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Agronomists advise farmers on soil management and crop production.
You could work: 9am to 5pm; as customers demand
In your day-to-day duties you may:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in an office, on a farm, at a research facility or visit sites.
Your working environment may be outdoors some of the time and you'll travel often.
You can get into this job through:
You'll usually need qualifications relevant to agriculture like a HNC, foundation degree or degree in subjects like:
Some employers may also look for relevant postgraduate qualifications in subjects like:soil science; genetics; crop technology
With a degree or postgraduate qualifications you can apply for a graduate training scheme. You may find opportunities with:independent consultancies; companies selling agro-chemicals, seed or fertiliser products; land and farming charities; government departments
You'll usually need:
You could gain relevant skills and knowledge from a course like a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Agriculture.
With experience, this may help you work towards an agronomy and professional adviser apprenticeship.
You'll usually need:
You could get into this role through an agriculture professional adviser higher apprenticeship. When you're on this apprenticeship, you'll need to follow the agronomy and professional adviser pathway.
Most people following this route have:
You could study for the BASIS Foundation Award in Agronomy if you're new to the industry and have limited crop experience and knowledge. This will give you an introduction to agronomy, crop protection and crop nutrition.
You'll need to:
You'll need lots of experience of working on farms as you need a thorough understanding of agriculture.
For professional recognition and training opportunities you could join the Association of Independent Crop Consultants or BASIS.
You can find out more about how to become an agronomist from Tasty Careers.
You could specialise in precision farming methods or developing nutrition plans for fruit or vegetable crops.
You could also study for a postgraduate master's degree, like soil science or genetics and become a consultant.