Agriculture

An agriculture degree gives you the knowledge and skills you need to manage agricultural and farm businesses or to work in a related area such as agricultural sales, food production and farming journalism

Job options

Jobs directly related to your degree include:

• Agricultural consultant
• Estates manager
• Farm manager
• Fish farm manager
• Plant breeder/geneticist
• Rural practice surveyor
• Soil scientist

Jobs where your degree would be useful include:

• Amenity horticulturist
• Commercial horticulturist
• Field trials officer
• Forest/woodland manager
• Horticultural consultant
• Magazine journalist
• Newspaper journalist
• Sales executive

Remember that many employers accept applications from graduates of any degree subject, so don't restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here.

Work experience

Relevant practical work experience will increase your chances of securing a job after graduation. If you don't have the opportunity to complete a placement year as part of your course, look for relevant work in the holidays. Try asking local commercial farms if they have any extra work or see if you can shadow someone working in farm management.

You can also search for local voluntary projects involving agricultural or environmental work in your area.

Useful resources that provide details of contacts and opportunities for work experience include:

• Farmers Weekly
• National Farmers Union (NFU)
• National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs

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

Find out more about work experience and internships.

Typical employers

Agriculture graduates can find employment in a range of areas, such as farm management, the service and supply industries, sales, research, or advisory and consultancy work.

Opportunities exist in both the public and private sectors in the UK and abroad, with typical employers including:

• agricultural and agri-pharmaceutical consultancies
• agricultural machinery firms
• environmental consultancies
• farm management and commercial ancillary companies
• food processing companies
• food retail companies
• government and local authorities - advisory and administrative roles
• trade associations such as the NFU
• the media - for roles in agricultural journalism
• universities - in research and lecturing posts.

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

Skills for your CV

Studying agriculture helps you develop a mix of technical skills and knowledge, including land use, farming practice, food production, crop and livestock science, use of farm machinery, sustainability and environmental management.

You also gain an understanding of the scientific, technical, ethical and business principles that underpin the agricultural industry.

Employers are interested in the broader skills you acquire, such as:

• the ability to communicate well, including influencing and leadership
• numeracy and IT - helpful for understanding and improving economics in an agricultural role
• initiative - having the confidence to take initiative and make decisions is important in farming
• organisational skills
• the ability to plan and conduct research
• teamwork
• project management skills.

Further study

It's possible to study for a Masters or other postgraduate qualification in a related area such as crop science and management, animal technology and agricultural technology. Moving into research or lecturing usually requires a PhD.

Undertaking postgraduate study may also be useful if you want to change to a different career such as journalism, marketing or business consulting.

For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search for postgraduate courses in agriculture.

What do agriculture graduates do?

Farm worker (10%) is the most commonly reported occupation for agriculture graduates. Chartered surveyors (9%), managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture (8%), biological scientists (4%) and farmers (4%) are also among the top five most popular occupations.

Find out what other agriculture graduates are doing 15 months after finishing their degrees in What do graduates do?

Graduate Outcomes survey data from HESA.