Also called: Agricultural Research Engineer, USDA Research Engineer
Researches new ways to grow food, protect soil and water, and turn crops into energy and materials, often at universities or USDA labs.
You run an experiment on how a new cover crop and drip system cut fertilizer runoff. You check soil sensors in the field, then analyze two years of data and write a paper that farmers and policymakers will use.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. PhD in biological and agricultural engineering or a related field.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Agricultural Engineering, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Biosystems Engineering.
Growing faster than average (about 6% over 10 years). Tracks agricultural engineers (BLS 2024-34); a very small occupation.
Low risk for 10 years. AI analyzes crop and soil data at scale; field experiments and inventing new farming tools stay human research.
Classes: AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus, Agriculture CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2021.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.