---
title: "Agricultural Technician"
description: "Work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Set up or maintain laboratory…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Agricultural Technician

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-4012 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-4012.00

Work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Set up or maintain laboratory equipment and collect samples from crops or animals. Prepare specimens or record data to assist scientists in biology or related life science experiments. Conduct tests and experiments to improve yield and quality of crops or to increase the resistance of plants and animals to disease or insects.

Also advertised as: Agricultural Research Technician (Agricultural Research Tech); Agricultural Research Technologist; Agricultural Technician (Agricultural Tech); Agriculture Assistant; Agronomy Research Technician (Agronomy Research Tech); Field Assistant; Insect Research Technician (Insect Research Tech); Lab Tech (Laboratory Technician).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $49,630 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $23.86/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $35,980 to $76,480, with the middle half between $40,950 and $63,630
- **Total US employment:** 15,130
- **Typical entry education:** Associate's
- **Preparation required:** Some preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.4% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 2,800 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 52/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 15,130 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $35,980 |
| 25th | $40,950 |
| 50th (median) | $49,630 |
| 75th | $63,630 |
| 90th | $76,480 |
| Mean (average) | $53,840 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IA | $64,070 | $73,004 | Not published by BLS |
| WY | $63,120 | $68,097 | 30 |
| AZ | $62,990 | $62,566 | Not published by BLS |
| CA | $60,320 | $54,480 | 2,420 |
| KY | $59,860 | $66,394 | 210 |
| MN | $57,310 | $58,111 | 530 |
| NJ | $54,370 | $49,970 | Not published by BLS |
| MO | $54,060 | $59,526 | 420 |
| DE | $52,510 | $52,611 | Not published by BLS |
| NC | $51,470 | $54,566 | 550 |
| TX | $50,270 | $51,794 | 120 |
| MD | $49,680 | $47,333 | 200 |
| GA | $48,960 | $50,845 | 1,020 |
| ID | $48,870 | $51,176 | 650 |
| MS | $48,800 | $56,122 | 190 |

24 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 39 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/agricultural-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 19,500 in the 2025–2035 base year to 20,600 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 1,100 jobs, or +5.4%. Faster than average: 5.4% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 2,800 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Associate's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Some preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Moderate-term on-the-job training.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) | 41.3% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 18.2% |
| Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree | 13.2% |
| Doctoral Degree | 7.2% |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 6.0% |
| Some College Courses | 5.5% |

## What the work involves

- Collect animal or crop samples.
- Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care.
- Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness.
- Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks.
- Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops.
- Supervise or train agricultural technicians or farm laborers.
- Examine animals or crop specimens to determine the presence of diseases or other problems.
- Set up laboratory or field equipment as required for site testing.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Instructing — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operations Monitoring — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Operation and Control — importance 2.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Food Production — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Biology — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Chemistry — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mechanical — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Administration and Management — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Realistic (R), Investigative (I), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| R — Realistic | 6.82 |
| I — Investigative | 4.57 |
| C — Conventional | 4.26 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.99 |
| S — Social | 1.46 |
| A — Artistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 92.2 |
| ISTP | 82.4 |
| INTJ | 75.1 |
| ESTJ | 72.0 |
| ISFJ | 69.7 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Agricultural Engineer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-engineer) — median $98,590
- [Biological Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biological-technician) — median $57,510
- [Farmer or Agricultural Manager](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farmer-or-agricultural-manager) — median $89,900
- [Precision Agriculture Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/precision-agriculture-technician) — median $49,630
- [Food Science Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/food-science-technician) — median $52,130
- [Food Scientist and Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/food-scientist-and-technologist) — median $88,720
- [Biofuels Processing Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/biofuels-processing-technician) — median $62,470
- [First-Line Supervisor of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers](https://nuecareer.com/careers/first-line-supervisor-of-farming-fishing-and-forestry-workers) — median $59,320
- [Forest and Conservation Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/forest-and-conservation-technician) — median $54,560
- [Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/medical-and-clinical-laboratory-technician) — median $62,930

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/agricultural-technician