Choosing a career in agriculture can be complex. It is not like the old days where you just plant, water, harvest, till and plant again. No, today there are so many complex problems and it can be hard to determine who to turn to for answers. The same goes for students who are making choices on career paths. Below are the five areas of agriculture that are the best career paths: Agricultural Engineer Nursery/Florist Horticulturist Food Scientist Wildlife Biologist Careers and interests in agriculture are very important to life of planet Earth. No matter how technologically advanced humanity becomes as a species, our human connection to all other life cannot be replaced. It is important to stay connected and the following five careers do just that, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. 1. Agricultural Engineer You will need a strong background in higher mathematics and science like physics and chemistry and you should consider rounding that out with computer science and engineering sciences for this choice. You can find employment with government research and educational facilities, consulting firms, farmsteads, alternate fuel producers and irrigation and drainage system manufacturers. Pursuing a career in this field will allow you to design and improve agricultural facilities for storage and handling and animal confinements, and machinery like tractors and harvesters. 2. Nursery/Florist Perhaps you have the spirit of an artist and a flair for design. Being a florist is a wonderful way to monopolize your creativity honed by an education in agriculture. Design arrangements for all sorts of occasions, and expose some beauty in the world. If you want to run the business, then include business classes in your course work. Retail florist shops still represent the majority of the industry. If you want to focus on the living and growing aspects of such a career, then you will have the opportunity to advise like-minded people about their yards, gardens and their connection to the environment around them. 3. Horticulturist These days this career involves so much more than the culture of garden plants. Why not cultivate living things or help others to do so? Explore courses in biology, chemistry, genetics, landscape design and construction and other plant sciences. Get a job in educational institutions, government or industry as a cropping systems engineer, plant specialist, crop inspector or research scientist. You can also pursue a career in plant breeding, plant propagation, crop production and genetic engineering. Horticulturists can improve the nutritional value, quality and yield of crops while investigating the production of crops that are naturally more resistant to diseases, environmental stresses and insects. 4. Food Scientist Have a say in how we preserve our food on a micro and macro level. This field deals with the consequences of the preservation processes currently being used concerning qualities like color, flavor, nutritional value, safety and texture. Courses in biochemistry, chemistry, engineering, and microbiology are necessary to work in this field. In addition to quality food specialist, food scientists can be product developers, production supervisors or troubleshooters for retail suppliers or government agencies. Opportunities abound in research, food inspection, and consumer education. With a graduate degree, careers in food microbiology, food chemistry and food engineering are also an option. 5. Wildlife Biologist Help humanity to conserve and manage natural resources through research, data collection and analysis. Patience, curiosity and persistence are some of the qualities that will help you to succeed as a wildlife biologist. Courses that provide an ideal background for this field include biological and physical sciences, statistics, economics, English, geography and history. Your job is to take the very technical and tedious and relate it to people in layman’s terms. You can connect with these people as a local or state environment specialist or in the private sector as an ecologist, behaviorist, nutritionist, population expert, geneticist or physiologist.
Choosing a career in agriculture can be complex. It is not like the old days where you just plant, water, harvest, till and plant again. No, today there are so many complex problems and it can be hard to determine who to turn to for answers. The same goes for students who are making choices on career paths.