Agricultural Careers
Food Scientist
By: Dr. Frank Flanders and Trisha Rae Stephens
Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office
Georgia Department of Education
June 2005
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Job Duties & Responsibilities
• Manage or administer research and development programs.
• Manage marketing or production operations in companies
that produce food products or agricultural chemicals,
supplies, and machinery.
• Consultants confer with business firms, private clients, or
government to insure they are meeting consumers’ needs
efficiently.
Qualities and Skills
• Agricultural scientists involved in
management or basic research tend to
work regular hours in offices and
laboratories.
• The work environment for those
engaged in applied research or product
development varies, depending on the
discipline of agricultural science and
on the type of employer. For example,
food scientists in private industry may
work in test kitchens while
investigating new processing
techniques.
Salary
Median annual earnings of agricultural and food scientists were
$48,670 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $35,770 and
$65,990. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $28,750, and the
highest 10 percent earned more than $85,460.
Work Environment
• Regular 40 hour work week
• Much research will be done in laboratories
• Food scientists in private industry may work in test kitchens while
investigating new processing techniques
• Classroom lectures may be required
• Traveling may be required to various food processing areas in efforts to
enforce government regulations, ensure that sanitation, safety, quality, and waste
management standards are met.
Becoming a Food Science
• Students preparing to be food scientists need to take courses
such as food chemistry, food analysis, food microbiology,
food engineering, and food processing operations.
• While in high school students need classes in home
economics, nutrition, biology, chemistry, and math.
Career Resources
National Restaurant Association
1200 Seventeenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Internet: http://www.restaurant.org
Institute of Food Technology (IFT)
525 West Van Buren, Suite 1000
Chicago, Illinois 60607
Internet: http://www.ift.org
Food Science Association or FSA
Internet: http://www.foodscience.unsw.edu.au/people/fsa.html
Today’s Dietitian Magazine
Internet: http://www.todaysdietitian.com