Survey Results - Pet Grooming Career Seeker Survey for 2001

3,441 questionnaires were completed. 93.3% completed all questions. All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number in percentage form. Career seekers from at least 44 U.S. states participated, as well as career seekers in Canada, Mexico and 14 other foreign countries.

1. How strong is your interest in the pet grooming industry?

A.  Very Little - 0%
B.  Little - 0%
C.  Fair - 4%
D.  Strong - 30%
E.  Certain - 66%

2. Would you prefer to be employed by a pet grooming business, or a self-employed pet groomer and business owner?

A.  Employed - 23%
B.  Self-Employed - 67%

3. Select the subject areas you are most interested in:

A.  Dog Grooming - 71%
B.  Cat Grooming - 23%
C.  Other Animal Grooming -6%

4. Which category below best characterizes your past work experience?

A.  Non-Office Worker / Laborer - 19%
B.  Sales - 13%
C.  Office Supervisors and Staff - 13%
D.  Management - 12%
E.  Medical (non-veterinary) - 7%
F.   Self-Employment - 11%
G.  Technician - 1%
H.  Military - 3%
I.   Government - 2%
J.  Pet care (non grooming) - 19%

5. What is your present, or most recent, annual wage earnings from employment (prior taxes)? If you are self-employed, your answer should reflect your personal net income before taxes that you earned from the business, not the gross revenue of sales or services earned by the business. (figures are in United States dollars)

A.  Under $10,000 - 4%
B.  $10,001 to $20,000 - 12%
C.  $20,001 to $30,000 - 33%
D.  $30,001 to $40,000 - 21%
E.  $40,001 to $50,000 - 23%
F.  $50,001 to $75,000 - 5%
G.  Over $75,000 - 2%

6. Have any of your past occupations, or current occupation, involved working with pets?

A.  Yes - 34%
B.  No - 66%

7. The ratio of men versus women entering the pet grooming industry is important. Please let us know your gender.

A.  Female - 81
B.  Male - 19%

8. Also important is your age bracket. Please select one of the following age brackets.

A.  Under 25 - 35%
B.  25-35 - 40%
C.  36-45 - 19%
D.  46-55 - 5%
E.  Over 55 - 1%

9. How did you hear about the PetGroomer.com Career Center?

A.  Internet search engine or newsgroup - 65%
B.  Friend or family member - 9%
C.  Career counselor or career organization - 8%
D.  Referral from someone in pet industry - 7%
E.  Magazine or newspaper article or review - 2%
F.  PetGroomer.com advertisement - 4%
G.  Other - 5%

1. Are you planning to attend a school of pet dog or cat grooming?


A.  Yes - 81%
B.  No - 19%

2. How much do you plan to spend for tuition, registration and tools at a school of pet grooming?

A.  Under $1,000 - 19%
B.  $1,000 to $2,000 - 23%
C.  $2,001 to $4,000 - 29%
D.  $4,001 to $6,000 - 27%
E.  Over $6,000 - 2%

3. Which of the following best describes your plan to first work in the pet grooming industry?

A.  Employment as a pet bather or pet groomer in a pet grooming business - 63%
B.  Open my own mobile grooming business - 17%
C.  Open my own in-home grooming business - 7%
D.  Open my own grooming business in a commercial location - 12%
E.  Other - 1%

4. If you plan to be self-employed, will you have a partner in your business?

A.  Yes. Husband or wife will work with me as a part-time or full-time partner - 30%
B.  Yes. Non-related business partner either part-time or full-time - 27%
C.  No business partners - 43%

5. If your business grows to where you need to hire employees, will you hire employees?

A.  No, I only want to work alone - 19%
B.  Yes, I want to grow a larger business - 81%

6. How much income do you plan to earn your first year as an employee, or net income from business when self-employed (not gross income for business)?

A.  Under $10,000 - 5%
B.  $10,001 to $20,000 - 24%
C.  $20,001 to $30,000 - 31%
D.  $30,001 to $40,000 - 25%
E.  $40,001 to $50,000 - 12%
F.  $50,001 to $75,000 - 3%
G.  Over $75,000 - 0%

7. Which of the following (more than one answer is acceptable) are important in choosing a school of pet grooming to attend?

A.   Close to my present home - 38%
B.   Their formal licensing and accreditation status - 48%
C.   Quality of their curriculums - 72%
D.   Their references and reputation - 32%
E.   Price - 39%
F.   Background of owner, director and instructors - 12%
G.   Confidence that the school has enough pet owner clientele to provide adequate number of pets for each student to groom - 18%
H.   Facilities, including a library and an assigned workstation not shared with other students - 11%
I.    Number of enrolled students attending at the same time - 16%

8. Are you willing to travel out of your area or state to attend the school of your choice where reasonable accommodations can be found?

A.  Yes - 42%
B.  No - 58%

9. How important is the availability of financial aid in selecting a school of pet grooming?

A.  Not important - 24%
B.  Somewhat important - 48%
C.  Very important 28%

10. How many hours of instruction and hands-on grooming experience do you expect of a very professional pet grooming course?

A.  Under 100 hours - 3%
B.  101 to 200 hours - 11%
C.  201 to 300 hours - 22%
D.  301 to 400 hours - 25%
E.  401 to 500 hours - 20%
F.  Over 500 hours - 19%

11. After you gain the appropriate experience, do you plan on being certified by a pet grooming association?

A.  No - 23%
B.  Yes - 77%

12. Have you talked any pet groomer employees or pet grooming business owners about your career plans?

A.  Yes - 49%
B.  No - 51%

13. Do you plan to work as a pet grooming employee or open a pet grooming business where you live now, or will you be relocating?

A.  I will remain in the area where I presently am - 75%
B.  I plan to move out of my area - 25%

14. How far would you relocate to open your pet grooming business or to accept an appealing pet grooming job offer?

A.   I will not relocate out of my present area - 64%
B.   I am willing to relocate up to 50 miles away from my present area - 21%
C.   I am willing to relocate up to 500 miles away from my present area - 12%
D.   I am willing to relocated over 500 miles away from my present area - 3%

15. Are you willing to accept less income to enter the pet grooming industry where? For example, you may be quitting a $40,000 a year job to start a new career in pet grooming earning less than $25,000 the first year.

A.   No, I will not accept a pay loss to enter the pet grooming industry - 18%
B.   Yes, I am willing to accept a pay loss to enter the pet grooming industry - 82%

16. Which of the following skills do you plan to learn? More than one answer is acceptable here.

A.  Dog grooming (non-show) - 81%
B.  Cat grooming - 29%
C.  Professional show grooming - 12%
D.  Other animal grooming - 9%

17. If you are planning to be self-employed as a pet groomer, will you first write a business plan?

A.  Yes - 73%
B.  No - 10%
C.  I don't know what a business plan is - 17% (Please read about business plans. They are important).

18. Which pet grooming business books (not how-to groom - but how to run and manage) do you already own? More than one answer is acceptable here.

A.  The Art and Business of Pet Grooming by Dorothy Walin - 17%
B.   From Problems to Profits - The Madson Management System for Pet Grooming Businesses by Madeline Bright Ogle, Hon. PhD. - 62%
C.  Other - 21%

19. In the next year (after graduation if you are in school now), how much do you plan to spend for small tools and equipment such as clippers, scissors, blades, nail clippers and similar small grooming tools?

A.  Under $500 - 1%
B.  $501 to $1,000 - 10%
C.  $1,001 to $1,500 - 22%
D.  $1,501 to $2,000 - 35%
E.  Over $2,000 - 32%

20. In the next year (after graduation if you are in school now), how much do you plan to spend for larger equipment like a "Hydrosurge®" bathing system, dryers, grooming tables, bathing tubs, pet lifts or ramps, and other similar large grooming equipment. (Do not include mobile grooming vans here.)

A.  Under $1,000 - 6%
B.  $1,000 to $2,000 - 51%
C.  $2,001 to $3,000 - 27%
D.  $4,001 to $5,000 - 15%
E.  Over $5,000 - 1%

21. Would you be interested in taking career management and business courses in pet grooming via the Internet? (not how to groom, but how to better manage your business and career).

A.  Yes - 91%
B.  No - 9%

22. Have you purchased how-to groom books and videos, or plan to soon?

A.  Yes - 81%
B.  No - 19%

23. At present, pet grooming is not a formally licensed profession in any state of the U.S.A. Do you favor vocational licensing of this profession? (Webmaster note: more info on this topic is available by taking the Licensing and Certification links on the PetGroomer.com Home Page).

A.  Yes - 69%
B.  No - 31%

24. In the next year (after graduation if you are in school now), how much do you plan to spend for grooming supplies (not equipment or tools) but things like shampoos, conditioners, ear powders, ointments, bows and ribbon, cleansers, etc.)

A.  Under $500 - 12%
B.  $500 to $1,000 - 32%
C.  $1,001 to $1,500 - 36%
D.  $1,501 to $2,000 - 16%
E.  Over $2,500 - 4%

Return to Surveys Main Page to view more results or to select a current survey.