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.
1,480 people do this job in the US. $98,590 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 45%
- 4%
- 51%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 0%. Today's estimate: 1%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepare reports, sketches, working drawings, specifications, proposals, and budgets for proposed sites or systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | 2%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Test agricultural machinery and equipment to ensure adequate performance.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Design sensing, measuring, and recording devices, and other instrumentation used to study plant or animal life.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 4.2 work days6.7 h to 3.3 work weeks | 0%Half by Apr 2029 | |
| Plan and direct construction of rural electric-power distribution systems, and irrigation, drainage, and flood control systems for soil and water conservation.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 1.5 work months | Stays with people | |
| Design structures for crop storage, animal shelter and loading, and animal and crop processing, and supervise their construction.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 1.2 work months | Stays with people | |
| Design and supervise environmental and land reclamation projects in agriculture and related industries.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 1.7 work weeks1.7 work days to 1.5 work months | Stays with people | |
| Design food processing plants and related mechanical systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 3.3 work weeks4.2 work days to 3.1 work months | 0%Half by Feb 2030 | |
| Design agricultural machinery components and equipment, using computer-aided design (CAD) technology.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Sep 2028 | |
| Supervise food processing or manufacturing plant operations.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Provide advice on water quality and issues related to pollution management, river control, and ground and surface water resources.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.3 work days | 7%Half by Nov 2027 | |
| Discuss plans with clients, contractors, consultants, and other engineers so that they can be evaluated and necessary changes made.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Visit sites to observe environmental problems, to consult with contractors, or to monitor construction activities.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 1% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1 work day | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Soil and Plant Scientists1% now, 16% by 2028
- Precision Agriculture Technicians42% now, 72% by 2028
- Industrial Ecologists1% now, 62% by 2028
- Conservation Scientists19% now, 70% by 2028
- Environmental Engineers6% now, 54% by 2028
- Biofuels/Biodiesel Technology and Product Development Managers2% now, 37% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).