How To Become A Farm Equipment Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a farm equipment operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a farm equipment operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.4 an hour? That's $27,872 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFarm Equipment OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $27,872

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.8

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.10%

Asian 1.72%

Black or African American 3.57%

Hispanic or Latino 21.08%

Unknown 2.98%

White 69.55%

Gender

female 6.67%

male 93.33%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.8

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.0

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.5

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a farm equipment operator

Explore farm equipment operator education requirements

Most common farm equipment operator degrees

High School Diploma

39.7 %

Bachelor's

28.7 %

Associate

22.5 %

Start to develop specific farm equipment operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Harvest	27.95%
CDL	7.05%
Mowing	5.35%
GPS	4.95%
Routine Maintenance	4.78%

Complete relevant farm equipment operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New farm equipment operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a farm equipment operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real farm equipment operator resumes.

Research farm equipment operator duties and responsibilities

Manage and conduct the baling, hauling, advertising, and selling of 2000 straw square bales a year from 2002-2006.
Operate combines, grain trucks, tractors, cultivator, and augers.
Landscape work (leaf pickup, lawn mowing, weed spraying, repairing fencing, etc . )
Utilize GPS while planting grain.

Prepare your farm equipment operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your farm equipment operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a farm equipment operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable farm equipment operator resume templates

Build a professional farm equipment operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your farm equipment operator resume.