Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · Holland code RC

Agricultural Equipment Operators

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.

Also called: Equipment Operator, Farm Equipment Operator, Loader Operator, Rake Operator, Baler Operator, Cutter Operator, Hay Baler, Packing Tractor Machine Operator.

O*NET 45-2091.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $41,730; Middle half earn $36,810 to $48,100. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Less than a High School Diploma; 57% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Observe and listen to machinery operation to detect equipment malfunctions.
Manipulate controls to set, activate, and adjust mechanisms on machinery.
Load hoppers, containers, or conveyors to feed machines with products, using forklifts, transfer augers, suction gates, shovels, or pitchforks.
Direct and monitor the activities of work crews engaged in planting, weeding, or harvesting activities.
Operate or tend equipment used in agricultural production, such as tractors, combines, and irrigation equipment.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.0 / 5
Critical Thinking2.9 / 5
Speaking2.8 / 5
Monitoring2.8 / 5
Reading Comprehension2.3 / 5
Active Learning2.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language3.4 / 5
Mechanical2.9 / 5
Public Safety and Security2.8 / 5
Mathematics2.8 / 5
Transportation2.7 / 5
Production and Processing2.7 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic100
Investigative25
Artistic0
Social0
Enterprising6
Conventional45

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

agricultural engineer · DE Ingenieur Agrarwirtschaft/Ingenieurin Agrarwirtschaft · FR ingénieur agronome/ingénieure agronome
agricultural equipment design engineer · DE Entwicklungsingenieur für landwirtschaftliche Ausrüstung/Entwicklungsingenieurin für landwirtschaftliche Ausrüstung · FR ingénieur sciences et techniques des équipements agricoles/ingénieure sciences et techniques des équipements agricoles
agronomic crop production team leader · DE Produktionsteamleiter im Bereich agrarwissenschaftlicher Pflanzenbau/Produktionsteamleiterin im Bereich agrarwissenschaftlicher Pflanzenbau · FR chef d’équipe de production agricole/cheffe d’équipe de production agricole
farm manager · DE landwirtschaftlicher Betriebsleiter/landwirtschaftliche Betriebsleiterin · FR responsable d’exploitation agricole
land-based machinery technician · DE Servicetechniker für Landmaschinen/Servicetechnikerin für Landmaschinen · FR technicien d’engins agricoles/technicienne d’engins agricoles
agricultural machinery technician · DE Landmaschinenmechatroniker/Landmaschinenmechatronikerin · FR technicien d’équipements agricoles/technicienne d’équipements agricoles

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Rail and rolling stock builders and repairers (5236)16,800 employed
Mechanical engineers (professional) (2122)94,400 employed
Metal working production and maintenance fitters and technicians (5223)135,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Craft and related trades workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,086
Germany	€38,638
Austria	€38,194
Sweden	€37,856
Netherlands	€37,077
Ireland	€36,098
France	€27,145
Italy	€26,488
Spain	€22,817
Portugal	€11,142
Poland	€10,099

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.15. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (45-2091).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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