If you know what an agricultural engineer does, you're probably in the
minority. "Much of the work done in the agricultural engineering field is
directly related to key issues of concern to the general public, while the
general public is not aware of its existence," says Christine Dawn Blanton.
Blanton is an agricultural engineer, doctoral candidate and research assistant
who works on environmental issues. This specialization can include soil conservation,
pest solutions and petroleum company spills.
Agricultural engineers work on solutions to a host of problems that affect
the quantity and quality of our food and our environment. A hot and controversial
issue is biotechnology -- using living organisms, or their parts, to produce
new products.
An agricultural engineer is an engineer who happens to focus on agriculture.
They receive training in many engineering disciplines. They apply engineering
and economic principles and biological sciences to agricultural machines,
structures, products and crops, as well as to other products and equipment.
"Agricultural engineer" is the traditional title for this career. But many
agricultural engineering departments in universities have changed their names
in order to reflect the broad scope of the industry.
For instance, many universities offer programs in agricultural and biological
or biosystems engineering.
Melissa Moore is the executive vice-president of the American Society of
Agricultural Engineers. "Agricultural engineering is still a very important
engineering field, but then there is also biosystems, bioresource, bioenvironmental
and biological engineering," she says. "They're all connected and it's really
the same term for the same thing."
No matter what your title, your job duties may include planning, design,
testing and evaluation. You may also estimate costs of processes, products,
machines and systems.
You can specialize in a wide range of areas. These include plant diseases,
pest resistance and genetic engineering of foods. You could also focus on
livestock feeding systems and waste treatment, grain drying, soil and water
conservation, irrigation, food processing systems, dairy facilities design
or equipment design.
Marybeth Lima is an assistant professor of biological and agricultural
engineering at Louisiana State University. She stresses the importance of
this profession.
"I think the most exciting thing about this career is that biological or
agricultural engineers are well primed to deal with some of the major difficulties
facing the human race at the present time," she says.
"Unchecked human population growth is the cause of many problems that threaten
to destroy our planet; for example, global warming, endangered species, natural
habitat, forest loss and environmental pollution. We certainly can't solve
these problems alone, but we can offer one perspective that, taken with others,
can help address them," says Lima.
As in most fields today, everything is computerized. Farmers are beginning
to rely on computers to do everything from managing grain storage to making
decisions about insect control or when to apply fertilizer.
When you think of agricultural engineering, you probably think of farms.
It's true that some agricultural engineers work on farms, but certainly not
all of them.
These engineers may work in universities, federal departments of agriculture,
consulting companies, municipalities, food processing plants, construction
companies, fertilizer and feed companies, biotechnology firms, mining companies
and many, many other places.
Some agricultural engineers are required to do a fair amount of travel,
particularly those who work with industry. For some people, especially for
those with families, this can be tough.
"If you have a family, that's not good," says Charles Maule. He is a professor
of agricultural and bioresource engineering. "If you're a young engineer,
that's exciting, but after a while, it's good to stay in one place."
Many agricultural engineers report working 50 hours a week or more. "It's
pretty much teamwork," says engineering professor Don Norum. "You may be the
only engineer, but you will work within a team of other professionals and
technical people."
Communication skills are very important. "You can have the greatest idea
there is, but you have to sell it someplace," says Norum.
To work in this field, says Blanton, a person should be "dedicated, persistent,
detail-oriented and unafraid to step back and use common sense. The key to
being successful is having the ability to analyze a situation and logically
process information to visualize a sound solution."
Randy L. Raper is an agricultural engineer specializing in soil dynamics.
"You would need to have good people interaction and presentation skills. Also,
the engineering aspect requires adeptness at mathematics and physics."
"Engineering graduates will make a good living," says Norum. "But I wouldn't
try it for the money. You have to be interested. People don't realize how
much work it really is."
Having grown up on a farm, he knows well how much work is involved. But
many students who did not experience life on a farm are now coming into the
profession.