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Boston Career Explorer

Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.

Also called: Cowboy, Farm Hand, Farrowing Worker, Herdsman, Livestock Handler, Milking Worker

Median pay in Greater Boston
$38,410
$18.47/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
230
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+1.9%
190 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$35,620$37,310$38,410$52,000$57,420

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
  • Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
  • Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
  • Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
  • Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
  • Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure15 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 13
  • Language-model AIOE 14
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 18

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure for this job is lower, and observed AI use is little or none. AI tools could help with record-keeping and tracking food and water supplies. They do not touch the hands-on work of herding, handling, examining, and treating animals. Federal projections expect more farm mechanization to reduce demand for these workers, and Massachusetts job growth is projected at 1.9%.

Likely to change

  • Keeping animal and feed records
  • Tracking food and water supplies

Still relies on people

  • Handling and moving live animals safely
  • Spotting illness or injury by hand and eye

What federal projections say

“Capital/labor substitution - share decreases as the mechanization of agricultural operations is expected to reduce demand for these workers, with a corresponding increase in demand for agricultural equipment operators.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

    Farm work and record-keeping carry over, and you would also direct seasonal workers. Pay is similar ($39,080) with faster projected growth (3.9%).

    Pay difference
    +$670 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +3.9%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators

    Experience moving animals, loads, and equipment carries over to driving trucks and tractors. This job pays $47,800 and has projected growth of 21.7%.

    Pay difference
    +$9,390 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +21.7%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Butchers and Meat Cutters

    Your skills in weighing and marking livestock carry over to wrapping, weighing, and labeling meat. This job pays $48,910 with moderate on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$10,500 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +2.5%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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