Best degree programs for Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation, ranked by enrollment
3 college programs and 113 schools train Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $46,340 median wage, 27,050 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
3 college programs at 113 schools train pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation, graduating 1,507 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Landscaping and Groundskeeping. The job pays a median of $46,340 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation
Mix or apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides through sprays, dusts, vapors, soil incorporation, or chemical application on trees, shrubs, lawns, or crops. Usually requires specific training and state or federal certification.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
3 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landscaping and Groundskeepingmain feeder CIP 01.0605 | 966 | 64.1% | 82 | $35,900 | $14,000 |
| 2 | Turf and Turfgrass Managementmain feeder CIP 01.0607 | 385 | 25.5% | 35 | $35,900 | $14,000 |
| 3 | Plant Nursery Operations and Managementmain feeder CIP 01.0606 | 156 | 10.4% | 26 | $35,900 | $14,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $45,070 | 2,260 | 0.71× | 22 | 243 |
| Florida | $45,210 | 4,530 | 2.62× | 7 | 222 |
| North Carolina | $48,240 | 360 | 0.42× | 8 | 127 |
| Georgia | $39,080 | 1,300 | 1.52× | 12 | 122 |
| Pennsylvania | $48,870 | 360 | 0.34× | 5 | 107 |
| Ohiomoderate | $50,060 | 490 | 0.51× | 4 | 99 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $38,100 | 610 | 1.53× | 4 | 64 |
| Idaholimited | $47,630 | 610 | 4.09× | 1 | 45 |
| Wisconsin | $46,190 | 540 | 1.05× | 5 | 45 |
| Michiganlimited | $44,460 | 860 | 1.12× | 2 | 42 |
| Oregonlimited | $51,590 | 290 | 0.84× | 2 | 41 |
| Washingtonmoderate | $47,360 | 470 | 0.77× | 4 | 41 |
| Illinois | $48,280 | 1,040 | 0.98× | 8 | 34 |
| Minnesotamoderate | $49,030 | 950 | 1.86× | 3 | 34 |
| Missourilimited | $44,990 | 450 | 0.87× | 1 | 24 |
| Utahlimited | $45,430 | 360 | 1.20× | 1 | 21 |
| Massachusettslimited | $62,980 | — | — | 2 | 17 |
| Arizonalimited | $48,630 | 210 | 0.37× | 1 | 14 |
| Iowalimited | $46,740 | 600 | 2.23× | 1 | 13 |
| Mississippilimited | $35,770 | 650 | 3.23× | 2 | 13 |
| New Yorklimited | $48,380 | 220 | 0.13× | 2 | 11 |
| Nebraskalimited | $47,500 | 380 | 2.15× | 2 | 9 |
| South Dakotalimited | $46,320 | 460 | 5.75× | 1 | 9 |
| Delawarelimited | $54,190 | 40 | 0.43× | 1 | 7 |
| Hawaiilimited | $51,240 | 60 | 0.57× | 1 | 7 |
| Alabamalimited | $43,440 | 320 | 0.88× | 1 | 6 |
| Indianalimited | $48,500 | 950 | 1.71× | 2 | 6 |
| Coloradolimited | $47,020 | 960 | 1.92× | 1 | 4 |
| Arkansaslimited | $37,860 | 490 | 2.17× | 1 | 2 |
| New Jerseylimited | $44,330 | 320 | 0.42× | 1 | 1 |
| Tennesseelimited | $47,340 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
- Fill sprayer tanks with water and chemicals, according to formulas.
- Lift, push, and swing nozzles, hoses, and tubes to direct spray over designated areas.
- Identify lawn or plant diseases to determine the appropriate course of treatment.
- Cover areas to specified depths with pesticides, applying knowledge of weather conditions, droplet sizes, elevation-to-distance ratios, and obstructions.
- Start motors and engage machinery, such as sprayer agitators or pumps or portable spray equipment.
- Connect hoses and nozzles selected according to terrain, distribution pattern requirements, types of infestations, and velocities.
- Clean or service machinery to ensure operating efficiency, using water, gasoline, lubricants, or hand tools.
Skills
- Active Listening3.3
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Active Learning2.9
- Monitoring2.9
- Writing2.5
- Mathematics2.3
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service3.6
- Biology3.5
- Production and Processing3.5
- English Language3.5
- Administration and Management3.4
- Public Safety and Security3.1
Abilities
- Near Vision3.5
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.4
- Control Precision3.4
- Oral Comprehension3.3
- Deductive Reasoning3.3
- Problem Sensitivity3.3
Core activities
- Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment4.3
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.2
- Getting Information4.1
- Performing General Physical Activities4.0
- Handling and Moving Objects4.0
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.0
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Pesticide Handler
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0605Landscaping and Groundskeeping
- 01.0606Plant Nursery Operations and Management
- 01.0607Turf and Turfgrass Management
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Pesticide Handler?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Landscaping and Groundskeeping, which awarded 966 degrees in 2024-25, 64.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Pesticide Handler?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services. Together they graduate about 1,507 people a year.
How much do pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation earn?+
The median is $46,340 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $35,570 at the 10th percentile to $61,420 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation growing?+
BLS projects a +3.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 4,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
113 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Lawn Specialist, Lawn Technician, Spray Technician, Licensed Pesticide Applicator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 37-3012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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