Also called: Lawn Care Technician, Pest Control Applicator (Turf)
Applies fertilizers, herbicides, and pest treatments to lawns, trees, and crops safely and legally.
You drive a truck with a spray tank to 15-20 lawns a day, identify weeds and grubs, treat them, and leave notes for homeowners. You must understand chemistry, safety gear, and weather to avoid drift.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Certificate, about 0 years after high school. State pesticide applicator license; training on the job.
Ways in: Certification, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). Estimate.
Medium risk for 10 years. GPS sprayers, drones and spot-spray robots cover more ground; licensed applicators remain, but fewer per acre.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to pest, lawn or tree care companies; they train you and pay for the state applicator exam First: State pesticide applicator license or registered technician exam (a few weeks)
Classes: Chemistry, Biology.
Official data: O*NET occupation 37-3012.
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.