Skip to content
← Back to explore

Science

Agricultural technicians

Typically requires Associate's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyMedium uncertainty

Analyst take: Decent prospects — +4.3% projected growth, low AI exposure (32/100).

42
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 69% of careers (+4.3%).
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (32% of tasks exposed).
🐻 Bears say
  • Below-median pay ($46,790).
Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+4.3%
Median pay
$46,790
AI exposure
32/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 1,815 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$27,988
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$24,785
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.1×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Animal SciencesBiology/Biological SciencesAgricultureAgronomy and Crop SciencePre-Veterinary Studies
Selective schools offering these majors
California Institute of Technology
CA · 3% admit rate
$86,886/yr
$128,566 grad pay
Stanford University
CA · 4% admit rate
$87,833/yr
$124,080 grad pay
Harvard University
MA · 4% admit rate
$85,540/yr
$101,817 grad pay
Columbia University in the City of New York
NY · 4% admit rate
$89,472/yr
$102,491 grad pay
University of Chicago
IL · 4% admit rate
$90,360/yr
$91,885 grad pay
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MA · 5% admit rate
$82,730/yr
$143,372 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

scienceresearchanalysis