CR100 Ag Careers Library Guide

The Ag Careers Library is designed to give students an introduction to a wide range of potential careers. In addition, each lesson provides internet website addresses and other sources for additional information on that field of study.

Three introductory lessons:

The first three lessons in this library are intended to motivate students to consider a broad range of career options. Students are encouraged to evaluate their own personal interests and abilities. They are encouraged to be ready to match their interests with what they will learn about various types of careers.

The exercises for each lesson refer back to these three lessons. In these exercises students will compare different types of employment with their own personal traits and interests. This will help many of them to narrow down their career search to those for which they are best suited; it also may broaden the possible options for students who are not aware of career opportunities for which they may be very well suited.

Each student should be encouraged to investigate the careers covered in as many of these lessons as time permits. It would be a mistake for a student to narrow down his or her interests without being fully aware of all possible options.

Organized by fields of work or study:

These lessons are organized around fields of work or study rather than by specific careers or types of employment. For example, fields such as animal science, crop science or horticulture offer a wide range of employment opportunities. Training in each of the sciences can lead to employment in research, teaching, sales and marketing as well as in livestock or crop production. The same is true for fields such as ag communications, ag engineering, ag economics or food science.

The reason for starting with the fields of study is that for most students it is best to first gain some basic education before selecting a specific career. In this way a student can keep his or her options open longer to take advantage of new opportunities that may become available in the future. Also, some students may have a change in their interests as they gain more knowledge and experience.

Multiple lessons for some employment fields:

More than one lesson is provided in some fields where there can be an especially wide range in the types of employment available. For example, the ag economics lesson is followed by lessons covering farm management, agribusiness marketing and sales, commodity marketing, and careers in cooperatives.

There also are several lessons for students interested in careers related to conservation and the environment. These lessons cover opportunities in plant science, conservation, environmental protection, forestry and range management. There also are two lessons for students interested in farming and ranching. The first focuses on getting started, while the other covers a wide range of methods young farmers can use to get credit and control needed capital. Capital is the land, buildings, equipment and other valuable resources used in a business.

Fields of study described:

Each lesson provides a description of the field of study. This includes what is studied, why it is important and what benefits are provided. It is important for students to understand why the work they would be doing in any one of these fields is important to society. It is the benefits to society that create the future demand for professional workers.

Many of these lessons list the different types of jobs available for professionals in the field. In many cases, types of employers are listed. In addition, students will learn about the amount and type of education required for the opportunities available.

Suggestions for using AgEdNet.com lessons:

  1. Lesson format: AgEdNet.com lessons follow a similar lesson format and include student lesson text, exercises, assessment and teacher's guide. LEARN MORE.
  2. Lesson extras include matching with National AFNR standards, internet resources, worksheets, PowerPoints, vocabulary crossword puzzles, glossaries and a search engine. LEARN MORE.

Photo credit: Photo © 2003 Nancy Crombie, UBP.