Business and Finance · Career brief

Farm Labor Contractors

Is it a good career to pursue?

The 30-second read

Farm Labor Contractors at a glance

Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.

1Pay

$58,460

Middle-of-the-pack pay

2025 national median. Near the middle of ChooseField careers for pay.

2Demand

7.4%

Steady projected growth

Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Top quarter for growth among careers on ChooseField.

3Openings

100

Low national opening volume

Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Bottom quarter for openings among careers on ChooseField.

4Route in

No formal credential

A four-year degree is not the typical entry route

No formal educational credential + related experience. Related work experience is typically required.

5The work

Persuasive / leading

Influence, decisions, and results matter

Pay wages of contracted farm laborers.

6The catch

Know this first

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

ChooseField take

The standout national signal is growth; it ranks in the top quarter of ChooseField careers. It makes the most sense if persuasive or leadership-oriented work appeals to you and you are comfortable with entry without a formal credential. Main tradeoff: BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

Before choosing, compare:Labor Relations Specialists Human Resources Specialists Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists

National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.

Compare Farm Labor Contractors with another field Explore rankings in Business and Finance Open shareable infographic

Want the evidence behind the snapshot?

Market and path

Pay, outlook, and the route in

National median pay (2025)

$58,460

A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.

2025–2035 outlook

7.4%employment growth100openings per year

Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.

Typical entry route

No formal educational credential; Prior related experience: less than 5 years; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing

BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.

2025 employment

1,900

A small national occupation; local availability may be uneven.

Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Farm labor contractors (13-1074).

Actual responsibilities

What you would be trusted to own

Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.

Pay wages of contracted farm laborers.
Employ foremen to deal directly with workers when recruiting, hiring, instructing, assigning tasks, and enforcing work rules.
Provide food, drinking water, and field sanitation facilities to contracted workers.
Recruit and hire agricultural workers.

Decision-changing realities

What could make this a poor fit

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.
This is a small national occupation (1,900 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

Work profile

What the work emphasizes

O*NET importance scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards3.7
Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment3.5
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials3.4
Training and Teaching Others3.4
Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People3.3

Interest profile

Career interests

O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.

Enterprising5.0
Realistic4.9
Conventional4.4
Social3.2
Investigative1.5
Artistic1.0

Preparation

What the training must make you competent at

Subject matter

Foreign Language Food Production Mathematics Personnel and Human Resources

Before choosing the major or training

Run a cheaper test first

Work through a realistic case with incomplete information: make a recommendation, show the numbers behind it, and defend the tradeoffs.
Ask someone doing this job which feeder role built the required experience, what that earlier job paid, and how long the transition actually took.

The fuller career guide

How the evidence fits together

Pay and demand: reading the benchmark

The pay and outlook figures describe Farm labor contractors nationally. They do not establish the salary or number of vacancies available in your area.

Median pay is the middle wage across workers, not a starting offer. Projected openings include replacements as well as growth; neither measure predicts an individual worker's job security.

Before choosing a program

O*NET lists Speaking, Active Listening, Critical Thinking among this occupation's skills. Ask a program to show the assignments, supervised practice, and assessment that develop these skills. Compare those examples with local job descriptions.

Common questions

Questions people ask about this career

Can I enter this occupation without related work experience?

Prior related experience: less than 5 years. Look for the preceding roles and promotion route before treating this as a first job.

What should I check before paying for training?

Get the full prerequisite and completion timeline, total cost, placement arrangements, and any licensing eligibility in writing. Ask local employers whether they hire graduates from the route you are considering and whether paid training is available.

Adjacent options