Cran Career Spotlight: Soil and Tissue Technician
Overview
A soil and tissue technician skillfully collects soil and plant tissue for laboratory analytics.
What is this career like?
Soil and tissue technicians work mostly in the field and sometimes office. Soil and tissue samples are collected during specific times of the year.
Some of the things soil and tissue technicians might do:
Strategically plan appropriate soil and tissue collection.
Help form a Nutrient Management Plan.
Analysis data and present findings to farmers.
What skills are needed?
Organizational Skills: Soil and tissue technicians can visit numerous beds/fields in a day and need to have all supplies, reports and maps organized to be efficient.
Analytical skills. Interpreting maps, collection points and recording data.
Communication skills. Often Soil and tissue technicians will need to talk with growers and form a plan for collection.
Self-discipline. Soil and tissue technicians may spend a lot of time working alone. They need to stay motivated and get their work done efficiently.
What education is required?
Although a degree in soil science, agronomy, crop science, etc. is extremely helpful there is no education required to be a soil and tissue technician. This is a great entry level job that will give valuable insight into crop production.
The following high school courses are helpful: agricultural education, mathematics, biology, chemistry, and environmental science.
