Agricultural Mechanics

Types of Degrees Agricultural Mechanics Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many agricultural mechanics & equipment/machine technology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	402
Basic Certificate	202
Undergraduate Certificate	198

What Agricultural Mechanics Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to agricultural mechanics were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Agricultural Mechanics Majors

Agricultural Mechanics majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Agricultural Mechanics Majors

A major in agricultural mechanics prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
• Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
• Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
• Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Abilities for Agricultural Mechanics Majors

As you progress with your agricultural mechanics degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Control Precision - The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
• Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
• Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

What Can You Do With a Agricultural Mechanics Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with agricultural mechanics:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	4.9%	$62,920
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians	7.5%	$40,630
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines	8.2%	$51,920

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Agricultural Mechanics

Some careers associated with agricultural mechanics require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to agricultural mechanics have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	2.5%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	28.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	50.3%
Some College Courses	5.9%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	11.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	0.7%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	0.8%

Online Agricultural Mechanics Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	19	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	4	0
Associate’s Degree	35	0
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Agricultural Mechanics

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to agricultural mechanics.

Major	Number of Grads
Agricultural Mechanization	442
Agricultural Power Machinery Operation	135
Agricultural Mechanization	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Alandmanson under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.