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Aquaculture workers

How to become an Aquarium Keeper

Also called: Aquarist

Looks after aquatic animals at an aquarium, mainly fish and marine mammals, feeding them and cleaning their tanks.

Workers in this job say vocational college (senmon gakko) or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but the work needs knowledge of aquatic life, and job vacancies are often sent to university fisheries faculties and fisheries high schools whose courses cover fisheries biology, water quality, aquaculture and fish diseases. Aquarium keepers are hired all at once when a new aquarium opens. Otherwise there are openings to fill vacancies. New aquariums do not open every year, so recruitment exams attract many applicants and competition is tough. When a public aquarium hires, it may use the council personnel committee's general recruitment exam or its own exam run by the department in charge of the aquarium. The general exam hires a set number of people for each job type to match the council's staffing, so you may not be placed in the workplace you want. New private aquariums also usually hire by exam. Qualifications such as diver or museum curator can sometimes be an advantage.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Aquarium Keeper?

No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but the work needs knowledge of aquatic life, and job vacancies are often sent to university fisheries faculties and fisheries high schools whose courses cover fisheries biology, water quality, aquaculture and fish diseases. Aquarium keepers are hired all at once when a new aquarium opens. Otherwise there are openings to fill vacancies. New aquariums do not open every year, so recruitment exams attract many applicants and competition is tough. When a public aquarium hires, it may use the council personnel committee's general recruitment exam or its own exam run by the department in charge of the aquarium. The general exam hires a set number of people for each job type to match the council's staffing, so you may not be placed in the workplace you want. New private aquariums also usually hire by exam. Qualifications such as diver or museum curator can sometimes be an advantage.

How much does an Aquarium Keeper earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥3,607,500 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Agriculture, forestry and fishery workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Aquarium Keeper?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 8% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Animal care.

Will AI change the work of an Aquarium Keeper?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026