Also called: Grader and Sorter, Cotton Classer, Egg Grader
Inspects and sorts eggs, fruit, cotton, or meat by size and quality.
Standing at a packing line, you pull bruised peaches off a conveyor, or as a USDA cotton classer you judge fiber samples by feel and color. It's detail-focused work that keeps quality consistent.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. On-the-job training; USDA grading roles involve more formal training.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Shrinking (about -3% over 10 years). Estimate.
High risk for 10 years. Machine vision now grades eggs, fruit and meat faster than people; few hand-grading jobs will remain.
Age 16+. One way to start: Apply at a packing shed, egg plant or cotton gin for sorter or grader jobs; training on the spot
Classes: Agriculture science, Math.
Official data: O*NET occupation 45-2041.
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.