- Career Name - Bee Farmer
- Category - Farming & Livestock Management / Business
- Skills Required - Life skills 40% - Career skills 60%
- Basic Subjects - Language, Biology, Science
- Minimum Education - High School Certificate
- Species Worked With - Insects
- Short Courses - 340 with Rewards = Points +Badges
Do you want to work as a Bee Farmer?
READ: This page helps you to read about the career and the info you need to decide on whether this is indeed the career you want to follow.
RESEARCH: Learn about the skills required and minimum subjects to enter this career, as well as the places where you can study further after school.
PREPARE: If you want to plan and prepare for the career, then join the OZT Community! Members have access to tools, while chatting with other students and experts from around the world. Prepare to be amazed!
CAREER MENTOR
UPDATED: 8 February 2022
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What is a Bee Farmer?
A Bee Farmer manages bee swarms to harvest the products they produce, or to use the swarms to pollinate agricultural crops and flowers.
Bee products include:
- Honey
- Bees Wax
- Royal Jelly
- Pollination (bees help farmers pollinate new crops)
Alternative names
Depending on the country, bee farmers are also known as:
- Beekeepers
- Apiarists
What does a Bee Farmer do?
Career Categories
The Bee Farmer career can be found in the following career categories:
- Farming and Livestock Management
- Business
What does a Bee Farmer focus on?
A bee farmer oversees the production of products produced by bees, such as honey, wax, pollen and royal jelly.
The bees can also be relocated to farms where the crop farmer requires their pollinating abilities.
What are the daily tasks of a Bee Farmer?
- Build and maintain hives
- Research new beekeeping methods and practices
- Keep Environment safe for the bees
- Operate beekeeping equipment
- Monitor hives and harvest honey and wax
- Liaise with stock buyers
- Liaise with crop farmers for possible contracts
- Administration and marketing
The working environment of a Bee Farmer
Where does a Bee Farmer work?
Environment –
Farmers work mostly outdoors, but processing of the byproducts such as honey and wax will be done indoors.
Places of Employment –
They work mostly in their own privately owned businesses.
What is the average annual salary of a Bee Farmer?
They can earn a yearly average of US$40,000 per year. But the income depends on many factors, such as amount of breeding stock, need for honey and wax in the market, and quality.
Can a Bee Farmer be promoted?
Most farmers own their own businesses, which means you are already the boss.
What difficulties can a Bee Farmer face?
Farming is a labour and financially intensive career. Initial equipment purchases will be expensive, and maintaining a good profit can be difficult. Bee farmers, especially those who keep the more aggressive Africanized bees, could be subject to multiple attacks and possible health risks. The work might also entail long hours and working over weekends and holidays.
Future Growth and Possibilities
Overall employment of Bee Farmers is projected to grow steadily at around 7%. Keeping bees to assist crop farmers in pollination will grow in importance.
Which Skills are required by a Bee Farmer?
The skills required for a career as a Bee Farmer can be divided into two very important groups. The first is the group containing life skills, which are the core skills that are necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. The second group is career skills, or the specific skills required to allow a person to enter and operate effectively within a specific career. Some or maybe even all of the life skills can assist in strengthening the career skills, and they might even be the same for specific careers.
Life Skills
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Decision making
- Problem Solving
- Effective communication
- Interpersonal relationship
Career Skills
- Animal handling
- Animal care
- Manage people
- Good health and physical fitness
- Computer literacy
Which Subjects must I have at School to prepare for this career?
Language as a subject is key for you to understand more about communication and beekeeping terminology.
A basic biological or physiological knowledge of bees is extremely important if you plan to work with them every day.
Science is a good subject to have if you want to gain admission into college or university.
The subjects you choose at school are important as they lay the foundation for further studies at college or university. While still at school, it’s also important to learn more about the animals you will work with, as well as gain some experience.
OZT has a list of various tertiary institutions where you can study further, after school. Each of these institutions also have their own Group page on OZT where you will find the exact subjects they require of you to have passed in school. Keep these requirements in mind, and discuss it with your school, guidance counselor and parents to ensure that you are prepared!
What will I need to Study to become a Bee Farmer?
Minimum Requirements
The minimum qualifications to become a farmer is a High School Certificate. For more intensive farming, a college diploma or university degree would be best.
Study Focus
Majors –
You can follow a diploma or degree with majors in animal science, animal management, beekeeping.
Short Courses –
Short Courses in the production of honey can be taken. Also think of taking basic carpentry classes to gain experience in building hives.
Study Duration
The duration of a College Diploma is between 2 to 3 years, and a University Degree is between 3 and 4 years. Short Courses are usually between a few weeks and a year.
Possible Career Preparation Paths
If this is your dream career that you want to pursue, then it’s important to plan the way forward.
Why is planning important?
To ensure that you understand the requirements for your career, and that you are always prepared for the next step on the road towards your dream. A Preparation Path is like your road map to where you want to be.
Possible Paths:
Possible Combined Career Paths
It is possible to sometimes combine two or more related careers. This normally happens when you study and practice a specific main career, but the knowledge and experience gained also help you to have a paying hobby or secondary income career.
Possible Alternatives (there are a lot more):
Average level of education of all the people who enter the career
Licenses, Certificate, Registration and Professional Associations
Some countries do require a certification to keep bees.
Learn more about requirements by joining the OZT Community.
Professional Associations
Where can I study further?
All of the above information will help you understand more about the Career, including the fact that there are different paths to take to reach it. But if you are almost done with High School (Grades 11 or 12), you also need to start thinking about further studies, and WHERE you will study.
See the List of Universities, Colleges and Online Training Academies who offer courses towards the field of farming and livestock management.
Join the OZT community and Career Group
Join us as a special member and learn more about becoming a Bee Farmer.
Members of the Platform have special access to:
- Info on the best places where you can study (colleges, universities and online)
- Expertly designed advice to prepare you for the career, and links to places where you can gain valuable experience. For some career experience is necessary, otherwise you wont get the job!
- Top notch info on each of the different species you will work with
- Make friends around the world and share knowledge
- Compete and win points, badges, games, prizes and certificates. Be the best of the best, while you learn and prepare!
If you have decided on being a Bee Farmer, please click on the JOIN GROUP button. Members will be directed to the Group, while non-members will be assisted to register first.
If this career is NOT the career for you, then you may return to the MAIN CAREER menu, and search for something different.
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