Agricultural Equipment Operators
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 45-2091.00United States
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking.
- Median annual earnings
- $37,742
- Projected change
- +10.8%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 77.48K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
75.9% of the workforce
Growing to 85.84K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What agricultural equipment operators do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Load and unload crops or containers of materials, manually or using conveyors, handtrucks, forklifts, or transfer augers.
- Mix specified materials or chemicals, and dump solutions, powders, or seeds into planter or sprayer machinery.
- Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
- Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.
- Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
- Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.
- Adjust, repair, and service farm machinery and notify supervisors when machinery malfunctions.
- Attach farm implements such as plows, discs, sprayers, or harvesters to tractors, using bolts and hand tools.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $17,815
- 25th percentile
- $28,542
- 50th percentile
- $37,742
- 75th percentile
- $47,117
- 90th percentile
- $62,273
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $37,742 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+10.8%faster than average
202577,475 jobs
2035 projected85,839 jobs
8,364 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 75.9%
- Certificate
- 14.4%
- Some college
- 9.5%
- Associate degree
- 0.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Agricultural Equipment Operators1,167 postings
- 02Equipment Operators552 postings
- 03Farm Equipment Operators308 postings
- 04Farm Workers19 postings
- 05Machine Operators11 postings
- 06Equipment Operators/Laborers10 postings
- 07Agronomy Operations Managers7 postings
- 08Machinery Operators6 postings
- 09Engineering Equipment Operators5 postings
- 10Equipment Operators/Mechanics5 postings
- 11Equipment Operators/Truck Drivers4 postings
- 12Lead Equipment Operators4 postings
- 13Maintenance Equipment Operators4 postings
- 14Drivers/Equipment Operators3 postings
- 15Fire Equipment Operators3 postings
- 16Irrigation Technicians3 postings
- 17Custom Applicators2 postings
- 18Farm Hands2 postings
- 19Grounds Equipment Operators2 postings
- 20Heavy Equipment Operators2 postings
Top employers
- 01Hansen Agri-PLACEMENT50 postings
- 02Agricruit LTD15 postings
- 03Super Sod9 postings
- 04John Deere7 postings
- 05Growmark6 postings
- 06Bachman's5 postings
- 07Del Norte Harvesting5 postings
- 08Hyatt5 postings
- 09Mid Kansas Cooperative5 postings
- 10Mkc5 postings
- 11University of Minnesota5 postings
- 12University of Wisconsin-Madison5 postings
- 13B & J Lehman Farms4 postings
- 14Beachner Grain4 postings
- 15Black Gold Farms4 postings
- 16Denali Water Solutions4 postings
- 17Duncan Family Farms4 postings
- 18Elkhart Fertilizer Service4 postings
- 19King Ranch4 postings
- 20Landmark Services Cooperative4 postings
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