Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Occupation · SOC 37-3012.00
Mix or apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides through sprays, dusts, vapors, soil incorporation, or chemical application on trees, shrubs, lawns, or crops. Usually requires specific training and state or federal certification.
Also called: Lawn Specialist · Lawn Technician · Licensed Pesticide Applicator · Spray Technician · Chemical Applicator · Integrated Pest Management Technician (IPM Technician) · Pest Control Technician · Pesticide Applicator · Spray Applicator · Tree and Shrub Technician · Agricultural Service Worker · Applicator
Job family: Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-37-3012-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+3.8% by 2034)
- 4,100 openings/yr
- Low AI exposure
- Median pay $45,200/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- 2013 flagged this for computerization (94th); today's AI task-overlap is comparatively low (17th)
17th-percentile task overlap — yet about 4,100 openings a year (+3.8% projected, BLS) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Low | 22nd | -0.9 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) Low | 15th | 0.1 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Low | 23rd | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.0), with simple added tooling (β 0.1), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.1). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Mixed signals. Today's AI/LLM studies show relatively low exposure for this job, but the older (2013) Frey–Osborne work rated it higher for computerization and robotics. Different eras, different technologies — the AI measures above reflect the current state.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 1.0 · 94th percentile among occupations · High
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +3.8% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 4,100 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 29,600 → 30,700 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation sits at the 12th percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure eased from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
13% mean task exposure (2025)
12th percentile of 427 placed occupations
−1 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Fumigators and Other Pest and Weed Controllers · 7544 | 13% | Not exposed |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Tasks
All 10 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops. Core · importance 4.5
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas. Core · importance 4.5
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas. Core · importance 4.3
- Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment. Core · importance 4.3
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions. Core · importance 4.2
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment. Core · importance 4.1
- Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities. Core · importance 4.1
- Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools. Core · importance 3.9
- Provide driving instructions to truck drivers to ensure complete coverage of designated areas, using hand and horn signals. Supplemental · importance 3.6
- Plant grass with seed spreaders, and operate straw blowers to cover seeded areas with mixtures of asphalt and straw. Supplemental · importance 2.8
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Establish driving routes for pesticide applications.
- Record information about pesticide applications, such as the type used and amount applied.
- Use new technology and equipment, such as drones or GPS systems, to apply pesticides more accurately and efficiently.
Work activities
- Prepare chemicals for work application.
- Treat greenery or surfaces with protective substances.
- Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
- Clean equipment or supplies.
- Maintain equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning.
- Instruct staff in work policies or procedures.
- Plant greenery to improve landscape appearance.
- Inspect landscaping to determine treatment needs.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.6 | |
| Biology | 3.5 | |
| Production and Processing | 3.5 | |
| English Language | 3.5 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.4 | |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.1 | |
| Education and Training | 3.1 | |
| Mathematics | 3.1 | |
| Law and Government | 3.1 | |
| Transportation | 3.0 | |
| Chemistry | 3.0 | |
| Mechanical | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Near Vision | 3.5 | |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.4 | |
| Control Precision | 3.4 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.3 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.3 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.3 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.3 | |
| Written Comprehension | 3.1 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.1 | |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.1 | |
| Multilimb Coordination | 3.1 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.0 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.0 | |
| Selective Attention | 3.0 | |
| Static Strength | 3.0 | |
| Depth Perception | 3.0 |
Essential skills
| Active Listening | 3.3 | |
| Speaking | 3.1 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.1 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 |
Transferable skills
| Time Management | 3.1 | |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.0 | |
| Coordination | 3.0 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.0 | |
| Operation and Control | 3.0 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
| Example | Category | |
|---|---|---|
| Web page creation and editing software | Hot technology | |
| Google Android | Operating system software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Excel | Spreadsheet software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Office software | Office suite software | Hot technology |
| Microsoft Outlook | Electronic mail software | Hot technology |
| Customer database software | Data base user interface and query software | |
| Geographic information system GIS systems | Geographic information system | |
| Materials inventory software | Inventory management software | |
| Rate calculation software | Analytical or scientific software | |
| Unit conversion software | Analytical or scientific software |
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
- Preparation level
- SVP (Below 6.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| High School Diploma | 56.3% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 15.7% | |
| Less than a High School Diploma | 15.0% | |
| Bachelor's Degree | 12.8% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 0.3% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 6.5 | |
| Conventional | 3.7 | |
| Investigative | 2.7 | |
| Social | 1.9 |
Interest areas
| Physical/Manual Labor | 5.7 | |
| Transportation/Machine Operation | 4.0 | |
| Agriculture | 4.0 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 3.9 | |
| Life Science | 2.2 | |
| Engineering | 1.9 | |
| Physical Science | 1.9 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 1.8 | |
| Mathematics/Statistics | 1.7 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.6 | |
| Attention to Detail | 2.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $34,590 |
| 25th percentile | $38,040 |
| Median (50th) | $45,200 |
| 75th percentile | $50,960 |
| 90th percentile | $58,910 |
| People employed | 25,200 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 15,590 | $44,910 |
| Landscaping Services · National industry | 12,210 | $45,160 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 4,150 | $47,690 |
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services · National industry | 3,020 | $43,180 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 1,270 | $42,680 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 500 | $42,120 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 480 | $43,210 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 460 | $44,580 |
| Accommodation and Food Services · Sector | 190 | $31,970 |
| Educational Services · Sector | 90 | $46,920 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 60 | $45,300 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector | 50 | $46,700 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Exterminating and Pest Control Services · National industry | 124.79× | 3,020 |
| Landscaping Services · National industry | 81.64× | 12,210 |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting · Sector | 18.35× | 1,270 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 10.56× | 15,590 |
| Wholesale Trade · Sector | 4.21× | 4,150 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector | 1.16× | 500 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 0.27× | 480 |
| Retail Trade · Sector | 0.18× | 460 |
Related occupations
Part of the Agriculture career cluster.
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers · 37-3011.00 Compare →
- Agricultural Equipment Operators · 45-2091.00 Compare →
- Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators · 51-8031.00 Compare →
- Pest Control Workers · 37-2021.00 Compare →
- Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment · 53-7061.00 Compare →
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse · 45-2092.00 Compare →
- Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9124.00 Compare →
- Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners · 47-4071.00 Compare →
- Chemical Plant and System Operators · 51-8091.00 Compare →
- Tree Trimmers and Pruners · 37-3013.00 Compare →
- Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers · 51-6011.00 Compare →
- Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders · 51-9012.00 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- High school diploma or equivalent · typical entry level
- Job zone 2 — Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 12th percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation show 17th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,100 annual U.S. openings
- Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation rank in the 17th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 4,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+3.8%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $45,200, across about 25,200 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
Copy the whole kit
Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation show 17th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 4,100 annual U.S. openings • Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation rank in the 17th percentile (Low band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 4,100 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+3.8%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $45,200, across about 25,200 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) Source: Singulariki — "Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-37-3012-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "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; 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/roles/role-37-3012-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-37-3012-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-37-3012-00,
title = {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; 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/roles/role-37-3012-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.