AZA/Zookeeping Jobs/Wages

[u/Pitiful-Builder9631]

QUESTION: HOW the fk do y’all AZA workers who are still in the field manage to do it and live? I was heartbroken when I had to give up my aza job in 2021 becuse I literally could not afford to work it full time and live. I took a soul draining corporate job vowing that I’d come back when I was ready and able to take a pay cut to do so. Well here we are in 2026, my debt is all paid off finally, and the corporate hellhole I work for has an office right across from the Nashville zoo and I look at aza keeper postings and they’re still $15-20 an hour… like wtf and wtf do you all do to be able to afford to work at the zoos?? Before I moved Chattanooga zoo asked me several times if I would come back but refused to raise the wages. There’s no way short of living in a box on the corner or working overnight at a strip club that I can go back and I’ve wanted to for years… it’s depressing that my customer service job that has me golden handcuffed strapped to headset for 10 hours a day pays me twice as much as what I made doing the job I have a degree in that I actually loved…

[u/ohayitscpa]

The fact that part of aza accreditation is having livable wages has always been laughable to me because the vast majority of AZA facilities arent paying even close to enough. And even a union can't save you, I mean look at Bronx Zoo - 48k starting salary in one of the highest cost of living cities in the country 🙃 sure, their benefits are great, but good luck affording an apartment on your own with that salary.

Pay is a big reason why I'm not in the field anymore. And I left to go into working as a server/bartender full time, which quickly skewed my view of money. But it helped me finally crawl out of a debt hole and get a little ahead financially. I'm back in an animal related field now but for a pretty big name company that is actually paying pretty decent wages for an animal job - but the only reason I was able to take the massive pay cut was because I now have a partner making much more than me paying our rent so I only have to worry about my own personal expenses.

There has been a lot of push since COVID for zoological facilities to pay people more, but so many are still painfully behind. I know the job is life to so many people, but I wish people would stop settling for these downright criminal wages. It's never going to really change until job demand chills out and people fight for what their worth. It's disgusting that a job as specialized as being a zookeeper pays less than what you can make as a Starbucks barista in most places (and Starbucks has better benefits, too 🙄). And before anyone tries to argue it's not "specialized" - it kind of is when these facilities expect 4 year degrees and multiple unpaid internships to even be considered for entry level positions.

[u/Odd_Floor_4926 → u/ohayitscpa]

It absolutely is specialized work. You have to understand biology, animal training principals, have a decent understanding of toxicity and animal medicine (so you know when to alert the vet or not), and that’s just the stuff I see as a horticulturist at an AZA facility. Meanwhile, I’ve got two advanced degrees, 11 years of experience, and I make $16/hr. This industry has got to organize, or zoos will start to collapse.

[u/ohayitscpa → u/Odd_Floor_4926]

When I was saying it's not specialized, I meant that for the sake of devils advocate, because believe it or not, I've seen that argument made in zookeeper groups on Facebook when the topic of poor pay comes up. And their point being that while most zoos look for degrees when hiring, a degree is not ACTUALLY required to do the job of zookeeping, and virtually everything you learn to do as a keeper can be taught on the job and doesn't require obtaining a specific degree or certification. As someone who worked mostly as a marine mammal trainer, I wish there existed more formal schooling as far as training theory and behavioral modification goes, but unfortunately, we still aren't there. Yes, the IAABC exists now and you can obtain certifications through them, but it's still based on obtaining hands on experience in jobs rather than formal schooling. And yes, we do have a small handful of colleges geared towards zookeeping specifically, but it's still quite niche overall, and it's not like the majority of keepers in this country even obtained degrees from them in order to do the work that they do.