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Livestock & Aquaculture Worker

Agriculture

Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Agriculture

Picture the job

Where you'd usually workA farm or plantation

  • Outdoors most days, in all weather
  • On your feet for most of the day
  • Dealing with customers or the public
  • Shifts or irregular hours

An illustration of a typical workplace, not a photo. The work-style notes come from US O*NET data, so read them as a guide.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationSome college
The full route to this careerThe steps from school, UPU programmes and sourced costs, read against your answers.

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years
Compare routes against your results and interests

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Search the programme catalogue

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

Quick answers

How do you become a Livestock & Aquaculture Worker in Malaysia?

Routes after SPM that lead here include Asasi / Foundation and Diploma.

Can I become a Livestock & Aquaculture Worker straight after SPM?

Yes. This career can be started with a certificate, diploma or TVET training straight after SPM, without a degree.

What should I study to become a Livestock & Aquaculture Worker?

Related fields of study: Agriculture. SPM subjects that help most: Design & Technology (RBT), Mechanical Engineering Studies, Biology and Additional Science.

How much does a Livestock & Aquaculture Worker earn in Malaysia?

We don't yet have a Malaysian source we can cite for Livestock & Aquaculture Worker pay, so we show no figure.

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Feed and water livestock and monitor food and water supplies.
  2. 2Herd livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
  3. 3Examine animals to detect illness, injury, or disease, and to check physical characteristics, such as rate of weight gain.
  4. 4Provide medical treatment, such as administering medications and vaccinations, or arrange for veterinarians to provide more extensive treatment.
  5. 5Mix feed, additives, and medicines in prescribed portions.
  6. 6Shift animals between grazing areas to ensure that they have sufficient access to food.
  7. 7Mark livestock to identify ownership and grade, using brands, tags, paint, or tattoos.
  8. 8Protect herds from predators, using trained dogs.
  9. 9Order food for animals, and arrange for its delivery.
  10. 10Perform duties related to livestock reproduction, such as breeding animals within appropriate timeframes, performing artificial inseminations, and helping with animal births.
  11. 11Patrol grazing lands on horseback or using all-terrain vehicles.
  12. 12Drive trucks, tractors, and other equipment to distribute feed to animals.
  13. 13Inspect, maintain, and repair equipment, machinery, buildings, pens, yards, and fences.
  14. 14Segregate animals according to weight, age, color, and physical condition.
  15. 15Move equipment, poultry, or livestock from one location to another, manually or using trucks or carts.
  16. 16Maintain growth, feeding, production, and cost records.
  17. 17Clean stalls, pens, and equipment, using disinfectant solutions, brushes, shovels, water hoses, or pumps.
  18. 18Groom, clip, trim, or castrate animals, dock ears and tails, or shear coats to collect hair.
  19. 19Spray livestock with disinfectants and insecticides, or dip or bathe animals.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Rider
  • Cowboy
  • Dipper
  • Farmer
  • Herder
  • Lamber
  • Loader
  • Milker
  • Picker
  • Bottler

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Design & Technology (RBT)Draws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Mechanical Engineering StudiesDraws directly on Production and Processing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BiologyDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional ScienceDraws directly on Biology — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Production and Processing64%

    Design & Technology (RBT)Mechanical Engineering Studies

  • Biology63%

    BiologyAdditional Science

  • Administration and Management63%

    BusinessEconomics

  • English Language63%

    English

  • Mechanical62%

    Mechanical Engineering StudiesPhysicsDesign & Technology (RBT)

  • Food Production61%

    AgricultureHome Science (SRT)

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleContact most of the time
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsAlmost never
  • Indoors, air-conditionedAlmost never
  • Outdoors, in all weatherEvery day
  • Time spent sittingA little
  • Time spent standingAlmost all the time

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points, not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

0%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023, already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

Related careers

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org