Randy L. Raper says his interest in agricultural engineering stems from his childhood.
"After being raised on a farm and seeing how difficult it was for farmers to make a living, I wanted to dedicate my life to [helping] other farmers improve their ability to farm," says Raper. He is an agricultural engineer at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service in Auburn, Alabama. He specializes in soil dynamics.
There are other benefits to the job as well, he says. "It gives me the opportunity to interact with farmers. It allows me to spend part of my time outdoors. I love conducting research into items concerning the soil," he says.
"This plant growth medium is so wonderfully complex, you can never quite completely understand it. Our best hope is to develop techniques for managing it which may work most of the time."
People in the field say it used to be that those who became agricultural engineers mostly grew up on farms. That's not the case anymore, partly because the number of farms is declining.
Marybeth Lima is an assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Louisiana State University. She was drawn to the field because of her interest in math and science.
"My parents encouraged me to try engineering. I didn't know what engineering was, or which type of engineer I wanted to be, so I spent my freshman year of college learning about engineering."
The turning point came when she landed in the right course. "I took a course to learn about all the different kinds of engineering, and I liked agricultural engineering because it seemed very people-oriented and I liked the research projects involving the environment and biological systems."
She would recommend this career to "anyone interested in math, science and humanities who is interested in solving problems and in saving the world."
To be successful, she says tenacity and determination help. "An engineering degree takes some brains, but really takes a lot of work. You have a lot better chance of succeeding if you are fairly intelligent and work hard than if you are extremely intelligent and not hard-working."
Christine Dawn Blanton is an agricultural engineer and doctoral candidate at North Carolina State University. She also encourages others to join this profession.
"I find it quite fulfilling. I know that the training and experience gained will allow me to excel in any number of areas. My classmates have gone on to serve in many different roles in industry, government and education, both within this discipline and beyond."
Adds Raper, "I would heartily recommend it! It is an exciting career that allows you to interact with people." In his area, he finds satisfaction in publishing his work and traveling to present his research results.
Don Norum is an engineering professor. He crystallizes an idea that the others mentioned. "Engineering is working for society. A lot of problems can be solved if you use an engineering approach."
Blanton, whose work focuses on the environment, comments on the pleasure she finds in "discovering how much of what this career encompasses affects the lives of everyone, every day."