Synthesis Post

Hello and welcome to All You Need to Know Ag, where we are all about agriculture and natural resources. We are a team of three Michigan State University undergraduate students in the fields of Fisheries and Wildlife, Animal Science and Agricultural Engineering. Our goal is to share as much information with you about our fields as we go about our experiences in college. Here is a brief description of each of our fields:

·       Fisheries and Wildlife – Development and management of the nation’s fish and wildlife resources.

·       Animal Science – Studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind.

·       Agricultural Engineering – Agricultural engineers apply technological advances to farming. (Bureau of Labor & Statistics)

This post is a complete synthesis of what we’ve learned over the course of writing our blog. We aim to cover the best things to do (which you will soon learn is hands on experience), what not to do, and discoveries that are waiting to be made. Continue reading to gain some insider tips, and read some of our other posts for some further great information!

Hands on Experience
          Have you ever heard the term don't knock it till you try it? Well when it comes to your major in order to get a proper feel of it you have to try it out in some sort of way. This can be by volunteering, internships, and study abroad. Also you can take entry level 100 courses for your major to try it out. When you learn from doing hands on activities we feel like you retain the information better and you can get quick reaction to whether or not you like something. If you look at the Prompt 8 post you will see an example of hands on work.

Source: http://doghumor.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/dog-humor-i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing.jpg

Without our 100 level classes, we all would be this dog.

          Networking through internships is a great way to gain experience. My academic adviser sends me emails with internship opportunities almost every day. The job might not be exactly what you want and you may or may not get paid. It will probably be some type of grunt work but you will be able to tell if you enjoy the work you are doing. Internships are also a great way to network and it looks great on job applications.

          Want to go somewhere warm with lots of sunshine? Go to the study abroad fair and find a program that works for you. The first week they will explain most study abroad options at the fair. And they will have one a month or so into the semester. They realize that this is a good opportunity for you grow as a person and get experiences that you wouldn't be able to get on a college campus in the middle of Michigan. Our majors have study abroad options on every continent. Yes I said every continent and yes that means Antarctica and yes it would be awesome to go.

          The point is you will be able to learn from books but when you get experience it is clear instantly if you like something. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and step out of your box. Experience new things and grow as a person. But now that we know what to do, what should we NOT do?

What Not To Do

         When trying to learn about animal science, fisheries and wildlife, agricultural engineering, or any other major in general, there are many things that you shouldn't do. One might think that using the internet as a major resource is a good idea, but that could potentially not be the best idea.

          Yes, one can get quite a bit of information from researching on the internet, but not all of it is completely accurate, and it's not getting you out in the world for hands-on experience. Sitting at home looking at a computer screen all day isn't going to help you all that much if you're trying to learn as much as you can about a field. Researching on a computer or out of books is going to lack information that can be given to you if you are actually out interacting with those who work in, or are familiar with the field. Also, by not going out to receive information, you aren't getting the full description of the field. If one is researching online, he/she will most likely look at an office of the registrar site that has a degree description. It will not be as good as seeing someone perform in that field and gaining first-hand knowledge.

Source: http://www.hillmangroup.com/images/EZClone_NoInternet.jpg

          According to one of our blog posts entitled "How Is Research Conducted?", the writer gave information on different ways that research is done in the field of agricultural engineering. But why are we telling you all this? We want you to be able to discover the many different things out there, just as we have.

Discovery

         Throughout our experiences, we've learned that there are a vast number of directions that you can go with your degree. Many people just getting started in the field just see the tip of the iceberg. What might look like a highly narrow field may present itself as a highly diverse opportunity with just a little bit of digging. This is exactly the case with what we've discovered here at the 'Everything You Need to Know Ag' Blog. Here are a few of our experiences in discovering different career tracks:

        In our post “Employment in Agricultural Engineering”, we learned that sometimes a field isn’t always what we expect it to be like. Many times engineering is thought of as an office job where people have a very narrow field of things that they do. In researching possible employers, we were able to be exposed to areas of agricultural engineering completely ‘under the radar’. Some of these include the tasks of collecting field samples, conducting research and reviewing field related literature. (“What Is an Agricultural Engineer”) However, the discoveries do not end there.

         These discoveries carry over directly to animal science, where we learned the many different possibilities that are not well known to the public. As we previously thought, many people find animal science as a career in which people work strictly in agriculture or as a veterinarian. Our post Types of Work done in the Field of Animal Science goes into detail about how we’ve discovered that this is not the case. With a little bit of research and contact with people already in the field, we learned an enormous number of possibilities in animal science. Click the link and check them out!

         Finally, in fisheries and wildlife, most people think of careers such as a conservation officer or wildlife biologist. While this is true, we learned what this could truly mean for a career in fisheries in wildlife. Fisheries and wildlife may include both work in the field and work in a laboratory. Many different environmental factors and their effects are studied by fisheries and wildlife majors. Learn more of what we discovered by reading Jake’s post – What can you do?

          Anybody interested in pursuing a degree in Animal Science, Fisheries and Wildlife or Agricultural Engineering should truly take exploring different opportunities seriously. Here at 'Everything You Need to Know Ag' blog, we've discovered that something that may not look as appealing on the surface as you might actually find it to be. Hidden below the surface of each degree has many different careers and pathways virtually unknown to anyone not an expert in the field.


Sources:

"What Is an Agricultural Engineer?" How to Become an Agricultural Engineer. Environmental Science, 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition, Agricultural Engineers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/agricultural-engineers.htm (visited November 16, 2015).