Professional Development
Source: VDL-Berufsverband (2015). "Bachelor und Master - Was kommt nach dem Studienabschluss?" Absolventenbefragung im Agrarbereich.
Where do graduates in Agricultural Sciences end up?
Graduates begin their careers in the following sectors:
- Service sector/scientific institutions/agribusiness (32%)
- Upstream agricultural sector (30%)
- Agriculture (16%)
- Downstream agricultural sector (12%)
- Outside agribusiness (7%)
- Other (3%)
The fields of activity at career entry are highly diverse:
Graduates rarely change their workplace more than once during their professional careers. In most cases, a workplace change is associated with a change of company and industry. On average, the first workplace change occurs after two years, although there is considerable variation.
The main reasons for changing jobs are higher salary, dissatisfaction with the employment situation, improvement of qualifications, greater responsibility, and better career advancement opportunities.
Professional status often changes along with a workplace change. Leadership positions and self-employment increase significantly.
At the beginning of their first job, graduates primarily define the following as problems:
- Lack of qualifications
- Stress/deadlines/work overload
- Non-transparent decision-making processes
- Inability to realize professional aspirations
- Overqualification
- Underqualification
- Balancing professional and private life
How and why do graduates obtain their jobs?
More than one third of graduates begin searching for a job before or during the completion of their studies.
The most successful strategy is applying to job advertisements. Speculative applications as well as relying on personal contacts and contacts from university and internships also represent a significant share.
From the graduates’ perspective, the primary reason for being hired is personal rapport. Subject-specific knowledge and practical experience are also important criteria in the hiring process.