Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers
Also known as: Animal Care Provider, Animal Caregiver, Avian Keeper, Certified Veterinary Assistant, Emergency Veterinary Assistant
median $38,15010-yr demand +8.7%AI exposure 2/100typical entry High school diploma or equivalent
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers is modestly paid, AI barely touches it so far, and demand is growing.
The pay range
Bottom 10% to top 10% of workers in this role (BLS).
How exposed is it to AI?
Two things matter: how much AI is actually used in the role today (right),
and how much it could automate in theory (up). Low exposure so far.
Each faint dot is another occupation. The amber dot is
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers — its position tells you whether the disruption is here yet or still over the horizon.
used today 2/100
automatable in theory 22/100
archetype The Human Moat
If AI does come for this job — where could you go?
Adjacent careers ranked by how much safer + how much more they pay, and the skill gap to get there. Click any to see its full breakdown.
How this is built. Median pay and the full distribution come from filed U.S. wage data
(BLS OEWS + DOL/LCA filings); AI exposure blends O*NET task content with model-based automation potential;
escape routes are computed from skill overlap between occupations, then ranked by how much safer + better-paid the
move is. This joins real distributions and projects them forward — it needs the real distributions
and the skill graph, not a guess. Figures describe group medians and trends, not any one person's outcome.
