Soil and Plant Scientists
Conduct research in breeding, physiology, production, yield, and management of crops and agricultural plants or trees, shrubs, and nursery stock, their growth in soils, and control of pests; or study the chemical, physical, biological, and mineralogical composition of soils as they relate to plant or crop growth. May classify and map soils and investigate effects of alternative practices on soil and crop productivity.
- O*NET-SOC code
19-1013.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$78,850
Employment, U.S.15,730
Median hourly wage$37.91
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $48,680 | $61,660 | $78,850 | $103,740 | $138,120 |
By state (48)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 110 | $63,010 | 0.52 |
| Alaska | 30 | $100,320 | 0.92 |
| Arizona | 270 | $83,840 | 0.83 |
| Arkansas | 110 | Not available | 0.85 |
| California | 1,440 | $91,930 | 0.78 |
| Colorado | 460 | $75,430 | 1.57 |
| Connecticut | 200 | $67,630 | 1.17 |
| Delaware | 60 | $65,310 | 1.21 |
| District of Columbia | 60 | $107,140 | 0.79 |
| Florida | 270 | $103,240 | 0.27 |
| Georgia | 210 | $65,170 | 0.43 |
| Hawaii | 60 | $84,390 | 0.99 |
| Idaho | 540 | $95,150 | 6.19 |
| Illinois | 820 | $79,490 | 1.33 |
| Indiana | 440 | $80,030 | 1.36 |
| Iowa | 960 | $96,310 | 6.07 |
| Kansas | 380 | $65,670 | 2.64 |
| Kentucky | 140 | $67,340 | 0.67 |
| Louisiana | 170 | $60,200 | 0.88 |
| Maine | 30 | $78,250 | 0.51 |
| Maryland | 200 | $85,020 | 0.70 |
| Massachusetts | $69,880 | ||
| Michigan | 570 | $65,390 | 1.28 |
| Minnesota | 750 | $79,610 | 2.50 |
| Mississippi | 100 | $72,690 | 0.81 |
| Missouri | 220 | $76,080 | 0.74 |
| Montana | 230 | $73,920 | 4.43 |
| Nebraska | 640 | $77,500 | 6.18 |
| Nevada | 90 | $71,450 | 0.56 |
| New Jersey | 130 | $91,970 | 0.30 |
| New Mexico | 90 | $69,480 | 1.01 |
| New York | 260 | $77,800 | 0.26 |
| North Carolina | 570 | $76,330 | 1.14 |
| North Dakota | 410 | $65,320 | 9.50 |
| Ohio | 320 | $56,820 | 0.58 |
| Oklahoma | 100 | $63,910 | 0.60 |
| Oregon | 620 | $85,150 | 3.12 |
| Pennsylvania | 200 | $70,550 | 0.33 |
| South Carolina | 90 | $78,850 | 0.40 |
| South Dakota | 480 | $73,590 | 10.32 |
| Tennessee | 370 | $61,950 | 1.13 |
| Texas | 500 | Not available | 0.35 |
| Utah | 90 | $59,900 | 0.50 |
| Vermont | $58,220 | ||
| Virginia | 140 | $73,920 | 0.33 |
| Washington | 520 | $79,970 | 1.43 |
| Wisconsin | 680 | $66,200 | 2.27 |
| Wyoming | 50 | $55,680 | 1.82 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Animal Scientists | 5 | 0.976 |
| 2 | Microbiologists | 4 | 0.974 |
| 3 | Conservation Scientists | 4 | 0.972 |
| 4 | Environmental Restoration Planners | 5 | 0.972 |
| 5 | Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 4 | 0.971 |
| 6 | Food Scientists and Technologists | 4 | 0.970 |
| 7 | Biologists | 5 | 0.969 |
| 8 | Range Managers | 4 | 0.968 |
| 9 | Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists | 4 | 0.968 |
| 10 | Hydrologists | 4 | 0.967 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Soil and Plant Scientists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Restoration Planners | Coordination | 0.88 | 0.972 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | Quality Control Analysis | 0.88 | 0.970 |
| Range Managers | Negotiation | 1.00 | 0.968 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | Time Management | 0.87 | 0.965 |
| Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.26 | 0.957 |
| Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.63 | 0.955 |
| Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.50 | 0.950 |
| Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.13 | 0.948 |
| Water Resource Specialists | Time Management | 1.00 | 0.945 |
| Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.26 | 0.943 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Soil and Plant Scientists, excluding software Soil and Plant Scientists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Laboratory information management system LIMS | 7 of 20 | 17.9x |
| Basic Local Alignment Search Tool BLAST | 4 of 20 | 30.8x |
| ESRI ArcView | 6 of 20 | 6.9x |
| Clover Technology GALENA | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| EarthSoft EQuIS Geology | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Geomechanical design analysis GDA software | 4 of 20 | 13.2x |
| The MathWorks MATLAB | 8 of 20 | 3.3x |
| ESRI ArcInfo | 4 of 20 | 10.9x |
| Golden Software Surfer | 3 of 20 | 19.8x |
| Statistical software | 5 of 20 | 5.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Science | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.38 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.25 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.88 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.88 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.25 | 4.12 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.75 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.12 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.62 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.62 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Biology | 4.43 | 5.40 |
| English Language | 4.05 | 4.67 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.86 | 4.86 |
| Chemistry | 3.84 | 4.80 |
| Mathematics | 3.76 | 5.14 |
| Education and Training | 3.40 | 4.95 |
| Geography | 3.38 | 4.76 |
| Communications and Media | 3.35 | 3.14 |
| Engineering and Technology | 3.20 | 4.10 |
| Administration and Management | 3.14 | 4.24 |
| Physics | 3.14 | 4.00 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.00 | 3.90 |
| Food Production | 2.95 | 3.65 |
| Law and Government | 2.86 | 3.38 |
| Administrative | 2.81 | 3.81 |
| Mechanical | 2.81 | 3.62 |
| Design | 2.71 | 3.52 |
| Production and Processing | 2.62 | 3.00 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.57 | 3.57 |
| Public Safety and Security | 2.57 | 2.33 |
| Telecommunications | 2.52 | 2.14 |
| Sales and Marketing | 2.40 | 2.67 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.38 | 2.43 |
| Transportation | 2.10 | 1.81 |
| Building and Construction | 2.00 | 2.24 |
| Psychology | 1.95 | 2.00 |
| History and Archeology | 1.71 | 1.76 |
| Foreign Language | 1.67 | 1.57 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.67 | 1.48 |
| Fine Arts | 1.37 | 0.75 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.30 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.29 | 0.57 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.24 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 5.12 |
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 5.12 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 5.00 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Written Expression | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Category Flexibility | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Information Ordering | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 4.38 |
| Originality | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Near Vision | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.50 | 4.12 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.38 | 3.62 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.62 |
| Number Facility | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Memorization | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visualization | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Time Sharing | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Depth Perception | 2.62 | 2.12 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Control Precision | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Static Strength | 2.12 | 1.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Stamina | 2.12 | 1.62 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Dynamic Strength | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.75 | 1.12 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.75 | 1.12 |
| Response Orientation | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Night Vision | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Reaction Time | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Rate Control | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Sound Localization | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.25 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.12 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Autodesk AutoCAD hot
- ESRI ArcGIS software hot
- IBM SPSS Statistics hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- R hot
- SAS hot
- 3dMapper
- Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator EPIC
- European Soil Erosion Model EUROSEM
- GAEA Technologies WinSieve
- GEOEAS
- GSLIB
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Geographic information system GIS systems
- Gstat
- LandSerf
- Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
- National Resources Conservation Service NRCS PEDON Description Program PDP
- National Resources Conservation Service NRCS Soils Explorer
- National Soil Information System NASIS
- PC-Progress HYDRUS
- PedonCE
- SGeMS
- SPAW
- STATISTICA
All 35
- Soil information databases
- SoilVision Systems SVOFFICE
- UNSATFLOW
- Variogram Estimation and Spatial Prediction plus Error Vesper
- Water Erosion Prediction Project WEPP
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ames, IA | 130 | 23.82 | $65,080 |
| Fargo, ND-MN | 230 | 15.01 | $65,320 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | 220 | 12.98 | $67,330 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 430 | 10.57 | $132,290 |
| Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 220 | 10.22 | $65,390 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 150 | 8.13 | $73,320 |
| Boise City, ID | 290 | 7.20 | $90,610 |
| Salem, OR | 110 | 5.59 | $93,620 |
| Lincoln, NE | 100 | 5.23 | $63,760 |
| Madison, WI | 220 | 5.21 | $73,510 |