Agricultural engineer
Agricultural engineers build, service and repair agricultural, horticultural and forestry machinery and equipment.
Typical Salary
£25,000 – £45,000
per year
Working Hours
39–41
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties, you might:
- assess the environmental impact of agricultural production methods
- supervise building projects, like land drainage, reclamation and irrigation
- solve engineering problems, like designing vehicles for all ground and weather conditions
- test and install new equipment, like harvesters or crop sprayers
- use GPS, weather data and computer modelling to give advice on land use
- plan service and repair programmes for machinery
Skills needed
- complex problem-solving skills
- knowledge of engineering science and technology
- design skills and knowledge
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- analytical thinking skills
- concentration skills
- the ability to work well with others
- persistence and determination
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
Career progression
With experience you could move into project management or specialist technical research and development.
You could also work towards incorporated or chartered engineer status by applying to the Engineering Council. As a chartered engineer you'll plan, research and develop new ideas. The Institution of Agricultural Engineers has more information.
You could also move into technical sales, business development, teaching or consultancy work.