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Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

General Information

Description

Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.

Workplace at a Glance

What you can expect to experience while on the job

  • Responsibility
  • Exposure to job hazards
  • Physical activity
  • Decision making
  • Repetitiveness
  • Level of competition
  • Time pressure

Industry areas

  • Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources

Job Outlook

Projected Job Growth (2022 - 2032)
-2%
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Job Outlook

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Overall employment of agricultural workers is projected to decline 2 percent from 2022 to 2032. Despite declining employment, about 115,700 openings for agricultural workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Salary

Salary Information

Median Salary This is the median, or the midpoint, of the salary range for this career.

$33,000

State-by-state Salary

Gray states indicate no data available

Salary Range Salary varies based on years of experience, degree level and location.

$19,600
$43,340
No Information for this section

Education & Interests

Most Common Education Levels

People in this career achieve this level of education.

  • Less than high school 38%
  • High school 28%
  • Bachelor's degree 15%
  • Some college 5%
  • Master's degree 5%
  • Associate's degree 2%
  • First professional degree 2%
  • Post baccalaureate 1%
  • Doctoral degree 0%
  • Post-doctoral training 0%
  • Post-master's certificate 0%
  • Post-secondary certificate 0%

PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS

You may find this career fulfilling if you consider yourself to be:

  • Realistic — You have an interest in physically working with equipment, materials or structures.
  • Conventional — You have an interest in following procedures and regulations to organize information or data.

Not sure what characteristics best describe you? Take the RIASEC Test.

Skills at a Glance

Skills helpful in this career

  • Verbal skills
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Equipment operation & maintenance
  • Math & science skills
  • Technology design & control
  • Leadership

Knowledge

  • Biology
  • Mechanical
  • Chemistry
  • Food Production
  • Administration and Management

Gain insights into your knowledge by using the ASVAB Career Exploration Program

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Data supplied by Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center of Education Statistics, Defense Manpower Data Center (View our update schedule). Contact any business, college or military service branch to answer additional questions.