In Need of Some Career Advice

So originally on graduating high school this past June, I was slated to go on gap year before starting college but quickly realized traditional schooling just isn't really right for me and not what I want. I've been looking for programs specific to animal care/handling and found one that offers online courses, home studying, and externship that a friend/coworker of mine loves and I've heard some pretty good things about it.

The only thing is, while I know I want to work with dogs and other pets, I'm still not sure after all my research which program I would want to pursue. They offer three - grooming, training, and vet tech/assistance. I have fun training but at the same time hate how political it can get. I'm not much of a medical person but would love helping in the care of a pet. And from what I see and hear, grooming sounds pretty fun - not too intense and plenty of hands on experience with a variety of dogs and cats.

Could anyone who's taken courses like these or has/had a career in these areas lend me some experience or insight?

Personally I'd go with grooming/training. Both are flexible and allow you to go into business yourself at some point if you want. If you're interested in maybe opening a boarding kennel or dog daycare at some point those are also services that are complementary to having a kennel/daycare.

You have to really love medical stuff to work in the medical field long term with either people or animals. And techs/aids don't generally get paid enough to make a lifelong career out of it.