Farm equipment operator vs small equipment operator

The differences between farm equipment operators and small equipment operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a small equipment operator has an average salary of $36,820, which is higher than the $27,872 average annual salary of a farm equipment operator.

The top three skills for a farm equipment operator include harvest, CDL and mowing. The most important skills for a small equipment operator are routine maintenance, customer specifications, and asphalt.

Farm equipment operator vs small equipment operator overview

	Farm Equipment Operator	Small Equipment Operator
Yearly salary	$27,872	$36,820
Hourly rate	$13.40	$17.70
Growth rate	1%	5%
Number of jobs	45,459	45,412
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 46%
Average age	40	45
Years of experience	-	2

Farm equipment operator vs small equipment operator salary

Farm equipment operators and small equipment operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Farm Equipment Operator	Small Equipment Operator
Average salary	$27,872	$36,820
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $27,000 And $48,000
Highest paying City	Aberdeen, SD	-
Highest paying state	North Dakota	-
Best paying company	The Wonderful Company	-
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	-

Differences between farm equipment operator and small equipment operator education

There are a few differences between a farm equipment operator and a small equipment operator in terms of educational background:

	Farm Equipment Operator	Small Equipment Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 46%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Business
Most common college	-	-

Farm equipment operator vs small equipment operator demographics

Here are the differences between farm equipment operators' and small equipment operators' demographics:

	Farm Equipment Operator	Small Equipment Operator
Average age	40	45
Gender ratio	Male, 93.3% Female, 6.7%	Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 3.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 1.7% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%	Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 0.9% White, 74.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0%
LGBT Percentage	3%	2%

Differences between farm equipment operator and small equipment operator duties and responsibilities

Farm equipment operator example 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.
Used GPS to navigate farm equipment.
Use of tractor for raking and baling.

Small equipment operator example responsibilities.

Certify in the use of forklifts, clamp trucks and skidster
Field work include all preparation for planting through harvest on particular operation including liquid manure spreading.
Manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients using GMP format and aseptic techniques.

Farm equipment operator vs small equipment operator skills

Common farm equipment operator skills

Harvest, 28%
CDL, 7%
Mowing, 5%
GPS, 5%
Routine Maintenance, 5%
Equipment Maintenance, 4%

Common small equipment operator skills

Routine Maintenance, 46%
Customer Specifications, 17%
Asphalt, 9%
Boats, 8%
General Maintenance, 4%
Mowing, 3%

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Farm Equipment Operator vs Small Equipment Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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