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.
- O*NET-SOC code
17-2021.00 - Preparation Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$98,590
Employment, U.S.1,480
Median hourly wage$47.40
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $68,060 | $82,260 | $98,590 | $124,880 | $166,460 |
By state (13)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 40 | $57,740 | 2.86 |
| Colorado | 30 | $88,650 | 1.17 |
| Illinois | 40 | Not available | 0.67 |
| Indiana | 150 | $94,730 | 5.01 |
| Iowa | 100 | $96,290 | 6.56 |
| Michigan | $80,490 | ||
| Minnesota | 60 | $115,940 | 1.98 |
| Mississippi | 40 | $91,560 | 3.66 |
| Missouri | 120 | Not available | 4.27 |
| Ohio | 60 | $119,250 | 1.19 |
| Oklahoma | 120 | $86,970 | 7.50 |
| Pennsylvania | $80,300 | ||
| Texas | 50 | $95,220 | 0.40 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Environmental Engineers | 4 | 0.962 |
| 2 | Water Resource Specialists | 4 | 0.961 |
| 3 | Wind Energy Engineers | 4 | 0.960 |
| 4 | Nuclear Engineers | 4 | 0.958 |
| 5 | Water/Wastewater Engineers | 4 | 0.956 |
| 6 | Automotive Engineers | 4 | 0.955 |
| 7 | Electrical Engineers | 4 | 0.951 |
| 8 | Industrial Engineers | 4 | 0.950 |
| 9 | Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers | 4 | 0.950 |
| 10 | Soil and Plant Scientists | 5 | 0.948 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Agricultural Engineers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental Engineers | Coordination | 0.76 | 0.962 |
| Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | Quality Control Analysis | 0.76 | 0.948 |
| Materials Scientists | Science | 1.50 | 0.947 |
| Fire-Prevention and Protection Engineers | Quality Control Analysis | 0.76 | 0.945 |
| Hydrologists | Science | 1.00 | 0.940 |
| Transportation Engineers | Management of Personnel Resources | 0.88 | 0.939 |
| Energy Engineers, Except Wind and Solar | Science | 1.24 | 0.939 |
| Validation Engineers | Science | 1.00 | 0.938 |
| Food Scientists and Technologists | Quality Control Analysis | 1.26 | 0.935 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Specialists | Quality Control Analysis | 0.76 | 0.934 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Agricultural Engineers, excluding software Agricultural Engineers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| The MathWorks MATLAB | 14 of 20 | 5.8x |
| Finite element method FEM software | 7 of 20 | 29.4x |
| ANSYS simulation software | 7 of 20 | 26.9x |
| National Instruments LabVIEW | 10 of 20 | 7.4x |
| Bentley MicroStation | 9 of 20 | 8.7x |
| Maplesoft Maple | 6 of 20 | 18.5x |
| Python | 12 of 20 | 4.2x |
| C++ | 11 of 20 | 4.6x |
| Minitab | 9 of 20 | 5.9x |
| ESRI ArcGIS software | 10 of 20 | 5.0x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Science | Essential skill | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.38 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.25 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.25 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.75 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering and Technology | 4.85 | 6.55 |
| Computers and Electronics | 4.50 | 6.00 |
| Design | 4.35 | 5.75 |
| Mathematics | 4.25 | 5.90 |
| Physics | 4.25 | 5.80 |
| Biology | 4.10 | 5.15 |
| Mechanical | 3.90 | 5.10 |
| English Language | 3.85 | 5.00 |
| Food Production | 3.63 | 4.70 |
| Chemistry | 3.60 | 4.75 |
| Production and Processing | 3.55 | 4.20 |
| Building and Construction | 3.35 | 4.50 |
| Geography | 3.15 | 4.55 |
| Administration and Management | 3.15 | 4.20 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.11 | 3.85 |
| Education and Training | 3.10 | 4.45 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.10 | 3.40 |
| Law and Government | 2.75 | 3.25 |
| Telecommunications | 2.70 | 2.95 |
| Administrative | 2.65 | 4.16 |
| Communications and Media | 2.65 | 3.35 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.58 | 3.05 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.45 | 3.42 |
| Transportation | 2.40 | 3.00 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.95 | 2.50 |
| Foreign Language | 1.90 | 2.15 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 1.85 | 1.90 |
| Psychology | 1.75 | 2.00 |
| History and Archeology | 1.45 | 0.90 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.40 | 1.05 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.20 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.15 | not rated |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.15 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Written Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Oral Expression | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.50 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.38 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Written Expression | 4.00 | 4.25 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.88 | 4.25 |
| Information Ordering | 3.75 | 4.25 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.75 | 4.12 |
| Near Vision | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Visualization | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.12 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.50 | 3.75 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.50 | 3.38 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.38 | 4.12 |
| Originality | 3.38 | 3.62 |
| Number Facility | 3.25 | 3.88 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Time Sharing | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.62 | 2.38 |
| Memorization | 2.25 | 2.50 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Control Precision | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Depth Perception | 2.12 | 2.38 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Spatial Orientation | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Rate Control | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Static Strength | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Response Orientation | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.75 | 0.88 |
| Sound Localization | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Night Vision | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Stamina | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Adobe InDesign hot
- Adobe Photoshop hot
- Autodesk AutoCAD hot
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft Outlook hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Project hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Oracle Database hot
- Oracle Java hot
- SAP software hot
- SAS hot
- ESRI ArcView
- Eagle Point LANDCADD
- PTC Creo Parametric
- PTC Pro/Pipe
- Supervisory control and data acquisition SCADA software
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City, OK | 110 | 17.04 | $86,970 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 100 | 7.93 | $124,340 |