Once working, your employer would put you through training and give you the opportunity to get a qualification in laboratory animal science and technology.

Career path and progression

You could become a senior animal technician and supervise the work of other technicians.

With experience and further training, you could become an animal technologist, a named animal care and welfare officer or facility manager.

You could specialise in working with animals in specific research areas like breeding, immunology or genetics.

There may also be opportunities to work as a trainer and assessor of new animal technicians.

Career tips

Experience of lab techniques as well as handling and caring for animals, may improve your chances of finding a job or training.

You could get work experience:

• on a farm
• in kennels, an animal welfare centre or zoo
• in a science laboratory

Guides for this industry

• Animal Care: pay, interviews and getting started →

Related roles

• Job roleAnimal care worker
• Job roleLaboratory technician
• Job roleVeterinary nurse
• Job roleKennel worker

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