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Agricultural Public Services

Types of Degrees Agricultural Public Services Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Agricultural Public Services can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Associate’s Degree	13
Bachelor’s Degree	648
Master’s Degree	287
Doctor’s Degree	27

What Agricultural Public Services Majors Need to Know

Programs in Agricultural Public Services develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Agricultural Public Services graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Agricultural Public Services emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Agricultural Public Services program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Agricultural Public Services careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Information Ordering — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Agricultural Public Services graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.1 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Agricultural Public Services professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Order management software	Procurement software	—
ServiceNow	Data base user interface and query software	—
Image editing software	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Kahoot!	Multi-media educational software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Agricultural Public Services graduates include:

• Cooperative Extension Agent
• Home Economics Expert
• 4-H Agent
• Extension Educator
• Extension Service Specialist
• 4-H Club Agent
• Home Services Advisor
• 4-H Youth Development Educator
• Farm Consultant
• 4-H Youth Educator
• Extension Service Advisor
• Future Farmers of America Advisor (FFA Advisor)
• Feed Management Advisor
• Farm Management Advisor
• Farm Management Specialist

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Agricultural Public Services graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	54.3%
Bachelor’s degree	21.2%
Postsecondary certificate	7.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	5.7%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.9%
Doctoral degree	2.9%
Less than a high school diploma	2.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.6%
Some college courses	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Agricultural Public Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 76.2% of Agricultural Public Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	743	76.2%
Men	232	23.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Agricultural Public Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	803	82.4%
Asian	10	1.0%
Hispanic or Latino	61	6.3%
Black or African American	32	3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	9	0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	4	0.4%
Two or More Races	23	2.4%
Race Unknown	12	1.2%
International Students	21	2.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Agricultural Public Services Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Agricultural Public Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$45,101
4 years	$50,243
5 years	$55,891

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $55,891 — roughly 24% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Agricultural Public Services Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Agricultural Public Services. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Master’s	7	4

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Agricultural Public Services Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Agricultural Public Services graduates earn a median of $50,243 four years after completion — roughly 32% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Agriculture Ag Operations	01
Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services	01.05
Agricultural and Food Products Processing	01.04
Agricultural Business and Management	01.01
Agricultural Mechanization	01.02
Agricultural Production Operations	01.03
Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields, Other	01.99
Agriculture, General	01.00
Agriculture/Veterinary Preparatory Programs	01.13
Animal Sciences	01.09
Applied Horticulture and Horticultural Business Services	01.06
Food Science and Technology	01.10

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.