Also called: Professional Shearer
Travels from farm to farm shearing wool off sheep.
Shears 150-200 sheep a day in a dusty barn, each in about two minutes with electric clippers, moving with the seasons across states. Physically brutal but well paid per head for the best shearers.
Estimate; paid per sheep, seasonal.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. Shearing school (a few days) plus lots of practice.
Ways in: Trade school, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Growing about average. Severe shortage of US shearers.
Low risk for 10 years. Shearing robots were tried and abandoned; handling and shearing sheep stays extremely hands-on and physical.
Age 16+. One way to start: Sign up for a beginner sheep shearing school (many state extension services run 2–5 day ones each spring) First: A short sheep shearing school, then lots of practice; you also need shears (about $400+)
Classes: Agriscience (FFA), Physical education, Animal science CTE, Small-business class.
Official data: O*NET occupation 45-2093.
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