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Pest Control Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index

A factual, source-backed comparison of Pest Control Workers and Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”

Pest Control Workers Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Median pay · BLS OEWS
$44,730
$45,200
Employment · BLS OEWS
96,110
25,200
AI exposure (percentile) · task overlap, not automation
36th pct
23rd pct

At a glance

Dimension Pest Control Workers Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Median pay $44,730 $45,200
Employment 96,110 25,200
Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection About average (+4.9%) About average (+3.8%)
Annual openings · BLS projection 13,400 4,100
Typical education · O*NET Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
AI exposure · published exposure studies Moderate · 36th pct Low · 23rd pct
Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk 12th pct · 13% of tasks 12th pct · 13% of tasks
Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index Automation-leaning (45.8%) —
Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman No No

Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.

Skills

Shared: Near Vision, Customer and Personal Service, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speaking, Problem Sensitivity, Deductive Reasoning, Speech Recognition, Time Management, Inductive Reasoning, Social Perceptiveness, Complex Problem Solving, Written Comprehension, Information Ordering, Category Flexibility, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Public Safety and Security, English Language, Reading Comprehension, Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Selective Attention, Arm-Hand Steadiness, Manual Dexterity.

Specific to Pest Control Workers

  • Speech Clarity
  • Writing
  • Monitoring
  • Written Expression
  • Far Vision
  • Service Orientation
  • Flexibility of Closure
  • Active Learning

Specific to Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

  • Biology
  • Production and Processing
  • Control Precision
  • Administration and Management
  • Education and Training
  • Multilimb Coordination
  • Mathematics
  • Law and Government

Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).

Tools & technology

Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Data base user interface and query software , Electronic mail software , Inventory management software .

Specific to Pest Control Workers

Specific to Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

Full profiles

This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Pest Control Workers or Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.

More comparisons

Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Pest Control Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/pest-control-workers-vs-pesticide-handlers-sprayers-and-applicators-vegetation

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Pest Control Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/pest-control-workers-vs-pesticide-handlers-sprayers-and-applicators-vegetation

BibTeX 
@misc{singulariki-pest-control-workers-vs-pesticide-handlers-sprayers-and-applicators-vegetation,
  title  = {Pest Control Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/compare/pest-control-workers-vs-pesticide-handlers-sprayers-and-applicators-vegetation}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.