Graduation and find-a-job season is in full swing, and this year it coincides with the strongest U.S. economy in almost a decade.
USDA has good news for those who have earned a degree in agriculture, or for any student who wonders what they should study: There are tens of thousands more jobs in agriculture than there are graduates to fill them.
"There is incredible opportunity for highly-skilled jobs in agriculture," said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. "Those receiving degrees in agricultural fields can expect to have ample career opportunities. Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have the satisfaction of working in a field that addresses some of the world's most pressing challenges. These jobs will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050."
His comments came on the heels of an employment outlook report released last week by USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and Purdue University, which can be seen here.
It says that while an average of more than 35,000 bachelor's or higher college degrees in agricultural fields are awarded each year, there are more than 57,000 jobs looking for the individuals who earn them. The study says the breakdown of specific types of ag jobs are:
46% management and business
27% science and engineering
15% food and biomaterials production
12% education, communication, and governmental services
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
May 26, 2015
