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Agricultural Technician resume example

A resume for a Agricultural Technician needs to show the work itself: work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Day to day that means work like this: prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring; operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

  • Agricultural Research Technician
  • Agricultural Research Tech
  • Agricultural Tech
  • Agriculture Assistant
  • Seed Analyst
  • Agricultural Research Technologist
  • Agronomy Research Technician
  • Agronomy Research Tech
  • Field Assistant
  • Insect Research Technician
  • Insect Research Tech
  • Lab Tech
  • Laboratory Technician
  • Agriculture Field Tech
  • Agriculture Research Lab Assistant
  • Agriculture Tech
  • Agronomy Tech
  • Artificial Breeding Tech

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

  • Agricultural Research Technician (Agricultural Research Tech)
  • Agricultural Technician (Agricultural Tech)
  • Agronomy Research Technician (Agronomy Research Tech)
  • Insect Research Technician (Insect Research Tech)
  • Lab Tech (Laboratory Technician)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

  • Prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring.
  • Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks.
  • Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care.
  • Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness.
  • Perform crop production duties, such as tilling, hoeing, pruning, weeding, or harvesting crops.
  • Collect animal or crop samples.
  • Examine animals or crop specimens to determine the presence of diseases or other problems.
  • Set up laboratory or field equipment as required for site testing.
  • Supervise or train agricultural technicians or farm laborers.
  • Conduct studies of nitrogen or alternative fertilizer application methods, quantities, or timing to ensure satisfaction of crop needs and minimization of leaching, runoff, or denitrification.
  • Prepare laboratory samples for analysis, following proper protocols to ensure that they will be stored, prepared, and disposed of efficiently and effectively.
  • Measure or weigh ingredients used in laboratory testing.

26 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

  • Prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Record data pertaining to experimentation, research, or animal care, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Maintain or repair agricultural facilities, equipment, or tools to ensure operational readiness, safety, and cleanliness, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

  • Desktop publishing software
  • Email software
  • Geographic information system GIS systems
  • Global positioning system GPS software
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft operating system
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • SAP software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Statistical software

16 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

  • Aerosol foggers
  • Aerosol generators
  • Agricultural tractors
  • Air compressors
  • Air samplers
  • Animal chutes
  • Animal head-locks
  • Animal measuring sticks
  • Animal tatooers
  • Artificial insemination syringes
  • Balers
  • Bed shapers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

  • cultivate land
  • measure ingredients

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

  1. 01Reading Comprehension
  2. 02Active Listening
  3. 03Critical Thinking
  4. 04Active Learning
  5. 05Judgment and Decision Making
  6. 06Monitoring
  7. 07Writing
  8. 08Coordination
  9. 09Instructing
  10. 10Operations Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

  • Food Production
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Mechanical
  • Mathematics
  • Administration and Management

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

  • 41%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
  • 18%Bachelor's Degree
  • 13%Associate's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Agricultural Technician do?
Work with agricultural scientists in plant, fiber, and animal research, or assist with animal breeding and nutrition. Day to day that includes work like prepare land for cultivated crops, orchards, or vineyards by plowing, discing, leveling, or contouring and Operate farm machinery, including tractors, plows, mowers, combines, balers, sprayers, earthmoving equipment, or trucks.
What skills should a Agricultural Technician put on a resume?
O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, and Judgment and Decision Making among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Agricultural Technician list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes Desktop publishing software, Email software, Geographic information system GIS systems, Global positioning system GPS software, and Microsoft Access. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Agricultural Technician work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Agricultural Research Technician, Agricultural Research Tech, Agricultural Tech, and Agriculture Assistant. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Agricultural Technician need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 41% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Agricultural Technician role?
No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

  • No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
  • This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
  • Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.