Agriculture jobs pay more than ever before

By Randy Woodson, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture

Recent Purdue Agriculture alums find that companies highly value their Purdue degrees.

When placement and salary figures were released last month for our May graduates, starting salaries averaged $35,416 -- an increase of nearly $2,700 over the previous year.

Agricultural and food process engineering graduates reported the highest average beginning salaries of $49,286. Food science and manufacturing graduates started on average at $38,966, agribusiness graduates averaged $34,438 and natural resources management graduates averaged $32,762.

When those figures were announced during our annual agricultural career fair, there were a record number of job recruiters in the room. We had a full house with more than 250 recruiters representing 110 organizations.

This kind of interest indicates the growing opportunities for our graduates and the value placed on Purdue Agriculture degrees. Job recruiters must limit where they look for prospective employees and, fortunately, we are on the short list for many organizations.

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