Agricultural Equipment Operator
This occupation's very high structural score (90/100) reflects genuinely physical, judgment-heavy machinery operation that responds in real time to field conditions no generic AI model can assess remotely.
We have not ingested real-world usage data for this occupation yet. We show a band only where genuine data exists, rather than estimate one.
What a agricultural equipment operator actually does
Agricultural equipment operators drive and control the tractors, combines, planters, and other machinery used for soil tilling, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and livestock waste removal on farms and ranches. Daily work includes calibrating equipment settings for a specific crop and field condition, performing post-harvest tasks like husking and threshing, operating stationary equipment such as grain augers and irrigation pumps, and maintaining machinery to keep it running through planting and harvest seasons.
The work is physically demanding and weather-dependent, requiring real judgment about field conditions, soil moisture, and equipment performance that changes hour to hour during a working day. Agricultural equipment operators work on farms, ranches, and for agricultural contractors, and most enter the field through on-the-job training rather than formal schooling.
Why it reads this way
This occupation's very high structural score (90/100) reflects genuinely physical, judgment-heavy machinery operation that responds in real time to field conditions no generic AI model can assess remotely. Real, current autonomous-tractor technology exists and deserves honest disclosure rather than dismissal: John Deere is field-testing fully autonomous 8R tractors across 18 states in 2026, with a reported nationwide launch planned for later this year, using AI and GPS guidance with a 'swipe to farm' remote handoff.
But the real, current framing from the technology itself, and reflected in BLS's own data, is that this shifts an operator's role toward supervising multiple autonomous machines rather than eliminating the position outright, closer to a farm-equipment fleet manager than a displaced worker. BLS backs this up directly: this occupation carries a 'Bright Outlook' designation with much-faster-than-average projected growth (7%+) through 2034, a real, current, positive signal that would be hard to reconcile with genuine displacement already underway.
No individual license is required to operate agricultural equipment.
Skills this role draws on
We don't yet have task-by-task time-share data for this occupation, so we can't show which specific tasks carry the exposure score above. This is the real skill set instead.
Typical salary range (USD)
$30,050–$54,550
Average: $41,730/yr
Range source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics / O*NET OnLine, 2025
Average source: O*NET OnLine 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage) for Agricultural Equipment Operators (45-2091.00); min/max from BLS OEWS 10th/90th percentile
Related careers
Head-to-head comparisons
Agricultural Equipment Operator scores 90/100, one of the highest scores in this industry. This site's §2a physical/autonomous-systems-deployment check was applied carefully given John Deere's real, current, nationwide-planned 2026 rollout of fully autonomous 8R tractors. The verdict holds because the real, current framing of that technology, and BLS's own data, describe it as shifting operators toward supervising multiple autonomous machines rather than eliminating the role, and BLS projects much-faster-than-average growth (7%+, Bright Outlook) through 2034, a positive signal hard to reconcile with genuine displacement already underway. No individual license is required, and this verdict rests on the physical, judgment-heavy nature of the work plus real, current growth data rather than a licensing wall.
This is a researched judgment (checklist v1.2), not a statistical measurement — it sits alongside, not instead of, the structural exposure signal above. Next scheduled review: 2027-02-19.
Data sources & methodology
Salary data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics / O*NET OnLine, 2025. Min/max figures represent the 10th–90th percentile annual wage range across the United States. Average figure sourced separately: O*NET OnLine 2025 wage data (Annual Median Wage) for Agricultural Equipment Operators (45-2091.00); min/max from BLS OEWS 10th/90th percentile.
Automation Risk Score: Based on O*NET occupational analysis (45-2091.00) evaluating task complexity, physical requirements, social intelligence, and environmental variability. Methodology based on research from Frey & Osborne (Oxford, 2017).
Growth projections: 7%+ (2024-2034, much faster than average, Bright Outlook designation per BLS; ~10,500 annual openings), based on BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.