No farm? That’s no problem. The National FFA Organization may have gotten its roots as the Future Farmers of America, but much like agriculture itself, the FFA organization has diversified since 1928 and now gives students the opportunity to explore truly endless career opportunities. With summer on the horizon, it’s an excellent time for students to look further into career opportunities, internships, and SAE plans for the coming months.
The truth is, there’s a seat for everyone in FFA. And, for everyone who takes a seat at the table, there’s real value in the opportunity to explore countless careers from agribusiness to remarketing, science, communication, education, horticulture, production, natural resources, and more.
The options can be a little bit overwhelming. To help students broaden their horizons and explore career areas, the AgExplorer website has been revamped to give students a look into careers. I took a few minutes to explore the MyCareer Quiz, answering questions like I think I would have as a high school FFA member, and the answers were surprisingly accurate, and the suggestions varied to a few career trajectories that I didn’t know existed when I was in high school.
Members who are natural leaders that enjoy coordinating people and activities might receive agribusiness systems as a recommendation. If you’re inspired by technology, agricultural technology systems will likely pop up From there, students can start exploring career focus areas.
Advisors who are interested in more information to share with students can find additional resources to help students to learn about career opportunities through lessons and activities.
Eventually, the site will add suggestions for SAE projects for FFA members specific to their interested careers. But a lot of the time the best place to start is with your FFA advisor’s recommendation. Even if an advisor doesn’t have an exact recommendation, they can oftentimes connect students with contacts in the industry where members can gather more information about the careers they’re interested in, and maybe even secure an internship.
After all, when we asked for career advice for our FFA members, the resounding top answer was that so much of agriculture is about getting to know other people in the industry, and building a good reputation for yourself.
As students explore these career areas, college may also come into play. As members search for undergraduate colleges, it’s helpful to have an idea of what degree tracks will help them to reach their goals. To help students navigate the many degree tracks offered at various agricultural programs, AGDAILY has an Agricultural College Guide with a wide range of information.
Heidi Crnkovic, is the Associate Editor for AGDAILY. She is a New Mexico native with deep-seated roots in the Southwest and a passion for all things agriculture.
