Aussie teen's job paying $300 per hour without a uni degree: 'Love it'
An Australian university student has revealed the side hustle job that pays him sometimes as much as $300 per hour. Angus Healy wasn't allowed to get a dog when he was young, so he decided to walk other people's pets in his spare time.
What started as a small-time gig while he was in high school has now morphed into a five-day-a-week job. He revealed he gets paid $50 per dog for an hour-long walk.
"I do three packs a day. Keeps me busy, which is good. I mean, walking along here [in Brisbane] each day, can't complain," he told jobs app GetAhead.
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When the 19-year-old was stopped on the streets of the Queensland capital, he was walking four dogs, meaning that hour alone saw him earn $200.
He said his biggest pack was six dogs at once, which would have been a $300 gig.
His pack size could change across the day and across the week, so it's hard to work out how much he could make.
But if he only walked one dog per session, he'd pull in $750 per week, $3,000 per month, or $36,000 per year.
If he were able to do his biggest pack size three times a day, every day, he'd make $4,500 per week, $18,000 per month, or a jaw-dropping $216,000 per year.
Healy said he works the job into his weekly university schedule, and it's helped him keep on top of everyday bills and expenses. He hopes it will eventually allow him to buy a house."I love it, it's good," he said. "But, I mean, it's like any business, [where] you have expenses and stuff."
He said sometimes he'll be able to do a walk with multiple dogs if they're social and relaxed, however, he also did one-on-one walks with pooches that might not gel well with others.
You don't technically need any qualifications to be a dog walker in Australia.
Aspiring dog walkers can take certain online courses to brush up on their knowledge of certain breeds or dog behaviour.
People starting out in the industry can expect to charge around $20 to 25 per hour, however, that can reach up to $30 to 50 per hour once they have a bit more experience.
A woman who owned a dog behavioural business revealed she charged $80 per dog to look after them for several hours.
This involved a 5km walk in the morning, as well as some off-lead social play time, followed by a nap and more social interaction in the afternoon.
She also does one-on-one sessions with owners to help them improve their dog's behaviour and temperament.
While each day can vary, she said her team looked after between 12 to 22 dogs per day.
That means her business was pulling in up to $1,760 every single day.
Being a dog behaviouralist takes a bit more training than being a dog walker.
Dogs Australia said the industry isn't properly regulated, meaning people could call themselves a dog behaviouralist without proper training.
But you can help legitimise yourself by completing a course like the Certificate IV in Companion Animal Services - Knowledge assessed and Skills Assesses, or the Certificate III Canine Training & Behaviour-Knowledge Assessed and skills assessed.
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