How to become a Zookeeper
Also called: Zoo Animal Trainer
Does all kinds of work to care for and breed animals at a zoo.
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 many zookeepers have graduated from a high school animal husbandry or agriculture course, an animal-focused senmon gakko (vocational college), or a university animal science department in an agriculture faculty or zoology department in a science faculty. For public zoos, the council's human resources department runs the recruitment exam. Some hire through the general local government recruitment exam, while others hold a separate exam for zookeeper positions. Private zoos and organisations contracted by councils run their own recruitment exams. In both cases there is little regular hiring, and most recruit when there is a vacancy. You need a love of animals and the attentiveness and observation skills to notice any problem or change. With many animals now facing extinction because of changes in the global environment, zoos play a big role in conserving endangered species, so you also need a sense of mission for that role.
Ways in
- Vocational college, junior college, kosen and trade skills tests: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Animal care. 専修学校 courses in 動物 (文化・教養関係) had 7,323 graduates in the 2024 school year, 5,927 of whom started work in a related field (School Basic Survey 2025, table 237). Course matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Pay · Job openings · AI and this job
- Average annual income: ¥3,607,500 Private sector only: employers with 10 or more staff. Public servants, such as public school teachers and police officers, are not in these figures.
- Monthly base pay (before overtime and bonus): median ¥229,000, and the middle half earn ¥197,900 to ¥283,100 a month.
- Pay measured for the wage survey group: Agriculture, forestry and fishery workers
- 1.07 job openings per applicant at Hello Work (2025). A current demand signal, not a projection. It counts only the jobs and job seekers registered at Hello Work, Japan's public employment offices, and many graduate and professional hires never pass through it.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Zookeeper?
No particular qualifications or level of education are needed to start, but many zookeepers have graduated from a high school animal husbandry or agriculture course, an animal-focused senmon gakko (vocational college), or a university animal science department in an agriculture faculty or zoology department in a science faculty. For public zoos, the council's human resources department runs the recruitment exam. Some hire through the general local government recruitment exam, while others hold a separate exam for zookeeper positions. Private zoos and organisations contracted by councils run their own recruitment exams. In both cases there is little regular hiring, and most recruit when there is a vacancy. You need a love of animals and the attentiveness and observation skills to notice any problem or change. With many animals now facing extinction because of changes in the global environment, zoos play a big role in conserving endangered species, so you also need a sense of mission for that role.
How much does a Zookeeper 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 a Zookeeper?
Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 13% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: Vocational college (専門学校) course: Animal care.
Will AI change the work of a Zookeeper?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Basic Survey on Wage Structure (賃金構造基本統計調査) 2025: earnings by occupation (2025 survey (June 2025 pay, 2024 bonus), published 2026-03-24), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Employment Referrals for General Workers (一般職業紹介状況): Hello Work job-openings-to-applicants ratio by occupation (2025 annual (release of 2026-10-02)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Statistics Bureau of Japan (MIC): 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査) detailed sample tabulation: employed by occupation, sex, age and education (2020 Census (tables 9-1 and 15-1, published 2022-12-27)), Government Standard Terms of Use 2.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- JILPT (職業情報データベース) via MHLW job tag: job tag download data: 解説系 (descriptions, how to become, related qualifications) and 簡易版数値系 (interests, tasks, education) (解説系 ver.7.01 (2026-06-04); 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00 (2026-03-17)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
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