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Plant Protection/Pest Management

Types of Degrees Plant Protection/Pest Management Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Plant Protection/Pest Management may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	3
Associate’s Degree	10
Bachelor’s Degree	102
Master’s Degree	40
Doctor’s Degree	10

What Plant Protection/Pest Management Majors Need to Know

Studies in Plant Protection/Pest Management build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Plant Protection/Pest Management 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 3.9 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Plant Protection/Pest Management program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Plant Protection/Pest Management 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 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates report doing:

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

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Plant Protection/Pest Management professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	—
Image editing software	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM)	Web page creation and editing 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 Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• Farm Demonstrator
• Extension Service Specialist
• Extension Agent
• Family Resource Management Specialist
• Family and Consumer Science Teacher (FACS Teacher)
• County Home Demonstration Agent
• Family and Consumer Sciences Educator (FACS Educator)
• Resource Management Specialist
• Agricultural Extension Agent
• Farm Services Consultant
• Extension Worker
• Cooking Instructor
• Farm Advisor
• Home Demonstration Agent

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	56.0%
Doctoral degree	14.5%
Bachelor’s degree	13.4%
Post-doctoral training	5.3%
Postsecondary certificate	3.2%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	3.2%
Less than a high school diploma	2.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.7%
Post-master’s certificate	0.6%
First professional degree	0.5%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Plant Protection/Pest Management?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly male, with men earning 62% of Plant Protection/Pest Management degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	63	38.0%
Men	103	62.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	65	39.2%
Asian	3	1.8%
Hispanic or Latino	78	47.0%
Black or African American	2	1.2%
Two or More Races	3	1.8%
Race Unknown	9	5.4%
International Students	6	3.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Plant Protection/Pest Management Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Plant Protection/Pest Management graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow 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 Plant Protection/Pest Management Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Plant Protection/Pest Management 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 Sciences, General	01.1101
Plant Sciences, Other	01.1199
Range Science and Management	01.1106
Reserved	01.1180
Agricultural Animal Breeding	01.0902
Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture	01.0308
Animal Nutrition	01.0904
Animal Sciences, General	01.0901

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.