Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Food and Agricultural Scientist or Technologist studies plants and animals used in food production. Researches topics related to improving quality and productivity in agriculture and livestock farming, or food science and nutrition. May specialize in applying food science to food product development.
Job Outlook
There were 154 Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 6674 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist industry, which includes the Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $87,329.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $78,399.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $71,715.
Education and Experience
Posted Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 32.11% |
| Master's Degree | 14.31% |
| Doctoral Degree | 9.44% |
| Other | 13.5% |
Posted Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 51.23% |
| 3 to 5 years | 42.55% |
| 6 to 8 years | 4.14% |
| 9+ years | 2.08% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (35.74%)
- Troubleshooting (Problem Solving) (30.48%)
- Management (23.63%)
- Research (23.01%)
- Operations (20.17%)
- Detail Oriented (19.57%)
- Sales (17.07%)
- Customer Service (16.15%)
- Problem Solving (15.7%)
- Leadership (14.95%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Food Science (22.68%)
- Landscaping (23.45%)
- Irrigation (Landscaping And Agriculture) (53.58%)
- Valves (Piping) (21.29%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Hand Tools (9.87%)
- Agronomy (7.96%)
- Power Tool Operation (8.82%)
- Biology (8.17%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (5.14%)
- Commercialization (8.69%)
- Marketing (13%)
- Chemistry (8.51%)
- Auditing (4.23%)
- Agriculture (11.21%)
- Project Management (10.56%)
- Food Safety And Sanitation (10.19%)
- New Product Development (19.38%)
- Trenching (9.13%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Ingredient Functionality (4.89%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Food Science (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Irrigation Technician
- Food Scientist
- Crop Advisor
- Food Technologist
- Irrigation Service Technician
- Director of Nutrition Services
- Irrigator
- Fermentation Scientist
- Landscape Irrigation Technician
- Postdoctoral Research Associate
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Farm / Nursery / Greenhouse Worker
- Food / Agricultural Technician
- Nursery / Greenhouse Manager
- Landscaping / Grounds Supervisor
- Farm / Ranch Manager
- Education Superintendent
- Food / Beverage Quality Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- J.R. Simplot Company (141)
- GPAC (116)
- Brightview (85)
- Actalent (84)
- The Judge Group (52)
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (50)
- Nutrien (47)
- CPS (46)
- Pennsylvania State University (42)
- The Nature Conservancy (41)
North Carolina
- Bland Landscaping Company (17)
- North Carolina State University (6)
- Southern States Cooperative (5)
- Eurofins (4)
- Butterball (4)
- GPAC (4)
- Landmark Landscapes (3)
- Agricultural Marketing Service (3)
- Asplundh Tree Experts (3)
- Phoenix Landscape (3)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Agricultural Science Undergraduate Degrees
- Animal Nutrition Undergraduate Certificates
- Animal Science Master's Degrees
- Crop Science Undergraduate Certificates
- Feed Milling Undergraduate Certificates
- Food Safety & Quality Management Undergraduate Certificates
- Microbiology Undergraduate Certificates
- Nutrition Master's Degrees
- Plant Pests, Pathogens and People Undergraduate Certificates
- Regulatory Science in Agriculture Graduate Certificates
- Regulatory Science in Agriculture Undergraduate Certificates
- Soil Science Undergraduate Certificates
- Soil Science Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.