Career Explorer Farming, fishing, forestry
Human edge, steady
Fishing and hunting workers
Hunt, trap, catch, or gather wild animals or aquatic animals and plants. May use nets, traps, or other equipment. May haul catch onto ship or other vessel.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 73% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by -4.2% by 2035, expected to shrink. The work leans on physical dexterity.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- Not published
- Job growth to 2035
- -4.2%
- Openings a year
- 3,300
- People doing it (2025)
- 28,200
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then moderate on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Obtain formal documentation or authorization
- Set up equipment
- Communicate with others about operational plans or activities
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Hunt animals
- Operate transportation equipment or vehicles
- Maintain tools or equipment
What the work looks like
- Steer vessels and operate navigational instruments.
- Scrape fat, blubber, or flesh from skin sides of pelts with knives or hand scrapers.
- Remove catches from fishing equipment and measure them to ensure compliance with legal size.
- Patrol trap lines or nets to inspect settings, remove catch, and reset or relocate traps.
- Direct fishing or hunting operations, and supervise crew members.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plasticHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.8%
- Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfittersHuman edge, steady, Index 85, +2.4%
- Musical instrument repairers and tunersHuman edge, steady, Index 74, +1.9%
- Industrial machinery mechanicsHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +17.8%
Also known as: Deckhand, Lobster Fisherman, Nuisance Trapper, Trapper, Commercial Fisherman, Commercial Fishing Vessel Operator, Fisherman, Fur Trapper.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.