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Agronomist vs plant breeder scientist

The differences between agronomists and plant breeder scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an agronomist and a plant breeder scientist. Additionally, a plant breeder scientist has an average salary of $73,225, which is higher than the $51,288 average annual salary of an agronomist.

The top three skills for an agronomist include harvest, field testing and technical support. The most important skills for a plant breeder scientist are laboratory procedures, USDA, and disease resistance.

Agronomist vs plant breeder scientist overview

AgronomistPlant Breeder Scientist
Yearly salary$51,288$73,225
Hourly rate$24.66$35.20
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs20850,535
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4040
Years of experience22

Agronomist vs plant breeder scientist salary

Agronomists and plant breeder scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

AgronomistPlant Breeder Scientist
Average salary$51,288$73,225
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $104,000Between $44,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityWilmington, DECambridge, MA
Highest paying stateConnecticutConnecticut
Best paying companyBayerBristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industryGovernment-

Differences between agronomist and plant breeder scientist education

There are a few differences between an agronomist and a plant breeder scientist in terms of educational background:

AgronomistPlant Breeder Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorPlant SciencesPlant Sciences
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Agronomist vs plant breeder scientist demographics

Here are the differences between agronomists' and plant breeder scientists' demographics:

AgronomistPlant Breeder Scientist
Average age4040
Gender ratioMale, 83.6% Female, 16.4%Male, 41.7% Female, 58.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 2.8% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 9.3% White, 73.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 2.7% Hispanic or Latino, 5.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 78.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage19%19%

Differences between agronomist and plant breeder scientist duties and responsibilities

Agronomist example responsibilities.

  • Lead a 4 to 8 man teams (depending on location) in construction of greenhouse and irrigation systems.
  • Lead all agronomy relate functions including fertility management, irrigation.
  • Perform routine and recurring techniques using a variety of specialize equipment such as autoclaves, microscopes, pipettes, and centrifuges.
  • Pass the Iowa CCA exam.
  • Use maps efficiently and GPS technology.
  • Follow USDA mainland shipment laws and regulations
  • Show more

Plant breeder scientist example responsibilities.

  • Develop and manage third party claim investigations and contractor remedial oversight for various insurance companies.
  • Conduct technology comparison study to assess applicability of a wide range of chromatography products to support specific HTS assays.
  • Analyze parallel synthesis libraries using high-throughput LC/MS methods with UV/ELS detection including mass determination, purity evaluation, and quantification.

Agronomist vs plant breeder scientist skills

Common agronomist skills
  • Harvest, 31%
  • Field Testing, 16%
  • Technical Support, 12%
  • Agronomy, 12%
  • PowerPoint, 8%
  • AG, 3%
Common plant breeder scientist skills
  • Laboratory Procedures, 26%
  • USDA, 23%
  • Disease Resistance, 22%
  • GC, 15%
  • PCR, 14%

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