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Agricultural Animal Breeding

Types of Degrees Agricultural Animal Breeding Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Agricultural Animal Breeding have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	8
Doctor’s Degree	5

What Agricultural Animal Breeding Majors Need to Know

Studies in Agricultural Animal Breeding emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Agricultural Animal Breeding emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Agricultural Animal Breeding program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Agricultural Animal Breeding careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Agricultural Animal Breeding professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
Microsoft Internet Explorer	Internet browser software	—
Order management software	Procurement software	—
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• Agricultural Agent
• CTE Teacher (Career and Technical Education Teacher)
• Family Resource Management Specialist
• Cooperative Extension Agent
• County Agricultural Agent
• Extension Service Specialist
• Agriculture Extension Specialist
• Farm Management Advisor
• Farm Business Management Agent
• Farm Consultant
• Technology Education Teacher (Tech Ed Teacher)
• Home Advisor
• Extension Agricultural Agent
• 4-H Club Agent

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	57.2%
Doctoral degree	15.5%
Bachelor’s degree	12.2%
Post-doctoral training	5.8%
Postsecondary certificate	3.0%
Less than a high school diploma	2.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.5%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Agricultural Animal Breeding?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 84.6% of Agricultural Animal Breeding degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	11	84.6%
Men	2	15.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	9	69.2%
Hispanic or Latino	2	15.4%
International Students	2	15.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Agricultural Animal Breeding Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,873
4 years	$43,315
5 years	$54,045

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $54,045 — roughly 55% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Agricultural Animal Breeding Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Agricultural Animal Breeding graduates earn a median of $43,315 four years after completion — roughly 14% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Animal Sciences	01.09
Animal Health	01.0903
Animal Nutrition	01.0904
Animal Sciences, General	01.0901
Animal Sciences, Other	01.0999
Dairy Science	01.0905
Livestock Management	01.0906
Poultry Science	01.0907
Range Science and Management	01.1106
Agronomy and Crop Science	01.1102
Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production	01.0302
Apiculture	01.0310

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.