What’s it really like being a dog groomer? The good and the bad

[barnabasp]

@sheiriam I was referring to you saying you won't make 60k, not that I made more than you. You said we don't get paid like that, and I was pointing out that you can get paid like that. Wasn't intending to sound condescending.

 

[sheiriam]

@barnabasp You make 60k a year?

The average is about 30-40k

I'm just trying to help OP realize that they won't have the same income. A 20k a year less salary is life-changing.

 

[barnabasp]

@sheiriam I make over that, yes. 30-40k a year isn't the average around here. Maybe it's regional, but to say that she's automatically going to make 20k less just isn't necessarily accurate.

 

[daleviewrd]

@sheiriam Thanks for the heads up! Can I ask what your work week looks like and if you get 50% commission?

Training where I’m at is $15/hour. and working up to with 50% commission, my thought was I’d definitely make $15 on top of that (equaling around 60k with at least a 40 hour work week).

 

[barnabasp]

@daleviewrd I work off of 50% commission for a corp and am able to support myself pretty comfortably, in a relatively high COL area. I do anywhere from 5-7 dogs a day. It is entirely attainable.

 

[sheiriam]

@daleviewrd No you make either 15 an hour or 50% commission. Not both, just whatever is higher. I make 60% commission and I'm just surviving.

It depends on the cost of living where you are located. Yeah some spots are 100$ grooms but that's like LA and higher col areas. Most small dogs average about 50-60 dollars. Most groomers average about 4-6 dogs a day. You'll need to do about 10 a day to make 60k a year and you'll be dead with no soul if you do that.

You also will have to buy and maintain tools which are not cheap either.

 

[daleviewrd]

@sheiriam Ah, that makes much more sense. I don’t know where I got the “on top of 15” idea from. Thank you for sharing.

 

[gentleminh]

@daleviewrd sometimes it can be so gross. i don’t think thats stressed enough.

 

[ronanddeb2014]

@daleviewrd so! a lot of people saying you can’t make money at this job but that hasn’t really been my experience. my experience is that it’s an absolutely backbreaking job but you can make a good amount off of it. (I made 55k last year and I’ve had coworkers that were making in the 80s-even six figures (doing an amount of haircuts that I, a pretty quick groomer, found insane) but the girlies that were making that much were definitely disabled by their chronic pain, so. y’know. pick your poison.

but I’m also 3 years in and I was definitely not making that much as an apprentice, so you’d be taking a hefty paycut, probably until around your second year (where, in my experience, it “clicks” for a lot of people and their speed goes up)

I’m concerned about everyone in comments saying they’re making significantly less. y’all ok? I couldn’t imagine doing this job without it being cushy it’s hard as fuck

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@daleviewrd The burnout is real. Hard days and a sore body. The bad dogs and bad clients will push you beyond your breaking point. It’s immensely difficult. I don’t really ever feel like “but it’s so rewarding it’s worth it!” Even tho I do like it, if I could go back in time I’d change my path.

 

[leeflack1]

@daleviewrd I'm also interested in the answers to this. I note the comments about it being tough physically - I do already have sciatica from my current job but I find it manageable with yoga and exercise.

Ultimately I've realised my dream is to get qualified as a dog trainer, until then I really want to get out of my current career as I'm really burnt out. I felt like dog grooming might be a natural progression at least a small step in the right direction maybe? Or at least a change.

I am UK based currently working as a Eyfs lead nursery teacher which I've done for 13 years - long hours and high demand mentally and physically. The physical side I can deal with, but for many reasons it's just not what I want to do any more... I don't mind living on a slightly lower wage as I'm not earning a great amount now.

I have a dog myself, and grew up with dogs so am confident handling various breeds. Admittedly my pup is short haired and requires very little grooming so I don't have much experience specifically in that.
Would this be a job I could do? Or would I just be trading one hard job/burnout for another.
Thanks to anyone who took the time to read all this.

 

[dagassman76]

@daleviewrd You'll have back and hand problems after a couple of years of constant work. Unless you work corporate you may not have health insurance to deal with it. With the influx of doodles, makes the job much harder than it used to be 30 yrs ago. I started out doing mostly purebred dogs who were much better behaved back then. Now we have Frankenstein breeding that's resulting in bad behaviors. Don't get me started on the owners of these mutts. These people are off the chain nutty.

 

[maysa]

@daleviewrd People have covered a lot of good stuff to consider but one thing I wanted to be sure to point out is...

I am looking for a career where I’m on my feet and has a go-go-go, work with my hands, busy energy.

This is very true of dog grooming in a typical salon and you will absolutely get that, but it's a bad thing. Even if it's something you value, it's not a job that typically has a healthy hustle about it and it's something that really needs to change in the industry. You're working with live animals. Busy stressful energy, rushing, go go go, high paced execution are all not qualities conducive to a safe, calm, communicative grooming experience and the dogs and groomers really suffer for it. The air is tense, the dogs are uneasy, people are on edge, no ones eating lunch, dogs are getting injured, corners are being cut. Groomers work that way because they have to in order to groom enough dogs to make a living and meet their expected number of dogs groomed per day often set by the salon. They're rushing and working fast because there are too many dogs on the schedule not to. If you're looking for a job where the fast pace is healthy, this isn't a good one.

 

[hiskidd]

@daleviewrd Doing 4-7 pets (size dependent) a day 5 days a week Im going to be making an estimated 30-40k before taxes. Our small dogs are 65 large 90 and cats are 70-85 rabbits 50. (-10-15 if just bath brush face feet fanny) we’re in an upper lower or lower middle class area. My cost of tool maintenance is about 1.5-2k/yr spread through the year as an independent contractor Im taxed at a higher percentage and the grand total of acquiring my tools is an estimated 2k on top of all the extra demos/training I paid for throughout my career (I am self taught and then took on an apprenticeship to fine tune what I already had.)