Get a jump start on what you want do in college or test your interest before you get there by taking a class in engineering! Explore the different focus areas and opportunities. 

Take a class in engineering.

Becoming a certified professional engineer signals to clients that you are trustworthy and to employers that you are capable of higher responsibility. Take your engineering career to the next level and get certified!

Get certified as a professional engineer (PE). 

Prepare to take on that leadership role by gaining valuable management tools and techniques that help improve processes within an organization.

Get Lean Six Sigma certified.

CAD (computer-aided design) technology is essential for a variety of engineering specialties. Download a free trial and watch some tutorials to start expanding your technical skill set!

Familiarize yourself with CAD technology.

ASABE is an organization open to engineers and non-engineers who are interested in engineering / technology for agricultural, food, and biological systems. Get involved for resources, news, and networking opportunities!

Learn about the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Technical drawing knowledge will help you in any career that involves projects that exist in three-dimensional space. Check out these tips to improve your skills. 

Stretch your technical drawing skills.

Check out these TED Talks on engineering. Choose one or two that interest you most to watch. Could you see yourself working on these kinds of projects and ideas?

Watch videos from the cutting edge of engineering.

Watch an urban farmer give a talk about indoor vertical farming. Try to brainstorm one or two other ways we might be able to use engineering to enhance our agricultural processes.

Watch a TED Talk on the future of agriculture.

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Agricultural Engineers

Apply knowledge of engineering technology and biological science to agricultural problems concerned with power and machinery, electrification, structures, soil and water conservation, and processing of agricultural products.

Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.

Investigative

Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Realistic

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Conventional

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

Enterprising

Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art.

Artistic

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Social

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.

Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Architecture and Engineering Occupations

Engineers

Prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems.

Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities.

Meet with clients, such as district or regional councils, farmers, and developers, to discuss their needs.

Discuss plans with clients, contractors, consultants, and other engineers so that they can be evaluated and necessary changes made.

Test agricultural machinery and equipment to ensure adequate performance.

Plan and direct construction of rural electric-power distribution systems, and irrigation, drainage, and flood control systems for soil and water conservation.

Provide advice on water quality and issues related to pollution management, river control, and ground and surface water resources.

Design structures for crop storage, animal shelter and loading, and animal and crop processing, and supervise their construction.

Conduct educational programs that provide farmers or farm cooperative members with information that can help them improve agricultural productivity.

Design sensing, measuring, and recording devices, and other instrumentation used to study plant or animal life.

Autodesk AutoCAD

Dassault Systemes SolidWorks

Eagle Point LANDCADD

PTC Creo Parametric

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft Access

Oracle Database

Microsoft Excel

ESRI ArcView

Microsoft Outlook

Adobe Photoshop

SAP software

Adobe InDesign

Microsoft Office software

Laptop computers

Total stations

Personal digital assistants PDA

Plotters

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

How frequently does your job require you to use E-mail?

Every day

How often does this job require working indoors in an environmentally controlled environment (like a warehouse with air conditioning)?

Once a week or more but not every day

Number of hours typically worked in one week.

More than 40 hours

40 hours

How frequently does your job require face-to-face discussions with individuals and within teams?

Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams

How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

Once a month or more but not every week

How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

Extremely important

Very important

Important

How important is it to work with or contribute to a work group or team in this job?

Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team

How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer?

A lot of freedom

Some freedom

How much freedom does the worker have in determining the tasks, priorities, or goals of the job?

Limited freedom

How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

Agricultural Engineers

Overview

Career

What Agricultural Engineers Do

Other Job Titles Agricultural Engineers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Agricultural Engineers

Overview

Career

What Agricultural Engineers Do

Other Job Titles Agricultural Engineers May Have

Tasks & Responsibilities May Include

Education

Level of Education Attained by Agricultural Engineers

Majors Related to Career

Related Leaders