Agriculture is connected to everyone directly or indirectly. The food we eat everyday, the scenic views in the countryside, the species diversity...all these are works from people in different area. What are the specific careers in Agriculture? Here are part of the answers.

Mechanics

Technicians: As the popularity and development of agricultural machinery increases, so does the need for technicians. Technicians need to master the basic theories and specific skills of machinery. According to the type of machinery and different work content, the technicians can be divided into the following basic categories.

①maintenance technician: When there is a problem with agricultural machinery, the company will send a repairman to diagnose the problem and repair the machinery, because this is part of the after-sales service. Therefore, the maintenance technician needs to understand the basic structure of the machine and be familiar with how to assemble and disassemble the machine.

②installation technician: After farmers bought the agricultural machinery, they may not know how to install and use the machinery. Therefore, the company needs to send someone to help them to install the machine, and guide the customer how to use it correctly.

③assembly technician: An assembly technician is responsible for assembling the machine parts.

③electronics technician: The assembly technician is in charge of assembling the mechanical parts.

⑤parts technician: Parts technicians are responsible for stock handling, identifying and cataloging parts and assemblies as well as ordering, receiving, inspecting, sorting, and dispensing parts.

⑥machinery document writer: Different from the above mentioned careers, the machinery document writers are responsible for the writing of machinery documents. They don’t have to be equipped with rich machinery knowledge, either do they have to deal with the machinery. It is necessary for them to have good writing skills.

Technicians usually have low requirements for academic qualifications, and only need a high school diploma. Most of them will receive job training before they officially start their work.

Mechanical Engineers: Technical personnel with higher education qualifications can become mechanical engineers. Some technicians can be promoted to engineers after they have sufficient experience. The job of an engineer is more complicated than that of a technician, and it is quite professional.

①electrical engineer: The electronic engineer is mainly responsible for circuit analysis and design; after the design is completed and the electronic components are welded, they should conduct tests.

②test engineer: Mechanical test engineer refers to the person who is responsible for mechanical testing, performance, safety factor and other issues. They need to organize the test, evaluation, review/verification of their technical documents for new mechanical products

③design engineer: The design engineer needs to complete the relevant design technical documents and be responsible for the structural design of the machinery, including the external, internal structure and tooling design, so that the product meets the requirements of reliability, manufacturability, maintainability and cost. According to the needs of the market and production, the design engineer should also improve the product design.

Land

Irritation Engineer: The main responsibility of irrigation engineer is to design irrigation construction drawings according to the actual local topography and other conditions, and organize workers to carry out construction on site and supervise the construction process. They need to ensure the quality of irrigation projects.

Water Quality Specialist: Water quality specialists generally work for government departments. They detect harmful substances in water from water samples. It is also possible to track the condition of the waters that are already polluted or harmful. After grasping the water quality of a certain area, water quality specialists can provide effective opinions on the use of the area.

Soil Specialist: The main task of soil specialists is on the composition of soil and its physical, chemical and biological characteristics, the classification and distribution of soil, the characteristics of soil fertility and the development, utilization, improvement and protection of soil. They can provide theoretical basis and scientific methods for rational utilization of soil resources, elimination of low-yielding soil factors, prevention of soil degradation and improvement of soil fertility level.

Animal

Feed Mill Operator: Feed mill operators are responsible for assisting in the management of the mill and feed crews in the process of storing, mixing and delivering of feed for cattle, hogs or poultry.

Livestock Feedlot Operator: This kind of work is mainly in large farms. The job responsibility is to monitor the livestock in the farm, pay attention to whether they are sick, whether there is any abnormality in the diet, etc.

Veterinarian: A veterinarian is a doctor who prevents, diagnoses, and treats illnesses of animals.

Animal Geneticist：Animal geneticists study the laws of heredity and the principles and methods of genetic improvement of animal traits such as domestic animals, fish, birds and insects.

Plants

Plant Scientist：Plant scientists study the laws of crop growth, development, yield and quality formation and their relationship with environmental conditions to explore crop cultivation and management, control crop growth, and to achieve high yield, high quality, high efficiency and sustainable development of crops.

Crop Adjuster: Crop adjusters inspect fields where an insurance claim has been made. This may be a result of weather, insects, disease or other problems. They measure fields and storage bins and discuss findings of crop loss with farmers. Additionally, they articulate company position on industry topics such as new specialty crops that need to be developed.

Seed Production Agronomist：Seed production agronomists study the genetic laws and breeding techniques of important traits in crops, breeding of superior varieties, and standardization of good seeds.

Weed Scientist：Weed scientists do researches on weed occurrence, damage, and techniques of weed control.

Agribusiness

Agriculture Insurance Agent: Agricultural insurance is primarily set up for large farms. It includes crop insurance, livestock insurance, etc. If there is a farm in large scale and is of high value, agricultural insurance can minimize the damage to the farmer in the event of a natural disaster or other adverse situation. An agricultural insurance agent can recommend the most appropriate insurance for a farmer based on their actual business. Insurance agents need to pass an exam to obtain the relevant qualifications to practice.

Sales Representative for Equipment and Ag Systems：Agricultural machinery sales requires extensive networking to understand the needs of farmers and to sell them the company’s products.

Grain/Livestock Buyer: Grain/Livestock Buyers usually work with farmers, commercial grain companies and look for the proper grain merchandising opportunity.  They need to understand the technical market factors, basis levels, market structure, carrying costs, freight spreads and monitor the competitiveness of cash grain bids and related factors that affect the selling price. Grain/Livestock buyers are also accountable for informing management of grain movements and other local news that may impact local buying efforts.

Food

Food Chemist: Food chemists study the chemical composition, structure, physicochemical properties, nutritional and safety properties of food and their changes in the process of production, processing, storage, distribution and their influence on food quality and food safety from the chemical and molecular level. Food chemists are committed to improving food quality, developing new food resources, innovating food processing and storage and transportation technology, scientifically adjusting dietary structure, improving food packaging, strengthening food quality control and improving the processing and comprehensive utilization of food raw materials.

Microbiologist: Food microbiologists do researches on microorganisms, food manufacturing and preservation.

Food Researcher: Food researchers are talents engaged in the theoretical research and development of food biotechnology, food chemistry and application, food preservation, food testing and analysis, as well as food processing of various kinds.

Horticulture

Horticulture Technician：Horticulture technicians need to know tree pruning, grafting and other relating techniques. Technicians may plant seeds and cuttings, prepare soil, water and fertilize plants, and remove dead plant matter from growing plants. Additional duties involve recordkeeping, such as inventory; logging horticultural activities; and talking to customers about plants and plant care services.

Horticulturist: Horticulturists study plants and flowers to ensure their healthy growth. They also study and develop landscape ecology, garden art, and design landscape architecture and engineering.

Aquatic

Aquatic Ecologist：Aquatic ecologists study the species, composition, succession, and patterns of life activity of aquatic organisms and their interrelationships with the environment.

Fishery Manager：Fishery managers need to be familiar with the breeding of freshwater fishes, shrimps, crabs and seafood. Fishery managers trap, spawn, and raise fish as cash crops or for release into bodies of fresh or salt water. Their responsibilities include tracking fish life cycles and growth rates and controlling disease. They have to ensure both economic profits and sustainable development of the aquatic environment.

All in all, because agriculture covers such a wide range of topics, there are many careers that people can choose from. Research careers require a higher level of education, while technical ones, such as technicians, will require less education and pay less. But both can be experts at what they do, as long as they have solid skills in the field in which they work, and all workers, no matter what their careers are, are indispensable in the development of agriculture.