Apiarist
What the work is
Plans, organises, controls, coordinates and operates apiaries to produce honey, queen bee pollen, beeswax and royal jelly, breed queen bees, and pollinate crops.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Plans and coordinates the breeding and raising of bees for apiary operations, including the production of honey and other bee products, packaging of bee products and the provision of pollination services
- Harvests and processes honey and other bee products such as beeswax, propolis, royal jelly and bee pollen from hives
- Breeds queen bees and manages the process of queen bee rearing
- Inspects and monitors hives for signs of disease, pests and other issues
- Provides nutrition, medication and pest control to maintain the health of bee colonies and prevent the spread of pests and disease
- Directs and oversees general apiary activities, including the provision and maintenance of apiary infrastructure, such as hives and supporting apparatus
- Oversees the transportation of bee hives to provide pollination services for crops
- Maintains and evaluates records of apiary activities, including hive inspections, honey production and breeding records
- Manages apiary business capital, including budgeting, taxation, debt and loan management
- May select, train and supervise staff or contractors in apiary operations
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional commercial beekeeping business moving hives between orchards and bushland at night. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- You lift a lid at dawn and the hive is calm, full of honey and buzzing
- An almond grower thanks you after a heavy crop that your bees pollinated
- A honey harvest day where the smell in the shed is unbelievable
Hard days
- Moving hives in the dark, in the cold, then waking at dawn to do it again
- A dry season with little flowering and hives that are hungry
- Stings through the veil on a hot day, with a long drive still ahead
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 152931, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.