Careers & Horses

[RolledAway]

I recently just graduated with an Animal Science bachelors degree from UMN this past fall. At first I thought I wanted to get into horse racing in some way, bloodstock agent, racing commission, or etc. But instead I got sidetracked due to a lack of availability of such jobs here in MN and took a job as an animal care technician for a preclinical research facility. Long story short it didn’t work out and I definitely do not see myself being happy with that sort of career.

As of late I’ve been rethinking my life and would rather have a career that, while might not be related to animals at all, pays very well and will insure that I have the money to do what I want with my horses. I dream of owning my own farm some day, and I still want to travel and do other things besides horses. I’m afraid because of my degree I’ve pigeonholed myself into a low paying career that won’t get me where I want to be financially. I do not want to be that person who is constantly struggling to make ends meet.

Does anyone have any advice on what sort of career avenues I should look into? I would rather not go back to school, but if I have to I guess I’ll have to. I do not have any student loan debt, so I’m already off to a pretty good start with my finances right now. One road I could potentially take is working with my dad who is a financial advisor for Raymond James, but currently my older sister is doing the same thing so he doesn’t need another employee right now.

[thomwa]

Have you looked into jobs with the federal or state government (US Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management, etc.). Positions are usually related to animal inspection or research, which require an Animal Science degree. Entry-level salaries are fairly low but the pay increases quite a bit with seniority. Some time ago I actually saw an open position at one of the facilities that inspects horses being imported from Canada.

[JoannaHCR]

You could look into Animal Nutrition/Pharmaceutical type careers, with Cargill (I work for them as a sales rep for Nutrena), Zinpro (my cousin works for them), Purina, Boehringer Ingelheim, Zoetis, etc

Hopefully this helps!

[Twigster]

With animal science in the area you could look into jobs with Land O Lakes/Purina, Cargill, Nutrena… All the big ag companies seem to need feed formulators up here and lots of people start out fresh from school in those jobs. If you’re into the local horse scene here you could reach out to some of the feed reps and talk to them about getting into feed sales?

Flair (the nose strip people) are based in MN and I saw a posting that they were looking for people not too long ago.

Send me a PM if you like, but out of curiousity what CRO did you work for? They aren’t all created equal… I’ve been in the biocomp/med device r and d field in the twin cities for 10+ years so I have a pretty good handle on the players.

[Russinka]

Pigs, seriously try the pig industry. Large growth area, generally pretty interested in conducting research and very big in America.

[Bluey]

Real estate, if that is of interest to you.

I know animal science graduates that worked internships in real estate firms and were immediately hired for their farm and ranch land division.
That is a specialty, much investor’s money is flowing right now into that, the laws that apply there are complicated and keep changing, it is an interesting field on it’s own in real estate.
The firms are sending them on for continuing education at their cost, to cover the real estate qualifications, but already knowing what they do thru animal science is invaluable.

They absolutely love it and are doing very well.

One more option there.

[clanter]

youngest daughter has an animal science degree, she took the alternate pathway to teaching, she tested for science and math, passed without a problem

Has been teaching high school biology…travels all over the world running marathons, did her first in New Zealand.

Makes a decent living plus can have all the summers off, plus all the major holidays have extended off times, plus fall break and spring break

She also remains connected to the animals by being a vet tech at a local clinic as a fill in, but that is completely optional for her, not something that she has to do

[RolledAway]

[QUOTE=JoannaHCR;8800239]
You could look into Animal Nutrition/Pharmaceutical type careers, with Cargill (I work for them as a sales rep for Nutrena), Zinpro (my cousin works for them), Purina, Boehringer Ingelheim, Zoetis, etc

Hopefully this helps![/QUOTE]

Yep! I have already applied to quite a few jobs at Cargill, Land o’ Lakes and etc, but I never even get an interview.

[RolledAway]

[QUOTE=Twigster;8801480]

Flair (the nose strip people) are based in MN and I saw a posting that they were looking for people not too long ago.

Send me a PM if you like, but out of curiousity what CRO did you work for? They aren’t all created equal… I’ve been in the biocomp/med device r and d field in the twin cities for 10+ years so I have a pretty good handle on the players.[/QUOTE]

I’ll send you a PM.

I did apply for the Flair position, got an interview, but never heard back afterwards even after trying to contact them again. Guessing I didn’t get it.

[mpsbarnmanager]

I sent you a pm

[Lucassb]

Think of all the different types of firms that cater to the equine (or other animal) industry. If you google for veterinary trade shows alone you will probably find hundreds of firms, and they all have lots of different types of positions, from sales and marketing to R&D, logistics, finance and so on.

Just applying to wanted ads is a tough way to find a job, I think, particularly when you are just starting out. The competition is often huge. Might be better to look for companies/products that interest you, do a bit of research on what they do and what you think you could offer them, and then reach out to see if they have an interest in meeting with you. Good luck!

[RolledAway]

Thanks for the ideas guys! I really appreciate it.

[Texarkana]

I was pre-vet in college. The plan was vet school or to work in the horse industry forever. It didn’t take a but a few years until I was burned out on both. Much like you, OP, I found I was happier when my income wasn’t tied to animals.

“Pays very well” is relative. I joke that I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. But some of the non-animal things I’ve done without accruing any additional student loan debt: high school teacher (current), perfusion assistant (cardiac surgery), and laboratory manager.

Out of the three, perfusion definitely paid the best. To advance in the field and become a perfusionist, I would have needed to go back to school, but it’s a 1-2 year program. But the starting salary is considerable. It’s just too small of a field for me personally (I felt stuck). There are a lot of medical positions that pay well with limited schooling, though. There are a lot of accelerated RN programs for folks who already have a bachelors. Surgical tech is another field where the pay is decent considering the short training program.

I did my teacher preparation through an alternative certification program. I had to pay a small fee up front, then they took a payroll deduction throughout my first year of teaching. After one year, I was fully certified to teach with no additional student loans. The good thing about teaching is that it’s always in demand, even if you are in an area where jobs are competitive.

Laboratory manager was probably my favorite of the three careers, though. Unfortunately, I was working in an educational lab where there was little room for salary advancement.

[Scribbler]

The other aspect of job hunting is perfecting the resume, and getting good at job interviews. if you are finding you are drawing blanks applying for jobs for which you seem to be fully qualified on paper, you might want to visit with a career counsellor (perhaps at your alma mater) for some guidance. There are some tips about self-presentation that apply to all fields, and can be useful to have feedback on.

On the other hand, perhaps you are applying too high above your current experience level? It is always useful to find out the career structure of different fields, and what constitutes an entry-level job.