# Agricultural / Biosystem



## Slugger926 (Aug 3, 2006)

Am I the only Agricultural / Biosystem engineer on this board?

I am working in the Telecom industry, but would like to do some consulting on the side in my degree area. Anyone have any ideas on how to pick up a few side jobs and handle the business side of side jobs?


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## EdinNO (Aug 3, 2006)

I originally thought about agricultural engineering, but didn't really know what I'd be doing. Man, now that I'm mechanical, I didn't know I'd be doing this.

Ed


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## DVINNY (Aug 4, 2006)

I couldn't even spell that


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## Slugger926 (Aug 4, 2006)

One thing about my degree, it covers mechanical, chemical, electrical, civil, structural, and industrial engineering with a heavy dose of biology.

The PE exam was impossible to study for. You just hope that the test covers classes that you took in school rather than classes offered in other schools.

Here are some sample design areas:

Bioreactors - Think beer and alcholol production, yogurt, cheese, ect....

Water Structures engineering - water ways, culverts, retention ponds, runnoff from parking lots, ect...

Mechanical - flywheels, clutches, brakes, conveyors, blowers, dryers, ovens, tractors, lawn mowers, pto for equipment, hydraulics, aerodynamics (used to separate product from trash or crop dusting), HVAC, ect....

Chemical Engineering - See bioreactors, there is much more that I can't think of....

Industrial Engineering - Economics, process design, ergonimics of machines and workstations....

Civil - Water structures above, waste management, buildings, agricultural buildings, geotechnical, remediation, irrigation, ect.....

Electrical - PID controlers, telemetry, power production, computer engineering, electrical sensors and controls (sprayers that only spray weeds and not the crop), ect....

Think of engineering for anything that has anything to do with biology.

www.asabe.org


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## TouchDown (Aug 9, 2006)

I grew up on a farm and when I went to school for engineering at Mizzou, I thought AgE was the way to go. I did my first 2 years and when I started to get into core classes, I switched to Mechanical. It just had more stuff I was interested in at the time. Plus - at that time, I started to notice job interest boards in the college and found that very few companies recognize AgE as options for jobs. I felt like if I got that degree, I'd have to fight for jobs and explain that the background in that degree would fit what they wanted, since very few places were looking specifically for AgE.

At Mizzou, they have a double major you can do with just a few extra classes, BSAE and BSAM (Ag Mechanization) - small engines, etc. I always thought the Ag Mechanization was more in line with what I wanted to learn, but I didn't want to get a BS degree and become a mechanic.

Slugger - where did you go to school?


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## Slugger926 (Aug 9, 2006)

OK State in Stillwater, OK.

With my degree, you have to learn to sell what you are compentant at just like any other major. THe P.E. helps. I like that it had more core engineering classes and less humanities.

It is also tough for some people to switch gears from HVAC to rentention ponds to chemical reactions.


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## Kipper (Aug 9, 2006)

> Am I the only Agricultural / Biosystem engineer on this board?


Was that the actual degree.

I got my BS in "General Engineering" from OK State.

I don't think they offer it any more. It covered Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, &amp; Industrial.

I didn't know what kind of engineer I wanted to be, so I really liked this one.


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## Slugger926 (Aug 9, 2006)

> > Am I the only Agricultural / Biosystem engineer on this board?
> 
> 
> Was that the actual degree.
> ...


Yes, it was partially in the Agricutural Department and partial in the Engineering Department. It is ABET acredited, and they have their own PE exam (which is impossible to study for.) Most A&amp;M/Land Grant schools have a Biosystems/Agricultural Engineering Department.

Off of the top of my head:

Texas A&amp;M

Purdue

Iowa State

Kansas State

Nebraska

Arkansas

ect....


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