Food Science and Technology
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Median earnings by degree level
| Degree | Median earnings | Typical range | Schools | Clear the bar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's Degree | $70,458 | $64,115 to $75,567 | 30 | 100% |
| Master's Degree | $82,065 | $64,934 to $106,121 | 7 | 100% |
"Clear the bar" is the share of programs whose graduates out-earn a typical high-school graduate (the federal earnings-premium test). Typical range is the 25th to 75th percentile of program medians.
Job outlook
Projected employment growth +4% (2025 to 2035), about 112,500 openings a year across the occupations this field commonly leads to.
| Occupation | Median pay | Growth | Openings/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | $89,900 | -3.4% | 70,800 |
| Food Batchmakers | $42,290 | +6.5% | 23,100 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers | $59,320 | +3.8% | 7,200 |
| Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | $51,610 | -5.7% | 5,200 |
| Food Science Technicians | $52,130 | +4.8% | 3,000 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | $78,850 | +6.7% | 1,400 |
Occupation pay and outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wages, Employment Projections). A field maps to several occupations, and the same occupations serve many majors, so these are the jobs this major commonly leads to, not positions reserved for its graduates; the openings should not be added up across majors.
Where this is studied
The 8 colleges where the most students complete a food science and technology program, of 121 that report one. Ordered by number of completions only: this is where people study it, not a judgement about where to.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of California-Davis
- Michigan State University
- Cornell University
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
- Kansas State University
- Clemson University
- University of Kentucky
Earnings source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (release 2026-06-10), median earnings of graduates measured up to four years after completing. Figures describe past graduates and are never a promise. Method: methodology. Report an error.