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Farming & outdoors

Agricultural equipment operators

Typically requires No formal educational credential

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
MixedLow uncertainty
top 26% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Decent prospects — +7.7% projected growth, low AI exposure (0/100).

51
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Wide = well-defended — few automatable tasks, built on skills few other jobs have.

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. Low uncertainty means the score leans mostly on measured data (growth, pay) rather than forward-looking bets, so it's comparatively solid.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Low AI exposure — resilient (0% of tasks exposed).
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 87% of careers (+7.7%).
🐻 Bears say
  • Below-median pay ($42,580).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +5.4% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +12.8%. The forecast held up well — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+7.7%
Median pay
$42,580
AI exposure
0/100
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 24 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$51,141
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$20,270
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
2.5×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology/Technician
Selective schools offering these majors
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
CA · 31% admit rate
$32,265/yr
$90,768 grad pay
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
NC · 42% admit rate
$26,425/yr
$68,758 grad pay
Purdue University-Main Campus
IN · 50% admit rate
$24,591/yr
$72,424 grad pay
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
PR · 57% admit rate
$21,637/yr
$48,992 grad pay
Texas A&M University-College Station
TX · 57% admit rate
$32,696/yr
$72,097 grad pay
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
PA · 61% admit rate
$39,694/yr
$63,435 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

hands-onoutdoorsagriculture