If you haven't surfed PetGroomer.com you may be surprised to learn that there are 2,000 or more job openings for pet groomers in the U.S. alone any day of the year. There are even job openings in many foreign countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and at times Asia. Yes, you can make a living as an employed pet groomer with skill and productivity.

Some career seekers get astonished looks when they share with others they are going to be a groomer because there are plenty of people that don't realize the fine opportunities in pet grooming. We know different. In the Beginner's Forum on the GroomerTALK Message Board you can read many threads where the career seeker is wondering how much can be earned as an employed pet groomer. The range is very broad depending upon the position and most important the skill level and productivity of the pet groomer. Yes, there are full-time groomers with some management duties in pet superstores and independents earning annual gross wages of $75,000 to over $100,000 and some with plenty of benefits too. On the other hand there are groomers that choose not to strive to these positions and earn $25,000 to $50,000 a year. We suggest you read the results of PetGroomer.com Surveys of employed groomers to learn more, and then many other links to resources here listed in the left column.

Did you know that the PetGroomer.com Classified Ads includes a section of Help Wanted Ads and that is the largest anywhere in the world? Over 300,000 ads have been published free of charge since 1997 and up to 1,000 are available daily. You can learn about the employment landscape for pet groomers simply by reading the ads.

Education is the most important key, and then gaining productivity. You cannot expect to earn a good wage if it takes you 4 hours to groom a pet. Productive skilled groomers working alone can do 7 to 8 pets from start-to-finish in an 8 hour workday. It is important for you to gain that level of productivity. Some groomers can do that in one year and others longer. We have vast resources of education information here. They range from pet grooming schools, home study to independent and corporate chain employers willing to train in various manners.

Never overlook continuing education. Impressive groomers have always gotten additional training after their schooling and apprenticeships by seeking continuing education, and participating voluntary certification programs.

Employment Opportunities

Diversity of employment is the first attribute you are likely to notice. You will find employment offers in pet retail environments, as well as in pet salons, shops, spas, kennels, hotels, daycares and veterinarian clinics. The working environment of each is often much different than the others.

If benefits such as health insurance and 401K are important to you they are most prevalent in the pet superstore salons and veterinarian clinics, yet still available in some independently owned salons, shops and boarding facilities. Never take benefits for granted in the grooming industry, perhaps as many as 50% of grooming businesses offer little or no benefits. It's not out of greed. Pet grooming is labor intensive and actually the consumer pet owner in the U.S. gets a pretty good deal in the pricing of grooming services.

The smaller the grooming operation the less likely its owner can provide benefits simply from a financial standpoint. Large grooming operations can spread the costs of benefits across more services provided and even use profit from other sources of revenue such a retail department to support the cost of benefits. As a result you may need to factor in the cost of health insurance out of your own pocket from your pay.

Career Plan

Write out a career plan in grooming. You will be given guidance in how to do this using the links provided in the left column. You must have a household budget. Do you need $1,500 a month (after taxes) to pay your rent, car, gas, food and insurance? Whatever the number study the opportunities in grooming that offer the wage levels you require, and how much schooling and experience you need to fill the target positions.

Talk with Other Groomers

We suggest you come to the GroomerTALK Message Board and look for the Beginners Forums. You are most welcome to register on the Message Board and start some discussions, ask for help and make friends with groomers and others. You will soon learn that grooming opportunities and experiences are quite diverse and opinions can vary greatly. Better yet, how about sharing your experiences with your career plan and you might even help others too. That's what PetGroomer.com is about, opening up lines of communication between groomers that is still so sorely missing from our industry.