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Agricultural Equipment Operators

What do they 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.

Education Required

Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.

What Does This Job Pay?
Tennessee Average Salary: $86,000-$175,000
Median Annual Salary: $39,690
Median Hourly Salary: $20
Salary distribution bell curve graph
$30,050
$39,690
$54,550
One out of ten earn less than $30,050
The median salary is $39,690
One out of ten earn more than $54,550
Top Skills For This Job
  • Basic Skills
  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • Problem Solving
  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Will There Be Jobs?
Jobs more likely

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.

View high demand jobs.
Where in Tennessee is this job in high demand? Job is in high demand for the state of Tennessee
Group 6 Greater Memphis Southwest Northwest Northern Middle Southern Middle Southeast Upper Cumberland East Northeast
HIGH DEMAND
Job is in high demand in this region
Job not in high demand in this region
Are You On Track?
Typical education needed: Less than high school diploma
Less than high school diploma
High school diploma or equivalent
Post-secondary certificate
57%
19%
14%
Typical Daily Tasks
  • 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.
  • Spray fertilizer or pesticide solutions to control insects, fungus and weed growth, and diseases, using hand sprayers.