5 Pet Industry Job Segments that are Hiring Now
Veterinary: 2020 saw an 18% increase in pet ownership compared to 2019. As a result, animal hospitals and veterinary clinics are seeing more patients and have a high demand for veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and other hospital staff. The problem is the supply of these workers is low these days and demand is high and slated to increase over the next five years. Hospitals are fighting over doctors and specialists and sweetening the compensation packages with signing and moving bonuses, as well as student loan repayment programs. Larger animal hospital groups have started the recruiting and relationship-building process with prospective veterinarians from high school. Remember when we all wanted to be a veterinarian when we were kids but got sidetracked from our childhood dreams as we grew up? Executive management in the veterinary industry knows that if they do not start recruiting for vets and vet techs early, they may be in trouble in years to come.
Retail: Online and omnichannel retailers such as Chewy, Amazon Pet Supplies, and Walmart have reported significant year-over-year growth. For example, there has been a 48% increase of retail pet products over the last five years and a surge in online retail: going from 8% in 2015 to 30% in 2020 and slated for 53% in 2025. What does this tell us? These retail titans will be growing their teams and hiring a plethora of talented candidates in a variety of fields who have a passion for pets and animals. They will need data scientists, software engineers, marketers, supply chain specialists, fulfillment specialists, product managers, customer service reps and you name it to grow their online platforms and optimize selling to their growing customer base. Be sure to check out retail jobs postings on packhire.com.
Grooming: Grooming shops are struggling to find experienced groomers to support the demand for their services. In fact, experts predict that there will be nearly 500,000 grooming jobs created in the U.S. over the next 10 years. PackHire reports a growth in grooming and pet-stylist positions being posted to its website in recent months. Did you know that grooming and boarding alone comprise $11B of the pet industry? The current shortage in groomers is largely due to the rapid growth of the sector and lack of time grooming shop owners and managers have to train employees without any experience. The New York Institute for Pet Grooming is a new pet training program that licenses its technology and content to brand partners. It provides a salon certificate for pet groomers to receive training through satellite grooming salons. World Pet Association (WPA) now offers the Professional Groomer Credential (PGC), a standardized test created by groomers, veterinarians, and pet industry experts. PackHire predicts there will be more grooming training and certificate programs to look out for over the next year.
Boarding: As Americans start traveling and reentering work, boarding, pet hotel and resorts are starting to see more activity as well. There will be a need for kennel attendants, dog walkers, pet-sitters, and daycare supervisors.
Pet Food: This is the second-largest sector of the pet industry valued at roughly $39B which has seen dramatic growth and innovation in the last decade. From human-grade dog food to vegan, CBD, gluten-free, and raw food brands, there is a myriad of products in the pet food segment. Companies such as Nom Nom, Just Food For Dogs, Pet Plate, and Petaluma have thousands of jobs in a variety of fields: nutrition consultants, veterinarians, sales, marketing, and product development professionals. Furthermore, there is no shortage of positions for business intelligence analysts since customer data and insights are key to these growing businesses.
The reality is the pet industry is not what it was 20 years ago when PetSmart and Petco were the main names in town. The pet industry is GROWING fast and if you are an animal lover working a 9-5 job and curious to learn if there are career opportunities for you in the pet industry, visit packhire.com, start searching and find your pack!