Cat Owners Follow Similar Careers

We’ve all heard people claim to be either a dog person or a cat person, and this pet preference is supposed to provide insight into their personality. But does the type of animal you own say anything about your career path? According to nationwide survey released last week by Careerbuilder.com, it does.

The online survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, looked at dog, cat and other pet ownership in relation to a person’s chosen profession, compensation and job satisfaction. More than 2,300 U.S. workers with cats, dogs and other pets were polled for the survey.

It found that workers with dogs were more likely to hold senior management positions, such as a CEO or senior vice president. Workers with snakes or other reptiles were more likely to earn six figures, and bird owners were more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, according to the survey.

In terms of career paths, the survey found that owners of certain pets were more likely to report being drawn to certain professions. Specifically:

• Dog owners were more likely to be professors, nurses, information technology professionals, military professionals and entertainers;

• Cat owners were more likely to be physicians, real estate agents, lab technicians, machine operators and personal caretakers;

• Fish owners were more likely to be human resources professionals, financial professionals, hotel and leisure professionals, farming/fishing/forestry professionals and transportation professionals;

• Bird owners were more likely to be advertising professionals, sales reps, construction workers and administrative professionals; and

• Reptile owners were more likely to be engineers, social workers, marketing and public relations professionals, editors or writers and police officers.