What Do Agricultural Sciences Professors Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Agricultural Sciences Professors teach courses in the agricultural sciences. Includes teachers of agronomy, dairy sciences, fisheries management, horticultural sciences, poultry sciences, range management, and agricultural soil conservation. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research. They also keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.

Other tasks include:

• Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
• Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
• Supervise laboratory sessions and field work and coordinate laboratory operations.
• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as crop production, plant genetics, and soil chemistry.
• Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.

We asked Agricultural Sciences Professors how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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83% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 83% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Agricultural Sciences Professors supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. They perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head.

A typical day for a Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teacher will also include:

• Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
• Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
• Evaluate and grade students’ class work, laboratory work, assignments, and papers.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Supervise laboratory sessions and field work and coordinate laboratory operations.

We asked some Agricultural Sciences Professors a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	66% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	15% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	69% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	8% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	0% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	27% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Agricultural Sciences Professors also serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. They may also participate in campus and community events.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Agricultural Sciences Professors Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. They might also Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as crop production, plant genetics, and soil chemistry.

In addition, they Supervise laboratory sessions and field work and coordinate laboratory operations.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.

To some Agricultural Sciences Professors, it is also their responsibility to Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.

Working life

More than 40 hours per week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Postsecondary Agricultural Sciences Teacher, you can expect to work more than 40 hours per week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/education-training-and-library/postsecondary-teachers.htm

http://www.cgsnet.org/

https://www.acteonline.org/

http://www.teach.org/