Also called: Micropropagation Technician, Propagation Specialist
Makes thousands of new plants from cuttings, seeds, or tiny bits of tissue grown in sterile test tubes.
Working at a sterile hood in a lab coat, you slice tiny plant shoots and place them in jars of gel, where they grow into identical clones. One mother plant can become 100,000 baby plants for nurseries.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Associate's degree (2-year), about 2 years after high school. Associate degree in horticulture or biology, or on-the-job training.
Ways in: 2-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Horticulture, Biology, Plant Biotechnology.
Growing about average.
Medium risk for 10 years. Tissue-culture and cutting robots are emerging; skilled lab and greenhouse hands remain, but automation trims jobs by 2036.
Classes: Biology, Chemistry.
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