We are living in times when you can’t help but hear how difficult it is for college students to find employment once they earn their degrees.
As a result, many are questioning the value of a college education. I find that disturbing.
However, amid all that negativity, I saw a positive report in The Red & Black, which is the independent student news organization serving the University of Georgia (UGA) community.
Jessica Fife, program coordinator in the UGA Department of Poultry Science, told reporter Amy Scott that students can find jobs in almost any field depending on their primary interests.
In fact, Fife said: “Our students have over 100 percent employment when they graduate. What that means is students with a poultry science degree graduate with multiple job offers. A lot of time they get job offers before they even finish their degree.”
That’s very impressive, and reassuring to those who are about to finish high school, or have a child that is about to do so.
Opportunities in the poultry industry
While it is great that UGA poultry science graduates in general will have a strong future, it is not just UGA that deserves a pat on the back. The poultry industry itself deserves credit. By producing such a quality product that is an important and popular part of so many people’s diets, demand for chicken is high. That is evidenced by the expansion of the industry and plans for new poultry complexes by leading companies such as Tyson Foods and Sanderson Farms, as well as proposed plant expansions from companies such as Mountaire Farms and Foster Farms.
And while a UGA poultry science degree is likely to serve its recipient well, there are many other poultry-related degree programs at other colleges and universities. Many of those institutions will have a presence at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), slated for January 30-February 1, 2018. The USPOULTRY Foundation’s College Student Career Program always does well to reach students.
Booths from some of the nation’s top agricultural colleges during previous editions of IPPE have always given a good glimpse of what programs are offered in a promising field.
