Science, Environment & Agriculture
Agricultural Scientist
कृषि वैज्ञानिक
Improves how we grow food — developing better crops, healthier soils, pest control and farming methods that cope with a changing climate.
See when you could start working, and what it could payEstimated pay in India, from job sites
₹4 lakh a yearAverage on PayScale India.
PayScale India · Agronomist₹4 lakh a year average
Range ₹1.8 lakh to ₹8.2 lakh · Based on 31 salary profiles · Updated Aug 14 2025
Also see Glassdoor India(opens in a new tab) · Indeed India(opens in a new tab) · AmbitionBox(opens in a new tab).
These are job sites' estimates from salaries people report there, across experience levels. They aren't official figures and aren't a promise of pay; starting pay is usually lower, and pay varies a lot by city and employer. We re-read each figure on the site's page before showing it (last checked 20 Oct 2026).
- Class 11–12 stream
- Science (PCB), Science (PCMB), Science (PCM)
- Key subjects
- Biology, Chemistry, Geography
- Often valued in this work
- Impact on others, Stability, Creativity & independence
What the work looks like
- Running field trials and lab experiments on crops and soils
- Analysing yields, soil and weather data
- Advising farmers, companies or government programmes
The realities
Combines fieldwork in rural areas with lab and desk work. Research careers at agricultural universities and ICAR institutes usually need a master's or PhD; seed, fertiliser and agritech companies also hire.
The usual route in India
B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture (4 years) at an agricultural university, then an M.Sc and often a PhD for research careers.
Entrance exams and tests
- CUET-UG — dates and details
- State agriculture entrance tests
- ICAR AIEEA (PG), for a master's
Linked exams open their official dates and sources.
Other ways in
State agriculture officer posts and banks' agriculture field officer roles are other routes after the B.Sc.
Colleges with courses for this career
From courses we've collected from official college websites. Not a ranking, and not every college that offers it.
- Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
MBA-FABM
- Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation University (K L College of Engineering)
Bachelor of Science (Hons.) - Agriculture
- Vellore Institute of Technology
B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture
Sources and checks
Not yet expert-checked: Written by the Edukrish team and not yet reviewed by a counsellor or subject expert. Verify important details with official sources.Written by the Edukrish team and not yet reviewed by a counsellor or subject expert. Exam names, eligibility and routes change, so always confirm with the official body before deciding.
Last updated
Quick answers
- How long does it take to become an agricultural scientist in India?
- On the usual route (B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture + M.Sc), about 6 years after Class 12. A student in Class 12 in 2026–27 could start working around 2033; a student in Class 8 around 2037. A preparation year, a master's or a repeated year moves this later.
- How much does an agricultural scientist earn?
- Edukrish doesn't publish an India salary figure for this career yet, because reliable occupation-level data that can be reused doesn't exist publicly. In the United States, median pay for soil and plant scientists was $78,850 a year in 2025; the lowest-paid 10% earned under $48,680 and the top 10% over $138,120 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
- Will AI take over the work of an agricultural scientist?
- The ILO's 2025 index of generative-AI exposure says this occupation group ("Farming, forestry and fisheries advisers") is in the low-exposure group: of its 12 typical tasks, 1 is moderately exposed and 11 have low exposure; none is highly exposed. Exposure measures what the technology could do today, not job losses; it usually changes which tasks people spend time on.
Your future as an agricultural scientist
When you could start working, what the work could look like by then, and what it could pay.
Pay data for
- You could start working
- 2035in about 9 years · as research associate / agronomist
- Pay in India
- We show India pay only where there's an official public figure, such as government pay scales. This career doesn't have one yet.
Your pay over the career
Shown only where reliable data exists.
No reliable pay data for India yet
- India's official survey data (PLFS) can be used commercially only under a licence, and salary websites don't allow reuse. Rather than show a guess, we leave India pay out until there's a figure we're allowed to use.
Your path from today
Four-year agriculture degree, then a two-year master's (many seats through ICAR AIEEA PG).
Today
Class 10 · 2026–27
Finish Class 12
May 2029
B.Sc (Hons) Agriculture
Aug 2029 – Jun 2033
M.Sc (Agriculture)
Jul 2033 – May 2035
First role: Research associate / agronomist
Jun 2035
Growing in the role
2040 (5 years in)
Senior roles, for some
2045+ (10 years in)
- Scientist posts at ICAR institutes and universities are filled through national recruitment after a master's or PhD.
A plan, not a promise: a repeated year, a break or a change of course moves these dates.
How the career can grow
Illustrative steps; the years vary by employer and person. Many people stay at a specialist level by choice.
Research associate / agronomist
Often 0–2 years in · from about 2035
Learns the work on real projects, with close guidance.
Scientist or agriculture officer
Often 3–5 years in · from about 2038
Owns pieces of work end to end and needs less supervision.
Senior scientist
Often 6–9 years in · from about 2041
Handles complex work, sets direction for a project and guides newer colleagues.
Principal scientist or programme lead
Often 10–14 years in · from about 2045
Leads larger areas or teams, or becomes the go-to expert in a specialism.
Head of research or institute director
Often 15+ years in · from about 2050
Shapes strategy for a department or organisation. Only some people reach this level.
Demand and how the work may change
Official US outlook, 2025–2035
Employment growth: Much faster than average (7% or higher) · about 1,400 openings a year.
There's no reliable job-postings data for India yet, so these signals come from the US.
Exposure to generative AI (ILO, 2025)
Low exposure: most tasks rely on things current generative AI can't do.
- Very low
- Low
- Medium
- High
How many of the 12 typical tasks of “farming, forestry and fisheries advisers” current generative AI could technically do. Exposure is not the same as job loss: it often changes which tasks people spend their time on. By 2035 the tools will be different again, so treat this as direction, not a forecast.
Who hires people in this career
- Research institutes and laboratories
- Universities
- Agriculture, food and agritech companies
- Environmental consultancies
- Government scientific and regulatory bodies
Kinds of employers today, written by our team. We name companies only with dated hiring evidence, and never suggest a company will be hiring in 2035.
How we work this out: sources, assumptions and limits
Why “no reliable pay data yet”
- India's official survey data (PLFS) can be used commercially only under a licence, and salary websites don't allow reuse. Rather than show a guess, we leave India pay out until there's a figure we're allowed to use.
Timeline assumptions
- Today is in the 2026–27 school year (April to March).
- One class per year, with no repeated year.
- Class 12 results arrive around May; college intakes start on the months shown.
- Admission in the first year you apply.
- Courses take their standard length; a failed year or a break adds time.
- The first job starts about a month after the last stage ends.
Sources
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. US public domain.
- Employment Projections 2025–35 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. US public domain.
- Indeed Job Postings Index — Indeed Hiring Lab. CC BY 4.0.
- Generative AI and jobs: refined global index of occupational exposure — International Labour Organization (Working Paper 140, 2025). CC BY 4.0.
- Social Security Trustees Report 2025 (economic assumptions) — US Social Security Administration. US public domain.
- Flexible inflation target, April 2026 – March 2031 — Government of India / Reserve Bank of India. Official government publication (facts).
- Average hourly earnings by industry and CPI (back-test data) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). US public domain (BLS data).
- PLFS unit-level data (2025 calendar year) — MoSPI (microdata.gov.in). GSDD 2026: free for non-commercial use; commercial use needs MoSPI authorisation and a fee.
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