Careers / Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

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Median annual wage

$36,670

United States, 2025

Employment

32,810

United States, 2025

Typical education

Some College Courses

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.

O*NET code
45-2093.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
  • Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
  • Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
  • Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
  • Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
  • Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
  • Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
  • Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$27,360
10th
$31,020
25th
$36,670
Median
$45,700
75th
$54,080
90th

10th percentile

$27,360

25th percentile

$31,020

75th percentile

$45,700

90th percentile

$54,080

Most important skills

  • Critical Thinking3.4
  • Monitoring3.3
  • Operation and Control3.1
  • Operations Monitoring3.1
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.1
  • Active Listening3.1
  • Coordination3.0
  • Speaking3.0
  • Reading Comprehension3.0
  • Troubleshooting3.0
  • Complex Problem Solving3.0
  • Time Management2.9

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 11 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

11

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Monitoring3.33.3Not selected3.3
Critical Thinking3.43.0Not selected3.0
Operation and Control3.13.0Not selected3.0
Operations Monitoring3.13.0Not selected3.0
Judgment and Decision Making3.13.0Not selected3.0
Active Listening3.13.0Not selected3.0
Coordination3.03.0Not selected3.0
Speaking3.02.9Not selected2.9
Reading Comprehension3.02.8Not selected2.8
Troubleshooting3.02.5Not selected2.5
Complex Problem Solving3.02.3Not selected2.3

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
Salinas, CA$62,540702025
Wenatchee, WA$59,900502025
AK$50,450402025
Washington, DC$50,1002902025
Richmond, VA$48,880402025
Sioux City, IA$48,870702025
WV$48,460402025
Minneapolis, MN$47,9503202025
Topeka, KS$47,490502025
Virginia Beach, VA$47,430502025
HI$47,0501602025
North Port, FL$46,860502025
Chattanooga, TN$46,580402025
Boulder, CO$46,260602025
Greensboro, NC$46,130902025
MN$46,0205802025
Santa Rosa, CA$45,9701002025
Montgomery, AL$45,700802025
Boise City, ID$45,6701202025
WA$45,3701,1002025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.