Also called: Fruit Tree Grafter, Grafting Technician
Joins a piece of one tree onto the roots of another so it grows into a new fruit tree, grapevine or rose with the best traits of both.
Sits at a bench in a cold barn in late winter with a razor-sharp knife, cutting thin wedges in apple twigs and matching them to rootstocks thousands of times a day. You wrap each joint with tape and stack bundles for planting. Good grafters are fast, accurate and paid by the piece.
Estimate; seasonal; often paid per graft.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
No formal education, about 0 years after high school. No degree; learned on the job at a nursery. Horticulture classes help.
Ways in: On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: Horticulture.
Growing about average. Steady with orchard and vineyard planting.
Low risk in 5 years, medium in 10. Grafting machines help with some crops, but skilled hand grafters are still needed for many trees.
Age 16+. One way to start: Ask fruit tree nurseries, vineyards or rose growers about seasonal grafting crew jobs (winter and spring)
Classes: Biology, Agriscience (FFA), Shop class.
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.