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(Agricultural Technician, Agricultural Research Assistant, Horticultural Technician, Agricultural Technologist)
Agriculture & Environment
Salary
€28,000 - €50,000/yr
Level
Professional
Outlook
Stable
Sector
Agriculture & Environment
As an Agricultural Research Technician you carry out field and laboratory experiments to support research into crops, grassland, livestock, aquaculture and related agricultural systems. Your daily work involves collecting soil, plant and animal specimens, running laboratory tests, maintaining equipment and recording precise data for analysis. You typically work alongside agricultural scientists, lecturers and farm managers at research centres, Teagasc facilities, colleges of further education or on commercial research farms. Reporting your findings clearly and accurately is a central part of the role, and you may also assist in preparing trials, monitoring environmental conditions and ensuring safety protocols are followed at all times.
Listen: a day as an Agricultural Research Technician
You arrive at the Teagasc research centre just before eight o'clock, pulling on your waterproof jacket and steel-capped boots before heading to the field trial plots. Your first job is to check the soil moisture sensors installed in a grassland paddock. The sensors log data overnight, and you download the readings onto a ruggedised tablet, cross-checking them against the manual tensiometer readings you take yourself. If the two sets of figures diverge by more than an acceptable margin, you flag it in the site logbook so the supervising agricultural scientist can investigate. By half nine you are back in the lab, processing a batch of herbage samples collected yesterday. You weigh fresh-cut grass on a precision balance, record the figures in the shared spreadsheet on the centre's LIMS — that is the Laboratory Information Management System used to track every sample from collection to result — and then load the samples into the drying oven. Accuracy matters enormously here; a transposed digit can skew a whole trial.
Leaving Certificate subjects such as Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics provide a strong foundation for this career. The most common route is a Level 7 Ordinary Bachelor degree in Agricultural Science, Environmental Science or a related discipline, available at institutions such as TU Dublin, ATU, TUS, Munster Technological University and University College Dublin. A Level 8 Honours Bachelor in Agricultural Science or Biotechnology can improve prospects, particularly within Teagasc or university research settings. Some technicians enter via a QQI Level 5 or 6 award in Agriculture or Laboratory Science from a College of Further Education, before progressing to a degree through the CAO or a linked progression route. No statutory professional registration is required for this role, though membership of bodies such as the Institute of Agricultural Science or Engineers Ireland can support career development.
Most Agricultural Research Technicians begin in assistant or junior technician roles at Teagasc research centres, higher education institutions or agri-food companies, often after completing a Level 7 degree. With experience, you can progress to a senior technician position with responsibility for managing trials, supervising junior staff or leading specific laboratory functions. Further study at Level 8 or Level 9, such as a Master's in Agricultural Science or a related discipline, opens pathways into research scientist or project management roles. Some experienced technicians move into technical advisory, agri-food quality assurance or teaching roles in colleges of further education.
AI and machine learning tools are increasingly used to process large volumes of trial data, model crop growth and predict environmental outcomes, reducing some of the manual data interpretation that technicians previously handled. However, physical fieldwork, specimen collection, equipment maintenance and hands-on laboratory procedures remain beyond automated systems and continue to require skilled human practitioners. Technicians who develop competence in data management software and digital monitoring tools — such as remote sensors and drones used in crop trials — will find their skills are complemented rather than replaced by these technologies. Overall, AI is likely to increase the efficiency and scope of agricultural research rather than reduce the need for technicians.
→ Agricultural Research Technician (Current role)
Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Carlow, Moorepark (Cork), Athenry (Galway), Nationwide
Core employer; technicians run crop, grassland and livestock field trials.
Belfield, Dublin 4
Technicians support research labs and experimental farm at Lyons Estate.
Cork City
Technicians assist soil, plant science and agri-environment research projects.
Waterford City
Technicians support agri-food and environmental research programmes.
Oranmore, Co. Galway
Technicians conduct aquaculture and marine environmental sampling and analysis.
Oak Park, Carlow
Field technicians run cereal and oilseed crop variety trials year-round.
Dublin 2 / Nationwide
Supports quality assurance and data collection across Irish agri-food supply chain.
Kildare Street, Dublin / Backweston, Co. Kildare
Technicians perform soil, plant health and disease surveillance laboratory work.
Dublin 2 / Nationwide
Technicians support quality and research functions within dairy supply chain.
Kilkenny / Nationwide
Research technicians support agronomy trials and dairy nutrition programmes.
Arklow, Co. Wicklow
Technicians assist soil nutrient research and fertiliser efficacy field trials.
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