Also called: Pine Straw Raker, Pine Straw Harvester
Rakes up fallen pine needles from southern pine forests and presses them into bales sold as garden mulch.
In a Georgia pine plantation you rake long needles into piles, then push them into a hand-cranked baler that makes tight square bales. A good day can mean 200 bales. The landowner earns a lease fee and the bales ship to landscapers across the Southeast.
Often paid per bale; crew owners and dealers earn more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No diploma required; workers learn in a day.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Forestry (optional).
Growing about average. A steady regional business in Georgia, the Carolinas, Florida and Alabama.
Low risk for 10 years. Some balers are mechanized, but raking under trees and baling by hand stays physical work.
Age 18+. One way to start: Ask pine straw dealers and crews in Southern pine areas; you learn to rake and bale in a day
Classes: PE or weight training, Ag science, Business.
Official data: O*NET occupation 45-4011.
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.