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Agriculture, forestry, fishery and food engineers

How to become an Agricultural Engineer

Also called: Agricultural Extension Officer, Agricultural Adviser

Uses knowledge and skills from the natural and social sciences in agriculture to develop technology and help farmers adopt it.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

Agricultural engineers work in a wide range of fields, and the requirements to get in differ for each. To do agricultural work for the national or prefectural government, such as planning agricultural policy, inspecting food or designing and managing farm infrastructure works, you must study agriculture at university or high school and pass a public service exam. To become a farming adviser at an agricultural cooperative (JA) or an agricultural extension officer for a prefecture, you are hired by the cooperative or prefecture, build practical experience in agriculture and then sit the relevant exam. You often work with and encourage farmers, and the work serves the public, so you need leadership, cooperation and a sense of responsibility to serve the public. On farms you also need a reasonable level of fitness, and the judgement to keep watching crops and livestock and respond properly to changes in the weather.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Agricultural Engineer?

Agricultural engineers work in a wide range of fields, and the requirements to get in differ for each. To do agricultural work for the national or prefectural government, such as planning agricultural policy, inspecting food or designing and managing farm infrastructure works, you must study agriculture at university or high school and pass a public service exam. To become a farming adviser at an agricultural cooperative (JA) or an agricultural extension officer for a prefecture, you are hired by the cooperative or prefecture, build practical experience in agriculture and then sit the relevant exam. You often work with and encourage farmers, and the work serves the public, so you need leadership, cooperation and a sense of responsibility to serve the public. On farms you also need a reasonable level of fitness, and the judgement to keep watching crops and livestock and respond properly to changes in the weather.

How much does an Agricultural Engineer earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥6,119,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Engineers not elsewhere classified, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become an Agricultural Engineer?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 63% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of an Agricultural Engineer?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026