Plant Breeder job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Soil and Plant Scientists

O*NET-SOC 19-1013.00

Preparation

Job Zone 5 of 5

extensive preparation

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$78,850

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Soil and Plant Scientists (O*NET-SOC 19-1013.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Plant Breeder” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: the SOC Index, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Employment and Training Administration and employer job postings). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops. importance 4.2 of 5
2. Develop methods of conserving or managing soil that can be applied by farmers or forestry companies. importance 4.1 of 5
3. Provide information or recommendations to farmers or other landowners regarding ways in which they can best use land, promote plant growth, or avoid or correct problems such as erosion. importance 4.0 of 5
4. Investigate soil problems or poor water quality to determine sources and effects. importance 3.8 of 5
5. Investigate responses of soils to specific management practices to determine the use capabilities of soils and the effects of alternative practices on soil productivity. importance 3.8 of 5
6. Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment. importance 3.7 of 5
7. Identify degraded or contaminated soils and develop plans to improve their chemical, biological, or physical characteristics. importance 3.6 of 5
8. Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests. importance 3.6 of 5
9. Provide advice regarding the development of regulatory standards for land reclamation or soil conservation. importance 3.5 of 5
10. Study soil characteristics to classify soils on the basis of factors such as geographic location, landscape position, or soil properties. importance 3.5 of 5
11. Develop improved measurement techniques, soil conservation methods, soil sampling devices, or related technology. importance 3.5 of 5
12. Conduct research to determine best methods of planting, spraying, cultivating, harvesting, storing, processing, or transporting horticultural products. importance 3.5 of 5
13. Develop environmentally safe methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or pests. importance 3.5 of 5
14. Study ways to improve agricultural sustainability, such as the use of new methods of composting. importance 3.4 of 5
15. Consult with engineers or other technical personnel working on construction projects about the effects of soil problems and possible solutions to these problems. importance 3.3 of 5
16. Perform chemical analyses of the microorganism content of soils to determine microbial reactions or chemical mineralogical relationships to plant growth. importance 3.3 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Working with Computers, Analyzing Data or Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Processing Information and Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Survey undisturbed or disturbed lands for classification, inventory, mapping, environmental impact assessments, environmental protection planning, conservation planning, or reclamation planning.
• Plan or supervise waste management programs for composting or farming.
• Research technical requirements or environmental impacts of urban green spaces, such as green roof installations.
• Conduct experiments regarding causes of bee diseases or factors affecting yields of nectar or pollen.
• Identify or classify species of insects or allied forms, such as mites or spiders.
• Study insect distribution or habitat and recommend methods to prevent importation or spread of injurious species.

Knowledge areas: Biology, English Language, Computers and Electronics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Autodesk AutoCAD, ESRI ArcGIS software, IBM SPSS Statistics, SAS. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists no typical on-the-job training once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 5 of 5 (extensive preparation). Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

The most common answer among O*NET's occupation experts for this occupation is a master's degree (29%).

Job title: Plant Breeder
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Plant Breeder to 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.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the public or teach related courses, seminars, or workshops.
- Develop methods of conserving or managing soil that can be applied by farmers or forestry companies.
- Provide information or recommendations to farmers or other landowners regarding ways in which they can best use land, promote plant growth, or avoid or correct problems such as erosion.
- Investigate soil problems or poor water quality to determine sources and effects.
- Investigate responses of soils to specific management practices to determine the use capabilities of soils and the effects of alternative practices on soil productivity.
- Conduct experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms of plant growth and response to the environment.
- Identify degraded or contaminated soils and develop plans to improve their chemical, biological, or physical characteristics.
- Develop new or improved methods or products for controlling or eliminating weeds, crop diseases, or insect pests.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in reading comprehension, speaking and science
- Working knowledge of Biology and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Office software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Soil and Plant Scientists, the median annual wage was $78,850 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $37.91. BLS estimates about 15,730 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Soil and Plant Scientists to grow 6.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,400 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real plant breeder posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Communicate research or project results to other professionals or the…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only plant breeder work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (reading comprehension and speaking): a real situation, what you did and what changed.