How To Become A Cowboy: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cowboy and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cowboy. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.87 an hour? That's $28,844 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 1% and produce 6,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCowboyUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $28,844

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.6

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.21%

Asian 1.87%

Black or African American 4.78%

Hispanic or Latino 26.82%

Unknown 3.11%

White 62.21%

Gender

female 32.76%

male 67.24%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.4

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.8

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cowboy

Explore cowboy education requirements

Most common cowboy degrees

Bachelor's

50.9 %

High School Diploma

19.7 %

Associate

18.5 %

Start to develop specific cowboy skills

Skills	Percentages
Medical Treatment	40.75%
Customer Service	28.91%
Food Preparation	10.24%
CDL	5.74%
Farm Equipment	3.36%

Complete relevant cowboy training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cowboys learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cowboy based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cowboy resumes.

Research cowboy duties and responsibilities

Manage milking, feeding, pasture rotation, cleaning, and administration of bovine medication for organic dairy operation
Manage regular routines of dairy calf sector, developing skill in feeding, housing, sanitation, parasite and disease control.
Clean and sanitize milking equipment and ensure equipment functionality.
Operate and perform maintenance on agricultural equipment CDL truck driver

Prepare your cowboy resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cowboy resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cowboy resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cowboy Resume templates

Build a professional Cowboy resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Cowboy resume.

Apply for cowboy jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a cowboy job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do cowboys rate their job?