Graduate careers advice: you and your agricultural degree

Graduate careers advice for what career options you can pursue with your agricultural degree.

Related jobs include:

• Agricultural consultant/adviser
• Animal breeder
• Clinical research officer
• Farm manager
• Field trials officer
• Forestry manager
• Horticultural consultant
• Landscape gardener
• Veterinary surgeon/nurse
• Zookeeper

Work experience

Securing work experience will give your chances of finding employment after graduation a major boost. If your course doesn’t afford you the opportunity to complete a placement year, seek out relevant work over the holidays. Such experience can range from working on a local commercial farm or spending time observing someone employed in farm management. This is a very broad sector, so there should be plenty of scope for informal work experience arrangements. Search for internships and opportunities on gradireland here.

What sectors?

Employment opportunities for agriculture graduates exist beyond farm management. Opportunities are available with commercial ancillary companies in Ireland and abroad. Common employers include:

• Teagasc – the agricultural advisory body;
• Banks;
• Farming cooperatives;
• Government departments;
• Charities, environmental and conservation bodies;
• Commercial agri-consultancies.

Your agriculture CV

Over the course of obtaining your agriculture degree you will acquire a wide range of knowledge and technical skills, such as land use, food production and farming practice. You will also gain an awareness of the business, ethical and scientific principals of the agricultural industry.

General skills sought after by employers include:

• IT and numeracy;
• research skills
• organisation;
• communication, including teamwork and leadership skills;
• initiative;
• researching;
• project management.

Postgraduate study

Opportunities exist for agriculture graduates to acquire a masters or other postgraduate qualification in such related areas as animal technology, crop science and management, and agricultural technology.

Alternatively, you may choose to teach in agriculture or a related subject, and could therefore pursue a teaching qualification. Or you may wish to transition into a different area, like business consulting, marketing or journalism.

For information on the courses on offer, visit gradireland’s Further Study section.