Beekeeper
Beekeepers manage colonies of honeybees kept in hives to produce honey, beeswax and royal jelly.
Average annual salary (starting - experienced): Variable
Typical hours (a week): 37 - 42
How to become a beekeeper
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- starting as a hobby and learning on the job
College
You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills you need to do this job. Relevant subjects include a Level 1 Award in Introduction to Beekeeping.
College (Entry requirements)
You'll usually need:
- 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
Other routes
You can keep bees as a hobby and learn how to successfully set up and manage healthy colonies of honeybees. You can also join a beekeeping group where you'll learn from experienced beekeepers, and work towards qualifications offered by The British Beekeepers Association.
More info
Further information You can find out more about becoming a beekeeper through The British Beekeepers Association and the National Bee Unit.
What it takes
Skills & Knowledge
You'll need:
- the ability to work well with others
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- excellent verbal communication skills
- thinking and reasoning skills
- the ability to work on your own
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work well with your hands
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
What you'll do
Day to day
Your day-to-day duties may include:
- building, inspecting or repairing hives
- introducing a new colony or maintaining an existing one
- feeding or checking the health of your bees
- monitoring the size of your colony and amount of honey produced
- treating your hive and bees to fight disease and pests
- collecting honey from hives
- preparing and bottling honey
- marketing honey and products like beeswax
- mentoring or training new beekeepers, once experienced
- breeding queen bees and smaller, starter or 'nucleus' bee colonies
Working environment
You could work on a farm or at a bee yard. Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers. You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
Career path & progression
With experience, you could move into commercial beekeeping and develop more hives over a wider area. You could also train new beekeepers.
