Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Unprocessed food and other farm products are graded and sorted so each lot is used the right way. Color, species, length, width, appearance, feel, smell, and quality all factor in, and weight is taken on a scale or estimated by eye and hand. Inferior or defective items and foreign matter are pulled out; what remains goes into containers marked with the grade. The work is repetitive, sensory, and close to the product. It suits people who like steady hands-on judging of physical goods and applying the same quality rules for long stretches.
Typical education: Less than a High School Diploma
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$35'730
Median Wage Market Position
$35'730
What you might do
- Grade products by color, size, and quality
- Weigh items or estimate weight by feel
- Sort goods by species, length, and appearance
- Throw out damaged goods and leftover debris
- Place graded goods into the right containers
- Mark each container with its assigned grade
Skills that matter
- Eye, feel, and smell for quality
- Weight by sight or by feel
- Removal of defective items and debris
- Container marks that match the grade
- Coordination with others on the line
- Reading written standards for each grade
AI & the future of this role
Routine grading by size, color, or weight is well suited to machine vision and sorting lines, so much of the repetitive screen-and-sort work could shift to equipment. Roles that remain are more likely to focus on exception handling, calibration, and quality calls machines still miss.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details