Agricultural engineering is a mix of office hours and outdoor work. This discipline combines food science with mechanics, civil, electrical, and chemical engineering. This discipline exists to improve the sustainability and effectiveness of agricultural practices.
Similar to most engineering jobs, agricultural engineering jobs involves problem-solving. Supplying enough power, dealing with pollution and other environmental issues, testing agricultural machinery, and most importantly, agricultural engineers strive to enhance crop and livestock production.
Regular duties the engineer has to perform will naturally depend on the position and even specialization they take. However, there are some general tasks. For example, collect field samples, review research, analyze biological samples, and also, design agricultural equipment.
Salary
According to Career Explorer, in 2018 the average yearly pay for agricultural engineers in the US was $77,110 per year. It is expected that demand will remain the same during the next ten years and the yearly wage should increase by five percent.
According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, The average annual wage for an agricultural engineer in 2012 was about $74,000, with the minimum average wage of the lower 10% being $44,750 and the highest average of the upper 10% being $115,680.
There are several industries in which agricultural engineers work with 2012 average annual wages as follows: $82,090 for architectural and engineering jobs, $77,030 for federal government jobs, excluding postal; $73,380 for food manufacturing; $67,690 for agriculture and construction, etc.
Job Responsibilites
Agricultural engineers study varied subjects which makes them good consultants, employed by private engineering companies mainly in the food industry. The job they have to perfom vary from industry to industry and may include:
Consulting manufacturers of agricultural machinery, equipment, processing technology, and structure for housing livestock and storing crops.
Design drainage, irrigation, and water-control systems.
Design agricultural machinery, equipment, and agricultural structures, design internal combustion engines that apply to agricultural machinery
Perform land profiling and surveys.
Soil management and conservation, including erosion and erosion control, managing seeding, tillage, harvesting, processing of crops, livestock production, including animal waste, agricultural residues, and fertilizer runoff.
Engage in principles of circuit analysis that apply to electrical motors, physical and chemical properties of materials used in, or produced by, agricultural production.
Bioresource engineering that uses molecular size machines to help the environment, process and store crops in post-harvest handling of crops.
Make educational programs made for farmers to help with improving and enhancing their regular agricultural produce.
Create and present reports that explain the technical spects of the project.
Communicate and meet with technical experts, clients, and other stakeholders.
Participate in advocacy groups fighting for sustainable agriculture on national and local levels.
Find new ways of harvesting and farming.
Research in the lab and the field to develop best practices for food production.
Research contextual information required for case studies
Specializations
Agricultural engineering jobs can be divided into many specialties and sub-specialties. Engineers perform different tasks depending on their specialty and job requirements. Tasks such as planning, supervising of water control systems like drainage and flood control, environmental impact assessments, and agricultural product processing by interpreting research results and implementing relevant practices. Many such engineers work in academia or for government agencies, such as United States Department of Agriculture or state agricultural extension services.
There are four main specializations for agricultural engineers. The first one is Farm Machinery and Power engineering, which includes improving farm quality, reducing costs, finding and implementing energy-efficient machinery, and regulating health and safety standards.
Irrigation and Drainage agricultural engineers deal with water lifting, flood control, micro-sprinklers, and similar water systems. Agricultural engineers specialized in Soil and Water Conservation Engineering deal with developing technology for land development, conservation of water, and soil erosion prevention.
Finally, Post Harvest and Process engineering, or Food process engineering, to put it simply, specializes in post-harvest technology, fermentation technology, and food storage or storage at low temperatures.
Job Requirements
To work as an agricultural engineer, you have to put a great amount of work and effort into your education and specialization. A typical undergraduate agricultural engineering program has courses like calculus, physics, and biology, focusing more on the technological and mechanical side of the job.
Most employers require you to have a bachelor's degree from an educational program that's been officially authorized by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).
Getting a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering is not enough if you wish to work for the public. You have to become licensed as well. With a degree in your hands you have to get a passing score on the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. Next on the list is working for four years in the field, and finally, passing the Professional Engineering exam.
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