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General Plant Sciences

Types of Degrees General Plant Sciences Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Plant Sciences can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	6
Associate’s Degree	10
Bachelor’s Degree	483
Master’s Degree	121
Doctor’s Degree	64

What General Plant Sciences Majors Need to Know

Coursework for General Plant Sciences build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Plant Sciences graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in General Plant Sciences emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a General Plant Sciences program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General Plant Sciences careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Plant Sciences graduates report doing:

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

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Plant Sciences professionals:

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

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Plant Sciences graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• County Extension Agent
• Future Farmers of America Advisor (FFA Advisor)
• Cooking Instructor
• Home Improvement Advisor
• Smart Home Expert
• Agriculture Extension Specialist
• Teacher
• County Home Demonstration Agent
• Family and Consumer Sciences Educator (FACS Educator)
• Extension Officer
• Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent
• Farm Consultant
• Family Resource Management Specialist
• Youth Development Professional

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Plant Sciences graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	47.3%
Bachelor’s degree	15.8%
Doctoral degree	12.6%
Post-doctoral training	4.4%
Postsecondary certificate	4.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	4.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	4.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.0%
Less than a high school diploma	2.6%
Some college courses	0.8%
Post-master’s certificate	0.5%
First professional degree	0.4%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Plant Sciences?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 49.3% women and 50.7% men among General Plant Sciences graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	341	49.3%
Men	351	50.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Plant Sciences graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	503	72.7%
Asian	28	4.0%
Hispanic or Latino	48	6.9%
Black or African American	15	2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.1%
Two or More Races	23	3.3%
Race Unknown	12	1.7%
International Students	61	8.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Plant Sciences Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Plant Sciences 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	$45,321
4 years	$49,331
5 years	$56,395

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $56,395 — roughly 24% above the 1-year mark.

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

Is a Degree in General Plant Sciences Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, General Plant Sciences graduates earn a median of $49,331 four years after completion — roughly 30% 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
Plant Sciences	01.11
Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding	01.1104
Agronomy and Crop Science	01.1102
Horticultural Science	01.1103
Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management	01.1105
Plant Sciences, Other	01.1199
Range Science and Management	01.1106
Reserved	01.1180
Animal Sciences, General	01.0901
Dairy Science	01.0905
Poultry Science	01.0907
Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture	01.0308

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.