How To Become An Agricultural Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an agricultural engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Daniel Solis Ph.D.

An agricultural engineer is a type of engineer that specializes in agricultural systems, equipment, and facilities. Their main role is to help ensure optimal agricultural processes by improving agricultural systems, suggesting new equipment, and designing agricultural projects.

In general, the work duties of an agricultural engineer include inspecting agricultural machinery, estimating project costs, constructing buildings (e.g., irrigation systems, silos, production facilities, farms, etc.), resolving agriculture-related issues, and maintaining an open line of communication with their supervisors, agricultural workers, and project leaders.

The most common educational background for this role is, of course, a degree in agricultural technology. However, individuals with degrees in agriculture, biological engineering, and other related fields may also qualify. On top of education, anyone who wants to become an agricultural engineer must also have adequate work experience in the agricultural field.

On average, the salary of an agricultural engineer is roughly $74,000 per year. If they have to travel or relocate to rural and agricultural areas, an agricultural engineer may also receive additional compensation through allowances.

What general advice would you give to an agricultural engineer?

Daniel Solis Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Leader, Florida A&M University

I don't expect enduring negative impacts, due to COVID19, on our students. Transitioning to online classes, during this time, forced students to adapt fast to new environments, which is a good working skill. Students also had to learn to use alternative new technologies. I believe our students will come out strong and better equipped from this pandemic.

ScoreAgricultural EngineerUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,433

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.7

Growth rate 1%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 13.85%

Black or African American 6.02%

Hispanic or Latino 12.40%

Unknown 4.92%

White 61.97%

Gender

female 17.75%

male 82.25%

Age - 33

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 - 33

Stress level

6.7

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.8

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an agricultural engineer

Explore agricultural engineer education requirements

Most common agricultural engineer degrees

Bachelor's

72.7 %

Master's

14.0 %

Diploma

5.0 %

Start to develop specific agricultural engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Engineering Practices	25.67%
Technical Assistance	21.89%
Water Conservation	19.55%
Data Collection	6.13%
Natural Resources	4.84%

Complete relevant agricultural engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New agricultural engineers 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 an agricultural engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real agricultural engineer resumes.

Research agricultural engineer duties and responsibilities

Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
Design or supervise design\ build of wagons, citrus harvest aide, planters, field equipment, ramps and elevators.
Operate and troubleshoot vacuum deposition machinery used in the development of anodes vital to the design of novel lithium-sulfur battery technology.
Prepare soil data in geotechnical software and graphical figures to be used and review by professional engineering project managers.

Prepare your agricultural engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your agricultural engineer 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 an agricultural engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable agricultural engineer resume templates

Build a professional agricultural engineer 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 agricultural engineer resume.