Degree to Occupation Map
Occupations related to a plant science degree
NCES and BLS publish a crosswalk relating instructional programs to occupations. This page lists every occupation that crosswalk relates to plant science, with the BLS typical entry education, 2025 median wage and projected growth for each, and links to the RoleSprint page covering the role where one exists.
What occupations does the official crosswalk relate to a plant science degree?
The CIP 2020-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk published by NCES and BLS relates 7 CIP 2020 programs in plant science to 9 occupations. That maps a field of study to lines of work; it is not a statement that a plant science degree qualifies someone for any of them, and the crosswalk carries no figure for how many graduates enter each. Across the 9 with a published 2025 BLS wage the median is $73,010, ranging from $49,630 for Agricultural Technicians to $101,420 for Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary. BLS typical entry-level education splits 2 at high school diploma or equivalent, 1 at associate's degree, 3 at bachelor's degree, 1 at master's degree, 2 at doctoral or professional degree: 6 at or below a bachelor's degree and 3 above it. Soil and Plant Scientists is projected to grow fastest at +6.7% over 2025-35. The highest-paid are Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($101,420), Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary ($98,700) and Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers ($89,900).
- Related occupations
- 9, from 7 CIP 2020 programs in plant science
- What the mapping means
- NCES states only that it "crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes". It relates a program to an occupation. It does not establish qualification, hiring, or how many graduates take that path.
- BLS typical entry-level education
- High school diploma or equivalent: 2; Associate's degree: 1; Bachelor's degree: 3; Master's degree: 1; Doctoral or professional degree: 2
- Median wage across these occupations
- $73,010 (2025); 9 of 9 have a published BLS wage
- Next step
- 2 of the 9 occupations have a dedicated RoleSprint page covering what the role requires and how the work is performed.
Source and method
2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-06. Program-to-occupation relationships are reproduced from the NCES/BLS crosswalk exactly as published; RoleSprint groups CIP programs into the field of study a person would search for and lists the union of their related occupations, showing every member CIP code. Wage, typical entry education and outlook are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code. Working-condition figures are O*NET 30.3 means. No relationship strength, employment share or qualification judgement is published, because no source supplies one.
What this list is, and what it is not
The crosswalk's own description of itself is one sentence: “This file crosswalks 2020 CIP Codes to 2018 SOC Codes in ascending order by CIP Code.” It relates a field of study to lines of work.
It does not say a plant science degree qualifies anyone for these occupations, that graduates usually enter them, or what share do: the crosswalk publishes no such figure. The wage and education columns come from a separate source, BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, and describe the occupation rather than the degree. Typical entry education is what BLS observes most often among people already doing the work; it is not a rule about who may be hired.
The 9 related occupations
Ordered by BLS median wage, highest first. 9 of 9 have a published wage.
| Occupation | BLS typical entry-level education | Median wage | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary SOC 25-1043 Contact with others 4.5 · Time pressure 3.9 · Sitting 3.5 · Outdoors, all weather 3.2 of 5 | Doctoral or professional degree Above bachelor's | $101,420 2025 median | +2.8% 2025-35 · 0.1 openings/yr |
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary SOC 25-1041 Contact with others 4.2 · Time pressure 3.6 · Sitting 4.0 · Outdoors, all weather 2.5 of 5 | Doctoral or professional degree Above bachelor's | $98,700 2025 median | +2.9% 2025-35 · 0.8 openings/yr |
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers SOC 11-9013 Contact with others 4.3 · Time pressure 3.5 · Sitting 2.4 · Outdoors, all weather 4.8 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $89,900 2025 median | -3.4% 2025-35 · 70.8 openings/yr |
Soil and Plant Scientists SOC 19-1013 Contact with others 4.0 · Time pressure 3.3 · Sitting 2.9 · Outdoors, all weather 3.9 of 5 | Bachelor's degree At or below bachelor's | $78,850 2025 median | +6.7% 2025-35 · 1.4 openings/yr |
Conservation Scientists SOC 19-1031 Contact with others 3.9 · Time pressure 3.3 · Sitting 3.2 · Outdoors, all weather 3.9 of 5 | Bachelor's degree At or below bachelor's | $73,010 2025 median | +5.3% 2025-35 · 2.1 openings/yr |
Animal Scientists SOC 19-1011 Contact with others 4.2 · Time pressure 3.6 · Sitting 3.4 · Outdoors, all weather 3.3 of 5 | Bachelor's degree At or below bachelor's | $68,940 2025 median | +5.8% 2025-35 · 0.2 openings/yr |
Farm and Home Management Educators SOC 25-9021 Contact with others 4.4 · Time pressure 3.2 · Sitting 3.5 · Outdoors, all weather 3.4 of 5 | Master's degree Above bachelor's | $60,220 2025 median | -3.2% 2025-35 · 0.8 openings/yr |
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers SOC 45-1011 Contact with others 4.3 · Time pressure 3.9 · Sitting 2.7 · Outdoors, all weather 4.5 of 5 | High school diploma or equivalent At or below bachelor's | $59,320 2025 median | +3.8% 2025-35 · 7.2 openings/yr |
Agricultural Technicians SOC 19-4012 Contact with others 4.0 · Time pressure 3.2 · Sitting 2.7 · Outdoors, all weather 4.3 of 5 | Associate's degree At or below bachelor's | $49,630 2025 median | +5.4% 2025-35 · 2.8 openings/yr |
BLS typical entry-level education for these occupations
6 of the 9 have a BLS typical entry-level education at or below a bachelor's degree; 3 are above it. "Typical" is BLS's word: it describes the workers already in the occupation.
- High school diploma or equivalent
- 2
- Associate's degree
- 1
- Bachelor's degree
- 3
- Master's degree
- 1
- Doctoral or professional degree
- 2
This is BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2's description of the education most workers in each occupation typically hold when they enter it. It is not a list of requirements, and it says nothing about licences, certifications or experience, which BLS records separately and this page does not show.
Which programs this covers
“Plant science” groups 7 CIP 2020 instructional programs. The occupation list above is the union of everything the crosswalk relates to them.
- 01.1101 Plant Sciences, General
- 01.1102 Agronomy and Crop Science
- 01.1103 Horticultural Science
- 01.1104 Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding
- 01.1105 Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management
- 01.1106 Range Science and Management
- 01.1199 Plant Sciences, Other
Grouping is RoleSprint's, and it is printed here so it can be checked. CIP's own grain is finer than the phrase anyone searches; the alternative is one page per code, which would put near-identical lists in front of the same question. How this map is built.
Working out which of these is realistic
A related occupation is a starting point, not a verdict. Three different questions decide whether one is worth pursuing, and each has its own page.
Program-to-occupation relationships from the 2020 CIP / 2018 SOC Crosswalk, National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wage, typical entry education and outlook from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Working-condition figures from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA and RoleSprint has modified some of this information.
What to do next
A crosswalk relates a field of study to lines of work. Whether one specific opening is worth your time depends on what you can actually show, which is a different question and the one RoleSprint answers.