Options with your subject: Agriculture

A degree in agriculture provides you with the knowledge and skills to manage agricultural businesses and enter related jobs in commercial research and advisory work

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Agricultural consultant
• Farm manager
• Fish farm manager
• Rural practice surveyor
• Soil scientist

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Animal nutritionist
• Field trials officer
• Magazine journalist
• Newspaper journalist
• Sales executive

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. To find out what jobs would suit you, log in to My Prospects.

Work experience

Try to gain work experience as this will increase your chances of getting a job after graduation. If you do not have the opportunity to complete a placement year as part of your course, try to find relevant work in the holidays. This may involve going to local farms and asking if they have any extra work or seeing if you could shadow someone who works in farm management. There may also be local voluntary projects that involve agricultural or environmental work.

Volunteering abroad on agriculture projects in farms, forests and nature reserves is also an option. For opportunities, see Volunteer Abroad  and AgriVenture . 

Typical employers

The major employment opportunities within agriculture are not just in farm management. Other opportunities exist with commercial ancillary companies both in the UK and abroad. Common employers of agriculture students include British Sugar, Frontier Agriculture, Soil Association, National Farmers Union, HGCA, Velcourt Farms, Co-operative Group, Grant Thornton and HSBC Bank.

Find information on employers in environment and agriculture, engineering and manufacturing, and other job sectors.

Skills for your CV

Throughout your agriculture degree you will develop a wide mix of technical skills and knowledge, including land use, farming practice and food production, as well as an understanding of the scientific, ethical and business principles that underpin the agricultural industry.

Employers will be interested in your transferable skills such as:

• numeracy and IT;
• initiative;
• organisation;
• ability to plan and conduct research;
• communication, including influencing and leadership;
• teamwork;
• ability to manage projects.

Further study

Some students study for a Masters or other postgraduate qualification in a related area such as crop science and management, animal technology and agricultural technology. Others may go on to a different undergraduate degree course such as veterinary science.

Some candidates may decide they would like to teach in agriculture or a related topic and will complete a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE), or professional graduate diploma in education (PGDE) in Scotland.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see postgraduate study in the UK and search courses and research.

What do agriculture graduates do?

Nealry two-thirds of agriculture graduates are employed in the UK six months after graduating. Of these, around a fifth work as commercial, industrial or public sector managers.

Almost 8% of agriculture graduates go on to further study. Another 10% combine work and study, which could include those students who are studying further professional qualifications that are a legal requirement for their job.

Find out what other graduates are doing six months after finishing their degrees in What Do Graduates Do?  

Graduate destinations data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

AGCAS

Written by AGCAS editors

Date: 

May 2012

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