The science and technology behind farming: breeding better crops, healthier soil and animals, and building the drones, robots, sensors, and software that are reinventing how food is grown.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Plant Breeder / Plant Geneticist: Develops new crop varieties that yield more, resist disease, or survive drought, using genetics and field trials. Typical pay $110k.
Agricultural Research Director: Leads teams of scientists developing new seeds, crop-protection products, animal feeds, or farm technologies. Typical pay $160k.
Agricultural Robotics Engineer: Designs robots that pick fruit, pull weeds with lasers, or drive tractors with no one in the seat. Typical pay $125k.
Agricultural Data Scientist: Uses satellite images, sensor data, and machine learning to predict yields and help farmers make better decisions. Typical pay $115k.
Agronomist / Crop Consultant: Advises farmers on what to plant, how much fertilizer to use, and how to fight weeds, bugs, and disease. Typical pay $72k.
Soil Scientist: Studies dirt: how soil forms, what lives in it, and how to keep it healthy and from washing away. Typical pay $72k.
Animal Nutritionist: Designs the diets for cattle, pigs, chickens, or pets so they grow healthy and efficiently. Typical pay $85k.
Plant Pathologist: Diagnoses and fights diseases that attack crops, trees, and gardens. Typical pay $85k.
Agricultural Entomologist: Studies insects that eat crops, and the 'good bugs' that eat the bad ones. Typical pay $78k.
Precision Agriculture Specialist: Sets up and troubleshoots GPS guidance, yield monitors, variable-rate seeders, and farm software. Typical pay $62k.
Weed Scientist: Studies weeds and finds ways to control them, including herbicide-resistant "superweeds." Typical pay $79k.
Nematologist: Studies nematodes, microscopic worms in the soil that can destroy crops like soybeans and potatoes. Typical pay $79k.
Agricultural Meteorologist: Forecasts weather for farmers and crop markets, from frost warnings to drought outlooks. Typical pay $99k.
Agricultural Microbiologist: Studies the microbes in soil and on plants and turns helpful ones into products that boost crops. Typical pay $88k.
Soil Conservation Technician: Helps farmers protect soil and water by designing and checking terraces, buffer strips, and cover crops. Typical pay $55k.
Plant Phenotyping Engineer: Builds the camera robots, drones and greenhouse conveyor systems that photograph thousands of plants a day so breeders can pick the best ones. Typical pay $92k.
Starter: fastest way in
Agricultural Drone Operator: Flies drones to map fields, spot problems, and spray crops in places too small or wet for tractors. Typical pay $52k.
Agricultural Research Technician: Helps scientists run experiments, planting test plots, collecting samples, and recording data. Typical pay $47k.
Crop Scout: Walks fields every week looking for weeds, insects, and diseases, and reports problems to farmers and agronomists. Typical pay $35k.
Seed Analyst: Tests seeds in a lab to make sure they'll sprout, are the right variety, and are free of weed seeds. Typical pay $46k.
Seed Certification Field Inspector: Walks fields of wheat, soybeans and other seed crops to check they are pure, free of weeds and the right variety before the seed can be sold as certified. Typical pay $48k.
Soil Testing Lab Technician: Grinds, measures and tests thousands of soil samples from farms so farmers know how much fertilizer and lime to use. Typical pay $40k.
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.