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Science and Research | Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist

Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist

What Does a Professional in this Career Do?

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 69 Food and Agricultural Scientist / Technologist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2944 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 2012:

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 $65,959.

State

The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $69,962.

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 $52,168.

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 LevelPercentage
Associate's Degree4%
Bachelor's Degree64%
Master's Degree30%
Doctoral Degree3%
Other0%

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 ExperiencePercentage
0 to 2 years35%
3 to 5 years51%
6 to 8 years9%
9+ years5%

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 Skills (46%)
  • Teamwork / Collaboration (40%)
  • Research (38%)
  • Writing (22%)
  • Problem Solving (22%)

Defining Skills

A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.

  • Food Science (52%)
  • Product Development (45%)
  • Chemistry (30%)
  • Project Management (26%)
  • Food Safety (26%)

Necessary Skills

A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.

  • Quality Assurance and Control (16%)
  • Biology (14%)
  • Scheduling (14%)
  • Budgeting (11%)
  • Purchasing (10%)

Distinguishing Skills

A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.

  • Experimental Design (5%)
  • Food Safety and Quality (4%)

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 along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.

  • Product Testing (2%) – marginal value $7,273
  • Fermentation (3%) – marginal value $6,081
  • Consumer Insights (1%) – marginal value $5,750

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:

  • Food Scientist
  • Senior Food Scientist
  • Product Development Scientist
  • Food Technologist
  • Senior Value-Based Programs Professional

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.

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

  • Revolution Global (157)
  • Humana (132)
  • ConAgra Foods (78)
  • Owens Corning (53)
  • Henkel (33)

North Carolina

  • Biofidelity (4)
  • Vontier (2)
  • Westrock Coffee (2)
  • US Department of Commerce (2)
  • Humana (2)

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!