Farming and fishing

How to become a precision agriculture technician

Official title: Precision agriculture technician

Also called: Precision agriculture specialist

Precision agriculture technicians use information technologies to collect precise agricultural data and develop digital tools and applications for the agriculture industry.

Main tasks

Collect and analyse geographical and geological data
Use information tools and technology
Analyse environmental data
Improve ways to grow crops
Improve farming methods
Create maps and models
Adjust technical equipment
Maintain technical equipment

How to become one

You usually need a qualification and experience to become a precision agriculture technician. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job.. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in agriculture, information systems, engineering or similar area; experience in similar work; a driver licence.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

University: Agriculture & Environment degrees, Offered by 4 universities in New Zealand
University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand

Pay

Most common pay: $58,095 to $76,267 a year (median $64,467), a TEC estimate before tax.
Lower: $51,742 a year · Upper: $88,067 a year
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.

Questions people ask

How do I become a precision agriculture technician?

How much does a precision agriculture technician earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $64,467 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $58,095 to $76,267 a year.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026