Many young Americans are already hard at work on the farm, even as the sounds of “Pomp and Circumstance” still echo in their ears. Other recent high school graduates may be planning to support the agriculture industry in other ways, perhaps as a scientist, salesperson or agronomist. Regardless of their destination, young people looking for a successful career in agriculture should continue a path of learning, experts advise.
United Nations statistics show that the global population increases by 83 million people each year. This expanding figure means there are a number of ag-related jobs to be had, according to AgCareers.com education and marketing manager Ashley Collins.
“In order to live, these people must be fed, and agriculture is responsible for that,” says Collins.
AgCareers.com, a popular website for jobs in agriculture, lists more than 7,000 ag-related jobs daily; in 2015, it posted a total of 81,386 jobs in agriculture alone.
“Right now, we see a number of postings in the biotechnology realm,” says Collins. “There’s a big demand in plant pathology and genetics—and the same in animal genetics and sciences.”
In addition, today’s farmers must stay current with the latest technological trends, whether that involves machinery, wireless communication tools, agronomics or any number of technologies.
“Change is happening so fast in agriculture,” says Texas A&M University ag economist Danny Klinefelter. “It will take a broad education to keep up to speed on these tools. If your farm business is going to succeed, your management must continue to learn, improve and adapt to the leading edge of the competition, or it will fall behind.”
Both Klinefelter and Collins encourage all young people who hope to work in agriculture to continue their education after high school, regardless of whether they plan to become growers or enter another sector of the industry.
“The most dangerous thing to say is, ‘I’m doing this because this is the way we’ve always done it,’” Klinefelter says. “Going to college will expose students to different things. They’ll have a chance to work with other people, learn to balance time and develop a broad background of knowledge.”
Internships in agriculture are a great way to not only help young people decide the best career paths, but also become immersed in the industry. In fact, AgCareers listed 1,800 internships last year, a 17 percent jump over 2014. Many companies like Syngenta offer a number of student internships.
“The three main skills we look for in a sales intern, for example, are business acumen, knowledge of sales and insight into agronomy,” says Jenny Heaton, head of talent development and talent acquisition at Syngenta North America.
The growth of diverse positions in agriculture will continue, especially as farming becomes increasingly complex with more information available for analyzing.
“I believe there are high school students today who will likely take agricultural jobs out of college that haven’t even been established as careers quite yet,” said Heaton. “The industry is moving fast.”
Source: Syngenta Thrive