While a new study predicts many job openings for agricultural graduates through the year 2005, ISU officials said students shouldn’t be overconfident.

According to a recent USDA-Purdue University report, the newly projected forecast for employment in agricultural careers for the years 2000 to 2005 foreshadows a bright future for College of Agriculture graduates.

The study predicts 58,000 job openings nationwide, with only 57,000 graduates qualified for the positions.

“This is a five-year projection where they gather data from all over the place from as many sources as they can get,” said Eric Hoiberg, associate dean of agriculture.

However, Hoiberg said, “as optimistic as the report is, it is not as optimistic as reports have been in the past. Right now, the surplus is smaller than it has been in the past.”

Guaranteeing a job after graduation is something that the students need to work at, said Mike Gaul, director of Agriculture Careers Services. “Placement in ag is good, but you don’t want to make it sound like a false sense of security,” he said.

Hoiberg said Iowa State is working to provide the “right set of tools to compete in the changing field of agriculture.”

In addition to having a broad understanding of the agricultural economy, Gaul said students should take certain steps in order to position themselves for the job market when they graduate.

“The balance you want is a balance between strong academics, solid work experience or internships and excellent leadership skills,” he said. “If someone comes in and hits those three areas, then you have positioned yourself very well for the job market.”

Certain areas at present seem to be leading the industry in terms of demand by employers.

“The No. 1 choice for excellent opportunity right now is the food science industry,” Gaul said. He said this can be attributed to the consumer’s growing concern with food safety issues and the fact that Americans are extremely health-conscious.

Gaul said there will be strong employment opportunities within the fields of food safety, food quality assurance, food production, horticulture and biotechnology.

“Inclusive with that industry [food science] is the meat industry,” he said. The meat science program ranges from “procurement to production to sales.”

The horticulture industry is also another area that Gaul said is strong.

“Then again, this is something that people would not traditionally associate with agriculture,” he said.

As a whole, Gaul stresses the need for students to be well-adapted.

“Recruiters love to recruit within the College of Ag because they produce the quality of students they are looking for,” Gaul said. “What I see from a student’s standpoint is they need to understand how things are changing and to be open-minded and flexible to these things.”