What does a Agricultural Engineer do?

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. Day to day that includes work like prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems and Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities.

What skills should a Agricultural Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Agricultural Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, and Eagle Point LANDCADD. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Agricultural Engineer work?

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Project Engineer, Research Agricultural Engineer, and Agricultural Systems Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Agricultural Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 75% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Agricultural Engineer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Agricultural Engineer resume example

A resume for a Agricultural Engineer needs to show the work itself: 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. Day to day that means work like this: 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. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Engineer
Project Engineer
Research Agricultural Engineer
Agricultural Systems Specialist
Conservation Engineer
Field Engineer
Product Engineer
Product Technology Scientist
Research Engineer
SQE
Agricultural Equipment Design Engineer
Agricultural Equipment Test Engineer
Agricultural Production Engineer
Agricultural Research Engineer
Agriculture Consultant
Agriculture Engineer
Agriculture Scientist
Farm Equipment Engineer

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

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.
Design agricultural machinery components and equipment, using computer-aided design (CAD) technology.
Design and supervise environmental and land reclamation projects in agriculture and related industries.

14 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Meet with clients, such as district or regional councils, farmers, and developers, to discuss their needs, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Discuss plans with clients, contractors, consultants, and other engineers so that they can be evaluated and necessary changes made, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Autodesk AutoCAD
Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
Eagle Point LANDCADD
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
ESRI ArcView
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft Project
Microsoft SharePoint

24 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Personal computers
Personal digital assistants PDA
Plotters
Total stations

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Reading Comprehension
03Speaking
04Writing
05Complex Problem Solving
06Critical Thinking
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Systems Evaluation
09Mathematics
10Systems Analysis

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Engineering and Technology
Computers and Electronics
Design
Mathematics
Physics
Biology
Mechanical
English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

75%Bachelor's Degree
10%Master's Degree
10%Doctoral Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Agricultural Engineer do?: 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. Day to day that includes work like prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems and Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities.
What skills should a Agricultural Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Complex Problem Solving among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Agricultural Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks, and Eagle Point LANDCADD. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Agricultural Engineer work?: O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Engineer, Project Engineer, Research Agricultural Engineer, and Agricultural Systems Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Agricultural Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 75% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Agricultural Engineer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.