Also called: Crop Geneticist, Seed Breeder
Develops new crop varieties that yield more, resist disease, or survive drought, using genetics and field trials.
Mornings you might be in a lab looking at DNA markers on a screen; afternoons you're in a test plot with thousands of tagged corn plants, choosing which to cross. You hand-pollinate flowers with paper bags and tweezers, then wait a season to see if the offspring are better. One great variety can feed millions.
PhD breeders at major seed companies earn well above the soil and plant scientist median (~$72k).
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. Most breeders at seed companies or universities have a PhD in plant breeding or genetics; MS-level roles exist.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Plant Science, Genetics, Agronomy, Biology.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). Soil and plant scientists; gene-editing tools like CRISPR are driving new hiring.
Low risk for 10 years. AI genomic prediction and gene editing speed breeding; designing crosses, field trials and choosing releases stay human.
Classes: AP Biology, Chemistry, AP Statistics, Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1013.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.