Career Explorer Farming, fishing, forestry
Human edge, steady
Graders and sorters, agricultural products
Grade, sort, or classify unprocessed food and other agricultural products by size, weight, color, or condition.
In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 48% 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 -3.4% by 2035, expected to shrink.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $35,730
- Job growth to 2035
- -3.4%
- Openings a year
- 5,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 45,400
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Package objects
- Mark materials or objects for identification
- Sort materials or products
What the work looks like
- Place products in containers according to grade and mark grades on containers.
- Weigh products or estimate their weight, visually or by feel.
- Discard inferior or defective products or foreign matter, and place acceptable products in containers for further processing.
- Grade and sort products according to factors such as color, species, length, width, appearance, feel, smell, and quality to ensure correct processing and usage.
- Record grade or identification numbers on tags or on shipping, receiving, or sales sheets.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as enhanced technology will automatically sort and grade a growing number of agricultural products.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- DishwashersHuman edge, steady, Index 64, -1.0%
- Laundry and dry-cleaning workersHuman edge, growing, Index 83, +4.3%
- Refuse and recyclable material collectorsHuman edge, steady, Index 56, +2.1%
- Landscaping and groundskeeping workersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +4.7%
Also known as: Apple Sorter, Grader, Potato Grader, Sorter, Agriculture Laborer, Corn Lab Technician, Distribution Technician, Egg Grader.
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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.