High School

Follow your high schools college preparatory program, including English, foreign language, mathematics, and government courses. Also, take biology, chemistry, physics, and other science courses. You must also become familiar with basic computer skills, including programming. It may be possible for you to perform laboratory assistant duties for your science teachers. Visiting research laboratories and attending lectures by agricultural scientists can also be helpful.

Postsecondary Training

Educational requirements for agricultural scientists are very high. A doctorate is usually mandatory for careers as college or university professors, independent researchers, or field managers. A bachelors degree may be acceptable for some entry-level jobs, such as testing or inspecting technicians or as technical sales or service representatives. Promotions, however, are minimal for these employees if they earn advanced degrees.

To become an agricultural scientist, you should pursue an agricultural and biological science degree. As an undergraduate, you should have a firm biology foundation with chemistry, physics, mathematics, and English courses. You should also complete at least one internship. Most colleges and universities have agricultural science curriculums, although liberal arts colleges may emphasize the biological sciences. Every state has at least one land grant university offering a strong curriculum in agriculture, engineering, and natural sciences. For a listing of land grant universities, visit the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities members section at https://www.aplu.org.

The U.S. Department of Labor reports, "Undergraduate coursework for food scientists and technologists and for soil and plant scientists typically includes biology, chemistry, botany, and plant conservation. Students preparing to be food scientists take courses such as food chemistry, food analysis, food microbiology, food engineering, and food-processing operations. Students preparing to be soil and plant scientists take courses in plant pathology, soil chemistry, entomology (the study of insects), plant physiology, and biochemistry."

While pursuing an advanced degree, youll participate in research projects and write a dissertation on your specialized study area. Youll also do fieldwork and laboratory research along with your classroom studies.

Visit https://www.careerplacement.org/colleges for a list of agronomy, crop science, soil science, and environmental science college programs and courses.

Other Education or Training

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, American Dairy Science Association, American Society of Agronomy, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, Crop Science Society of America, Institute of Food Technologists, Renewable Fuels Association, and Soil Science Society of America provide conferences, webinars, classes, workshops, and other continuing education opportunities. Contact these organizations for more information.

Certification or Licensing

Certification is not required for most agricultural scientist careers but can improve a candidates chances of landing a job. The American Society of Agronomy certifies agronomists and crop advisers, the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists certifies animal scientists, and the Soil Science Society of America certifies soil scientists and soil classifiers. In general, requirements include meeting a minimum education level and having a certain amount of work experience (for example, a bachelors degree and five years of work experience or a masters degree and three years of experience), passing an exam, and having appropriate references. Recertification requirements typically include:

• completing a certain amount of continuing education credits every two years
• paying dues
• adhering to a code of ethics

According to the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, agricultural engineers must hold an engineers license. Applicants for registration (licensing) must have received a degree from an ABET-accredited engineering program and have four years of experience. They must also pass a written examination administered by the state where they wish to work.

Aspiring agricultural scientists should participate in at least one internship during college to gain valuable experience, explore career options, and make industry contacts, which could lead to a job offer after graduation.

As a researcher, you should be self-motivated enough to work effectively alone yet be able to function cooperatively as part of a team. You should have an inexhaustible curiosity about the nature of living things and their environments. You must be systematic in your work habits and approach to investigation and experimentation and must have the persistence to continue or start over when experiments are not immediately successful.

Work performed by agricultural scientists in offices and laboratories requires intense concentration and the ability to communicate ones thoughts systematically. In addition to these skills, physical stamina is necessary for scientists who do field research in remote areas.