What do a dolphin trainer do?

Answer 1

$40,000 USD About $40,000/year.

Getting Your Feet Wet

There are two routes to take depending where you are in your life when you decide you want to work with marine mammals. If you are fortunate enough to realize this is something you want relatively early, like before you are through college, you are ahead in the game. A degree in zoology, marine Biology, biology, or other related courses will advance your career quickly. It will also give you broader knowledge and background information associated with your career, like why dolphins always look like they are smiling.

Technically a college degree is not necessary. But the truth is most places will not hire someone lacking a degree unless they have a substantial amount of experience. The famous Catch-22 question is: How do I get experience if no one will hire me without a diploma? The best choice is either interning or volunteering at an aquatic facility (no, life guarding doesn't count). The little to no pay can be a drawback, but like anything worth pursuing, everyone must pay some dues. This also demonstrates desire, a quality employers value.

Looking Before You Leap

According to the International Marine Animal Trainers Association, marine mammal training "is a conditioning process through which animals receive mental stimulation, physical exercise, and husbandry care." So it's not just making dolphins jump through hoops. Trainers spend a great deal of their work time caring for the animals. This includes pool maintenance, food and diet preparation, and upkeep of the animals' water.

Another facet to a career as a marine mammal trainer is participating in and creating the numerous education programs facilities host. All of the organizations connected to marine mammal professions stress that through education, the public can better appreciate and understand the animals and their environments. With this in mind, it is helpful to have solid public-speaking skills and a lengthy temper.

What's Left?

So either you have your degree in hand or you have accumulated enough volunteer hours so that your hands are permanently wrinkled and you smell like fish no matter what soap you use. What other requirements are there? Most positions require a certification in Scuba, first aid, and water rescue (OK, so life guarding may help). Also considering the nature of the position, you need to be in above average physical condition. Medical examinations are usually mandatory and absolutely no drugs are tolerated.

Swimming in the Greenbacks

Quick warning: You will not get rich with a career in training dolphins. One organization's Web site reminds visitors "marine mammal scientists enter this field for the satisfaction of the work, not for the money-making potential of the career." Like any other career the money goes up with experience. But the competition is intense for such positions. And why not? Part of your job is to swim with dolphins. Average folks have to pay for the experience. In a recent survey, the median salary in the field was around $40,000. Those numbers won't break the bank, but you won't starve either. And if you do get a little hungry, you can probably sneak some smelt as a snack.

Answer 2

ANSWER 1: A "dolphin trainer" is an animal trainer, and that broad category's annual national median salary can be low, indeed... from the low- to mid-20,000(US) to perhaps high $30,000(US) range, depending on precisely where in the country the trainer is working, and for precisely whom s/he's working.

Dophins are such specialized and largely protected animals, though, that they tend to be in captivity only in zoos, places like Marine World, or in scientific research facilities. In places like those, the trainers tend to be scientists -- typically biologists or zoologists -- of some kind. The national median salary for a biologist or zoologist is closer to $45,000(US) to even as high as $75,000(US), with around $60,000(US) being fairly common... again, depending on where in the country, and for what kind of employer.

Assistant trainers, though, will tend to be animal technicians of some kind... sometimes even veterinary technicians. National median salary levels for such as they will be somewhat less... maybe in the $30,000(US) to $40,000(US) range; again, depending on where in country, and for what kind of employer.

Dolphin training, just generally, you should know, is becoming increasingly debated as something which, perhaps, humans should not be doing. Whale training, too. Whales and dolphins are not fish. They are extremely intelligent marine mammals. Keeping them in captivity for purposes of performing for and entertaining the public -- be it at an amusement park of some kind, or in a "swimming with the dolphins" sort of place -- is being increasingly decried by scientists.

And I don't mean nutty animal rights groups like PETA. I mean legitimate scientists who have worked with marine mammals and who finally realized just how intelligent are these creatures, and so how cruel it likely is to keep them pent-up in a pool of some kind, rather than allowing them to swim and live free, in the wild. I'm thinking, in particular, of one scientist in Florida whose name I just can't remember, but who used to work in a "swimming with the dolphins" sort of place, and who has since become one of the most vocal activists against it.

Of course, even he agrees that once the dophin has become accustomed to living in captivity, it likely can't be released back into the wild because it may no longer know how to feed and care for itself; and also wouldn't have the benefit of being part of a large pod. Lone dolphins are extremely vulnerable to predation by larger creatures like Great White Sharks. Dolphins in a pod, though, don't fear even large sharks; and are notorious, when necessary, when in self-defense, for ramming even large sharks at high speed with their heads.

Dolphins mercifully removed from captivity where they performed in such as amusement parks are often taken to places like the not-for-profit DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER in The Florida Keys...

...where even though people are still allowed to swim with the dolphins (which purist activists say shouldn't be allowed), they're at least treated far better; and can live-out their lives enjoying themselves in a more natural environment (in the actual ocean, in fact); and where they can help human scientists learn more about dolphins (without them being mistreated in any way, mind you) along the way. Even purist activists agree that a place like that is many times better for the formerly-in-amusement-park-type captivity dolphin.

It's just a suggestion, but instead of becoming a dophin trainer, working for such as an amusement park where dolphins' lives are arguably not very nice, why not become the kind of scientist (or even only a technician) who works at a place like that? You'd get the same kind of enjoyment out of it, yet you'd be helping the animal far more than if you trained it for public entertainment in some amusement park (or even zoo) somewhere!

It changes the subject, I realize, but if you'd really like to do something for marine mammals, learn about manatees; and then consider being one of the scientists which study them, and which try to protect them from being injured by such as boat propellers (very common injuries with manatees) and other perils. Scientists working with manatees claim a very high degree of job satisfaction, and really help an important species... not that dolphins aren't important, too, mind you.

Just a suggestion.

Answer 3

I'm pretty sure you have to have gone to uni and done at least a years work on marine biology or zoology to complete a full years course to work with dolphins you need to be a good public speaker and defiantly a good swimmer you would also be needed to have completed a scuba diving certificate as in your marine biology training courses you will do a free dive to the bottom of a 26feet pool as you can see you will be needed to no a lot of information to become a marine biologist and work with your choice of marine animal.

Answer 4

that is not proper english. maybe you mean what does a dolphin trainer do?

Answer 5

25,000 a year

Answer 6

About 100-500 dollars