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Animal technician

Animal technicians look after animals in laboratories.

Potential salary
£15,000 to £40,000
Working hours
38 to 40 a week
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • customer service skills
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • excellent verbal communication skills
  • maths knowledge
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Your day-to-day duties might include:

  • providing exercise, food and water
  • carrying out regular observations
  • making sure that animals are clean, comfortable and behaving as expected
  • controlling heating, lighting and humidity
  • monitoring weight and growth
  • keeping accurate records

You may need to wear protective clothing.

You could work at a research facility.

Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time.

With experience, you could become a senior animal technologist, unit or section supervisor or manager.

You could also specialise in breeding, immunology or training.

You'll find out more about careers and training from the Institute of Animal Technology.

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