In the Air Force:
Pavements and Construction Equipment; Pavements and Construction Equipment Apprentice; Pavements and Construction Equipment Craftsman; Pavements and Construction Equipment Helper; Pavements and Construction Equipment Journeyman
Agricultural workers need physical strength and stamina to keep up with their tasks, but they also need technical skills and strong teamwork. These workers maintain crops and tend to livestock, under the supervision of farmers and ranchers. Although some agricultural workers do all types of work around a farm, many focus on a few tasks. Agricultural equipment operators use tractors, combines, conveyor belts, and other farm equipment to plow and sow seeds, then maintain and harvest crops. They also perform minor repairs on the equipment. Crop, nursery, and greenhouse farmworkers and laborers grow fruit, nuts, trees, flowers, and other crops through every phase from planting and pruning, to harvesting and loading for shipment. Farm and ranch animal farmworkers feed and care for animals, including cattle, pigs, goats, fish, and bees. They monitor their health, clean shelters, and administer medications or insecticides. Animal breeders select and breed animals to produce offspring with desired characteristics, such as chickens that lay more eggs. Some raise cats, dogs, and other pets. Many agricultural workers have seasonal schedules, with longer hours during planting or harvesting times. The work is nearly all outdoors in all kinds of weather, and involves lifting, crouching, and carrying heavy tools. Risks include exposure to pesticides, and injury from farm machinery or farm animals. Typically, specific education is not required, and on-the-job training is provided. Animal breeders need a high school diploma or equivalent, and must be licensed in some states. A valid driver’s license is required for some jobs.
What they do:
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.
On the job, you would:
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.
Arts and Humanities
English language
Engineering and Technology
mechanical
Basic Skills
listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Controlled Movement
quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat
use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down
Hand and Finger Use
keep your arm or hand steady
hold or move items with your hands
People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.
They do well at jobs that need:
Dependability
Persistence
Cooperation
Attention to Detail
Independence
Initiative
You might use software like this on the job:
Data base user interface and query software
Martens Farms Farm Trac
Microsoft Access
Presentation software
Microsoft PowerPoint
Spreadsheet software
Microsoft Excel
no high school diploma/GED or high school diploma/GED usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.