Career Preferences of Agriculture and Animal Sciences Undergraduates

Abstract

Undergraduates in agriculture and allied discipline, after completion of their degree, opt to join the different professional jobs depending on their preferences and the existing situations. Though they have a wide range of careers options, each one has their own preference in choosing a regarding their careers. But due to the prevailing situations, agricultural graduates are forced to take up a career in administrative services and commercial banks rather than teaching, research, and extension careers; they are low initiated take entrepreneurship and agriculture farming. Considering this present study conducted in Telangana state purposively to know the undergraduates career preferences. Government service in their major field is the most preferred career of agriculture and veterinary final year undergraduate students. Horticulture undergraduates preferred career was also government employment but in non-major field. Dairy technology undergraduates mostly preferred to work in private companies. Entrepreneurship and agriculture farming were least preferred career undergraduate students of all disciplines. The results revealed that only a few undergraduates had a preference to take own business as occupation. This may be due to the risk and insecurity attached to the self-employment at the same time government service has high social status and low risky job. The Fifth Deans committee has given detailed curriculum of student READY programme for all the disciplines in agriculture and allied sciences. The course curricula have been restructured to develop much-needed skills and entrepreneurial mindset among the graduates to take up self-employment, contribute to enhanced rural livelihood and food security, sustainability of agriculture and be a propeller for agricultural transformation.