Career · Nature and living things
Dog handler
Trains dogs and works with them, and teaches people how to treat them properly.
Career overview
What a day looks like
A dog handler runs sessions with a dog and its owner: shows commands, practises them and explains how to read the animal's behaviour. They spend a lot of time outdoors every day and must be able to stay calm.
Try it yourself this week
30 minutes
Make a care guide for a pet or a plant
- Choose a pet or houseplant that you or people you know look after.
- Watch it for 15 minutes and write down what it's doing, what it eats or drinks and how it looks.
- Ask the owner: what does it need every day, and what once a week?
- Make a guide for someone who'll look after it while the owner is away: what to do and what to watch out for.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you like caring for those who depend on you and noticing small signs that something is wrong.
30 minutes
Watch living things outside and take notes for 20 minutes
- Find a place near your home with something alive: a tree, birds, an anthill, a vegetable bed or a flower bed.
- Watch for 20 minutes and write down everything that changes: who flew in, what they're doing, how they behave.
- Ask yourself one question you don't know the answer to (for example, why birds land right here).
- Find the answer in any source and write down whether it matched your guess.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you have the patience to watch living things for a long time, and enjoy looking for explanations of what you saw.
What you can do next
Next 3 months
Learn dog body language
Read in a reliable source how dogs show what they feel and make a short reminder.
In six months
Make a pet-care reminder
Write up care rules for a dog, cat or another pet. Do not touch dogs you do not know.
In a year
Ask a specialist
Together with your parents, ask a dog handler what a session looks like and how to meet an unfamiliar dog safely.
What it pays
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Where to study
No verified information is available in this section yet.
How to get into college
College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.
- Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab) - About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab) - There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university
The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.
- The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
Courses and opportunities
Opportunities near this field
- ProgrammefreeAtlas of New Professions (opens in a new tab)
Минтруда РК и Центр развития трудовых ресурсов
Who it's for: everyone.
When: reference guide, always available.
Atlas of New Professions: which jobs will appear, change or disappear in the next 5–10 years. Free to read.
Checked: September 2026
Source: atlasbt.enbek.kz (opens in a new tab) - Volunteeringfreeages 16–35UNICEF youth volunteering programme (opens in a new tab)
ЮНИСЕФ Казахстан
Who it's for: ages 16 to 35.
When: recruitment in waves: summer and autumn.
UNICEF youth volunteering: about 20 hours a month. You need to speak Kazakh or Russian.
Checked: September 2026
Source: unicef.org (opens in a new tab)
Can you work before you turn 18?
Under Kazakhstan's Labour Code, teenagers can work, but with limits.
- Usually you can work from age 16. From 15 — if you are getting basic or general secondary education. From 14 — only in your free time outside school and only light work. If you are under 16, you need a signature from a parent or legal guardian.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - From 14 to 16 you can work no more than 24 hours a week; from 16 to 18, no more than 36 hours a week.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - Under-18s must not be given heavy or hazardous work, jobs with full financial liability, night work, overtime or business trips.
Source: mybuh.kz (opens in a new tab)
History of the career
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Well-known people in this field
No verified information is available in this section yet.