Farming, Fishing, and Forestry · Holland code ERC

First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers

Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of agricultural, forestry, aquacultural, and related workers.

Also called: Farm Supervisor, Harvesting Supervisor, Hatchery Manager, Logging Supervisor, Animal Research Facility Supervisor, Cattle Manager, Fish Hatchery Manager, Logging Crew Foreman.

O*NET 45-1011.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $59,320; Middle half earn $46,670 to $75,290. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 33% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium 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.

Assign tasks such as feeding and treatment of animals, and cleaning and maintenance of animal quarters.
Record the numbers and types of fish or shellfish reared, harvested, released, sold, and shipped.
Monitor workers to ensure that safety regulations are followed, warning or disciplining those who violate safety regulations.
Observe animals for signs of illness, injury, or unusual behavior, notifying veterinarians or managers as warranted.
Observe fish and beds or ponds to detect diseases, monitor fish growth, determine quality of fish, or determine completeness of harvesting.
Train workers in tree felling or bucking, operation of tractors or loading machines, yarding or loading techniques, or safety regulations.
Treat animal illnesses or injuries, following experience or instructions of veterinarians.
Train workers in spawning, rearing, cultivating, and harvesting methods, and in the use of equipment.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Speaking3.6 / 5
Monitoring3.6 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.5 / 5
Active Listening3.4 / 5
Learning Strategies3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Administration and Management3.9 / 5
Production and Processing3.7 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.5 / 5
English Language3.4 / 5
Mechanical3.4 / 5
Education and Training3.3 / 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.

Realistic76
Investigative21
Artistic0
Social32
Enterprising84
Conventional61

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)

forester · DE Forstwirt/Forstwirtin · FR forestier
aquaculture harvesting manager · DE Führungskraft für die Ernte aquatischer Organismen · FR responsable de récoltes aquacoles
aquaculture husbandry manager · DE Führungskraft für die Zucht aquatischer Organismen · FR responsable d'élevage aquacole
aquaculture site supervisor · DE Leiter Aquakulturbetriebe/Leiterin Aquakulturbetriebe · FR chef d’exploitation aquacole
forestry technician · DE Forstaufseher/Forstaufseherin · FR technicien forestier/technicienne forestière
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

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture (1211)40,300 employed
Managers and proprietors in forestry, fishing and related services (1212)18,600 employed
Farmers (5111)99,700 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 “Managers”. 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, Managers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€96,629
Italy	€96,052
Germany	€90,192
Austria	€82,936
Netherlands	€69,857
Sweden	€60,369
France	€58,740
Ireland	€55,854
Spain	€54,121
Portugal	€39,189
Poland	€19,596

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 middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.48. 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 (45-1011).

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.

Take the career interests test