Agricultural Equipment Operators
What Agricultural Equipment Operators Do
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. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 7.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- English Languageimportance 3.4/5
- Mechanicalimportance 2.9/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 2.8/5
- Mathematicsimportance 2.8/5
- Transportationimportance 2.7/5
- Production and Processingimportance 2.7/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 2.6/5
- Chemistryimportance 2.6/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions4.3/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.2/5
- In an Enclosed Vehicle or Operate Enclosed Equipment4.1/5
- Exposed to Very Hot or Cold Temperatures3.9/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals3.9/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team3.8/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Pile Driver Operators97% skill match
- Wellhead Pumpers96% skill match
- Logging Equipment Operators96% skill match
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators96% skill match
- Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas95% skill match
- Power Plant Operators95% skill match
- Gas Compressor and Gas Pumping Station Operators95% skill match
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic95% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Operation and Controlimportance 3.9/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 3.8/5
- Troubleshootingimportance 3.1/5
- Equipment Maintenanceimportance 3.0/5
- Repairingimportance 3.0/5
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 3.0/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 2.9/5
- Coordinationimportance 2.8/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- Farm Management Software Hay and Crop Manager
- Martens Farms Farm Site Mate
- Martens Farms Farm Trac
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Dependability
- Attention to Detail
- Cautiousness
- Perseverance
- Stress Tolerance
- Integrity
- Achievement Orientation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- InvestigativeLow
- EnterprisingLow
- ArtisticLow
- SocialLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where agricultural equipment operators make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Napa, CA41.06× national avg
- 2Hanford-Corcoran, CA23.72× national avg
- 3El Centro, CA21.84× national avg
- 4Visalia, CA20.86× national avg
- 5Salinas, CA19.90× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersCareer Change
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment OperatorsCareer Change
- Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and TendersCareer Change
- Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment OperatorsCareer Change
See the full career path from Agricultural Equipment Operators →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.