Case study

Simon is studying for his PhD in the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Job pathway

Salesman for Tandy Electronics > Storehand for Franklins > Tutor for high school students > Demonstrator and tutor for undergraduate veterinary and agricultural science units of study > PhD student

Qualifications

BSc Agriculture (Hons I and University Medal)

How did you end up working in your current job?

While undertaking honours during the final year of my Agricultural Science degree it became increasingly apparent to me that I was more interested in, and suited to, the research side of science and agriculture. However, if I wanted to be involved in this aspect of science and have intellectual control over research projects and be able to shape their direction, then I was going to need a higher qualification than an undergraduate degree. Luckily, the people supervising my honours project agreed to take me on as a PhD student in a project that was of great interest to me. All I had to do was to obtain a scholarship and make sure my honours results were up to scratch. So after getting an Australian Postgraduate Award (basically a PhD scholarship funded by the Australian government) and an honours degree I was set.

What generic skills do you use in your job?

I frequently use statistical packages for analysing experimental results, writing and public speaking skills when presenting data in written or verbal form, and time/people management skills when planning experiments and organising the people necessary to help conduct them. It also goes without saying that you need to be able to work both as part of a team and independently.

What are some alternative jobs that you would be qualified for?

My undergraduate degree qualifies me for any graduate jobs in animal production consulting/management, as a technical staffer in any number of laboratory positions, government liaison positions in departments such as the rural lands and protection board or the department of primary industries, AQIS and many other jobs that the Agricultural Science degree makes available to you.

On completion of my PhD I will be qualified for almost any research job in the field of reproductive science whether in a university or industry setting. Basically it allows you to work as a research scientist on any project that piques your interest anywhere in the world.

"Make sure you have a great time doing your agriculture degree, because if you don't enjoy it chances are that on graduation you won't ever want to have anything to do with the field of Agriculture again. And that would be a very big waste of four years and a substantial sum of money, wouldn't it?"

What do you think it was that got you the job over other applicants?

First and foremost would have to be enthusiasm for the topic area and a demonstration that I was really interested in learning more about this area of research. Having a good academic record was a big help but it was definitely not the only thing my potential supervisors were looking for. Also, because working in a laboratory environment involves interaction with a lot of other researchers I believe my supervisors were looking for someone with the ability to work well as part of a team.

What advice would you give to students who have commenced an Agriculture degree and want to get a great job when they graduate?

Firstly, make it known to your professors and the people you meet during work experience and field trips what sort of job you are after. Forming these sorts of contacts with prospective employers or people who know prospective employers will go a long way in getting you the job that you are after. After all, as the old adage goes sometimes is not what you know but who you know!

Try and match some of your work experience with the places where you would one day like to work. Asides from the networking opprotunities it will also give you a fair indication of wether you are cut out for that kind of employment. Combined with that, make sure you work hard in the units of study directly related to your prospective field (for me it was animal reproduction), good marks in those units of study certainly can't hurt your chances at a good job.

And last but not least, make sure you have a great time doing your Ag degree, because if you don't enjoy it, chances are that upon graduation you won't ever want to have anything to do with the field of agriculture again. And that would be a very big waste of 4 years and a substantial sum of money, wouldn't it?!

What were your biggest mistakes during your life when applying for jobs? How would you have done it better?

While I haven't really had to apply for many jobs thus far in my life I'd have to say that one mistake which I can now see is that I wouldn't apply for the job if I thought I didn't quite meet the requirements. I have now heard countless stories of people whose qualifications barely matched those advertised but managed to get the job through enthusiasm, being personable and a demonstrated ability to learn and learn quickly. If you think you have even a flicker of hope of getting the job, have a crack and send in your CV – it can't hurt!!

What type of activities were you involved in at university and high school, and did they give you any skills that you use in your job now?

One of the greatest demonstrations of teamwork is on the sporting field, so playing Rugby Union throughout high school and OzTag and some Rugby during university probably helped me in developing the ability to work as part of a team.

What was the most surprising thing about working full time that you did not expect?

The academic freedom — freedom to investigate a problem how you see fit, and when you see fit. You are the person that can come up with fantastic ideas and can implement them in your own research. Obviously as a very junior scientist there is a lot of input from supervisors and post-docs in the lab, but ultimately you are the guy that gets to do the research. That can be pretty cool when you are doing something that no one has ever done before. It's also quite nice to be able to turn up to work at 11am if you've had a big one the night before and not get into trouble so long as you eventually get your work done and have written a PhD thesis by the end of your three years as a postgrad (NB turning up at 11 am is not recommended for those students with less liberal supervisors …).

If you could go back to the start of your degree and change anything you did since then, what would it be?

Spend a little bit more time having fun with my mates rather than worrying about perfecting whatever assignment was due at the end of the week. I regret not attending some social events because I thought I wouldn't have enough time to finish an assignment. I've since learnt that there is pretty much always time to finish an assignment, so go and have fun – the work will always be there when you get back!

Where do you see yourself in five year's time?

Hopefully I will be happily working at a university or some such research institute overseas as a postdoctoral fellow in the field of animal reproduction. If at all possible I'd love to have the opportunity to indulge my interest in assisted reproduction of wildlife species which I have been fortunate enough to do some work in over the past two years.