MEET THE PRO: Elijah Woodward, Agriculture Service Tech
By Arkansas Next on Friday, October 13, 2023
Hometown: Cave City
Age: 20
Where I Trained: Arkansas State University-Beebe
What I Earned: Associate degree in agricultural technology
Job Title: Service technician
Employer: Greenway Equipment
Elijah "Eli" Woodward grew up on a farm in Cave City and always enjoyed operating the hay equipment. He wanted to pursue a career in agriculture and ditched the traditional college route. Instead, he went straight to work while earning his associate degree in agricultural technology from ASU-Beebe.
“I knew I was going into this job before I even finished high school, and I just did not feel traditional college was as useful for this field of work,” Eli said. “Instead of having a lot of years and money tied up in traditional college, I could start working sooner and be more experienced in the same time most people are out of school.”
Eli works as a service technician for Greenway Equipment. His daily duties include diagnosing different issues on John Deere equipment and keeping a good relationship with customers. His favorite thing about his job is the feeling he gets when he fixes the problem and gets the customer back in the field with their equipment running smoothly.
“Our job isn’t just turning wrenches and fixing equipment,” Eli said. “There is a lot of using computers and newer technology.”
Eli has been able to support himself a lot sooner than most people his age. He hopes that high school students can follow their own paths and consider alternative paths for education.
“Don’t take the advice ‘you won’t make any money without college,’” Eli said. “I’ve heard that all my life, and at the age of 20, I have less debt and make more than people with years worth of college experience.”
WHAT DOES AN AGRICULTURE SERVICE TECH DO?
Use technology to help farmers grow crops, raise animals and manage land in smarter ways
Education Needed:
Technical certificate or associate degree
Job Outlook
► 8% projected job growth in Arkansas by 2030
You'll be great at this too if...
► A 9-to-5 office job sounds miserable
► You prefer rural towns to big cities
► You want to see how our food and crops are produced
► You’d like to solve world hunger or advance sustainable agriculture
Average agri tech salaries at Greenway:
$63,500 (18 months)
$84,000 (three years)
$102,000+ (five years or more)
WHERE TO LEARN
- Arkansas State University-Beebe
- Arkansas State University-Newport
- Business and Industry Training
- Greenway Equipment
- University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville
- Simmons Foods
WHERE TO WORK
- Arkansas Department of Agriculture
- Greenway Equipment
- Riceland Foods
- Simmons Foods
- Stribling Equipment
Sources: careeronestop.org
