It is unlawful for any person to act as an employee of a commercial pesticide applicator and apply pesticides manually or as the operator directly in charge of any apparatus which is licensed or should be licensed under this chapter for the application of any pesticide, without having obtained a commercial pesticide operator license from the director. The commercial pesticide operator license is in addition to any other license or permit required by law for the operation or use of any such apparatus. Application for a commercial operator license must be accompanied by a fee of seventy-eight dollars. This section does not apply to any individual who is a licensed commercial pesticide applicator.