Institution of Agricultural Engineers

Thinking about a career in landbased engineering?
There has never been a better time to consider working in the landbased engineering sector. With the coming together (in what has become known as the "perfect storm") of climate change, scarce water, ever increasing world populations and associated food shortages, not to mention insufficient energy resources, the need for the broad range of skills embodied in traditional landbased (or agricultural) engineers has never been more evident.

A new brochure Engineering for Agriculture - A World of Opportunity outlining the varied careers opportunities within the sector is now available.

Engineers in the landbased sector get involved in the following:

• Tractors and tillage machines
• Harvesting equipment
• Crop processing
• Animal welfare (handling and transport)
• Irrigation and drainage schemes
• Earth moving and other construction equipment
• Pioneer road and bridge construction
• Forestry machines
• Horticultural machines
• Fish farming equipment

The basic requirements for a career in our sector include:

• the ability to work as part of a team, and have good social skills but also
• the ability to work alone - often outside.
• excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• a high level of IT literacy. Much of your work will involve computer work, both in the traditional sense but also in their use for machine diagnostics.
• a love of the outdoors and in some cases, international travel.

If you are attracted to a long commute to work on unreliable railway systems then this job is not for you!

This website provided in partnership with AEA, Bagma and IAgrE provides you with full information about apprenticeships, courses and careers advice about working in the sector.

Rewards
Agricultural and landbased engineers have high earning potential whether as a Chartered Engineer or an Engineering Technician. Job satisfaction is high.

Career opportunities and promoting professionalism - Videos
This 13 minute video, prepared by students for students, shows the wide variety of job roles in the landbased engineering sector.