The Strong Interest Inventory (SII) is a valuable tool for people choosing a career, whether they are approaching High School or College graduation, recent graduates, or are considering a career change later in life. This Valid and Reliable Interest Inventory functions by evaluating individuals’ preferences related to potential employment and then compares one’s responses to those of professionals already working in hundreds of different jobs who report to be pleased with their occupations. For example, the SII might assess whether one prefers a flexible work environment without set hours or a defined corporate hierarchy and then determine which careers employ professionals with similar preferences. While many career assessments and inventories guide job seekers toward specific careers, the Strong Interest Inventory Test goes one step further. In addition to recommending careers, it also highlights and places individuals, based on their responses, in one or more of six career categories: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Careers in each category share certain characteristics. For example, Enterprising careers typically involves interfacing with customers or guests, handling sales, influencing or convincing people to behave in certain ways, or shaping others’ experiences. Farm Labor Contractors fall into this category.
Learn all about a career as a farm labor contractor, including career stats such as pay and salary, daily tasks, employment growth, and more!
Farm Labor Contractors are primarily responsible for recruiting and hiring seasonal and temporary agricultural workers, such as those who pick crops like berries or apples. Farm Labor Contractors also manage the workers they hire directly and sometimes indirectly, for instance, by recruiting and employing foremen to instruct the workers on how to complete specific tasks, delegating particular tasks to each worker or group of workers, and enforcing any rules or best practices workers must follow on-the-job. Farm Labor Contractors typically provide other resources necessary to support their workers. For example, they may provide food, drinking water, and field sanitation facilities to contracted workers, provide tools for employee use, direct employees to their worksites, answer questions and pay wages. In some cases, Farm Labor Contractors may also need to transport, house, provide meals, cash checks, or otherwise procure necessities for the workers they hire.
Successful Farm Labor Contractors are typically adept users of office software, such as Microsoft Office Suite, web browsers, e-mail software, and calendars and scheduling software. They may also use resource planning software, such as SAP business and customer relations management software, accounting software (e.g., Intuit QuickBooks), and cloud-based data access and sharing software (e.g., Microsoft SharePoint). The tools they use may include transportation tools like passenger cars, trucks, forklifts, sport utility vehicles, and communication tools like phones, computers, tablets, and radios. Some may even use watercraft, such as boats or canoes, and aircraft, such as crop planes or helicopters.
Farm Labor Contractors are communicators, planners, and problem solvers. They must evaluate information and behaviors daily to comply with best practices and standards. If they are in violation, then Farm Labor Contractors must provide coaching or training to their workers to correct their behavior. They must also assess whether a given task is beyond someone’s ability and if it is, determines what alternative tasks to assign. On a daily basis, Farm Labor Contractors must also be able to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships with their workers as well as their employers, and they must stay current on administrative activities such as processing paperwork and ensuring their employees’ well-being, all while making sure their contracted work is completed on time and correctly.
To achieve these goals, Farm Labor Contractors must have a foundational knowledge of food production (e.g., planting, growing, and harvesting food products; safely storing and handling foods), mathematics, and human resource management. They should also be aware of federal, state, and local guidelines concerning farm labor management. In addition, being bilingual is essential since most farm laborers speak little English. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have data regarding the education level of Farm Labor Contractors.
The median salary for Farm Labor Contractors in the United States is $47,780 annually, about $22.97 on an hourly basis. While there is almost certainly variation between different states and depending on harvesting seasons, this data is not available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Currently, it is estimated that there are some 200 employed Farm Labor Contractors in the United States. This number is expected to grow by 10-15% in the coming decade, which is higher than the average growth rate.
Below are some employment trends for Farm Labor Contractors:
- Median Salary: $59,050 annually
- Employment: 200 employees
- Projected growth (2020-2030): Faster than average (10-15%)
- Projected job openings (2020-2030): 20
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References
- Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and 2012-2022 employment projections Onetonline.org