How much do zoo keepers get paid a year?
Obviously the pay will vary according to what country you’re in and the particular zoo you work at, but generally a zookeeper’s salary is quite poor. I used to be a zookeeper, and earned minimum wage – at the time this was about £10,000 per year (roughly 20,000 US dollars). Many people want to work with animals, so they don’t need to tempt workers with high pay. The hours are long and you may not be paid for any overtime worked – in the zoo I worked at, you were paid only between 8am and 5pm, even if you arrived at 6.30am and didn’t leave til 7pm. You are also required to work weekends and public holidays without additional pay. It is definitely not a job you do for the money. The most important thing for becoming a zookeeper is to gain experience with animals. Most zoos are more interested in this than in qualifications – I got the job without any qualifications other than G.C.S.E.s. Having higher qualifications is no guarantee of getting the job (my boss told me he’s had people come
