Nonfarm Animal Caretakers

Description:

Feed, water, groom, bathe, exercise, or otherwise care for pets and other nonfarm animals, such as dogs, cats, ornamental fish or birds, zoo animals, and mice. Work in settings such as kennels, animal shelters, zoos, circuses, and aquariums. May keep records of feedings, treatments, and animals received or discharged. May clean, disinfect, and repair cages, pens, or fish tanks.

Tasks

Feed and water animals according to schedules and feeding instructions.
Clean, organize, and disinfect animal quarters such as pens, stables, cages, and yards, and animal equipment such as saddles and bridles.
Answer telephones and schedule appointments.
Examine and observe animals to detect signs of illness, disease, or injury.
Respond to questions from patrons, and provide information about animals, such as behavior, habitat, breeding habits, or facility activities.
Provide treatment to sick or injured animals, or contact veterinarians to secure treatment.
Collect and record animal information such as weight, size, physical condition, treatments received, medications given, and food intake.
Perform animal grooming duties such as washing, brushing, clipping, and trimming coats, cutting nails, and cleaning ears.
Exercise animals to maintain their physical and mental health.
Order, unload, and store feed and supplies.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Biology: Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Clerical: Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Sales and Marketing: Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Work Activities

Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization: Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others: Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Work Context

Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Freedom to Make Decisions: How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Structured versus Unstructured Work: To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?
Outdoors, Exposed to Weather: How often does this job require working outdoors, exposed to all weather conditions?
Spend Time Standing: How much does this job require standing?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Exposed to Contaminants: How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?

Interests

Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Work Style

Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Independence: Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Work Value

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Description:

Tasks

Knowledge

Skills

Abilities

Work Activities

Work Context

Interests

Work Style

Work Value

Related Occupations

Common Lay Titles

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