Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
You like food and science and had the foresight to major in food science. We're guessing you have a career in mind. That's a good thing. You'll have a head start on everyone else out there. Want to talk about job security? There's no invention that will stop people from eating.
By all means, if you know what you want to do, go for it. But what if you have only a vague idea? "I like food," you say, "and I know science. But how can I turn that into dollars?"
There's a bunch of different ways to do that. Look for anything with the word "food" in the title. If you see something that's "Food [blank]" you're probably going to be qualified.
Unless it's something like "Food Pugilist." We don't even know what that is.
Common Career Fields
FDA employee. The Food and Drug Administration needs employees to ensure no one is eating, selling, preparing, taunting, or throwing tainted food. That could be you. This is the equivalent of the food cops, although it's doubtful you'll get a world-weary partner two weeks from retirement right before you stumble onto that big case. Or maybe you will. The world can be a magical place.
Plant Manager. Help a ficus get a career in show business. Learn to manage a plant's dreams, goals, and aspirations. Book club dates, rent studio space, and...
Wait, what?
Oh. Wrong plant. Right, so this would be managing a plant that makes food. Like…a big building that manufactures edible things. That makes a lot more sense than what we were thinking. Who would listen to a ficus sing in the first place? A Venus fly trap, maybe, but…
Clinical Dietitian. Like we keep saying, everyone has to eat. That includes patients in hospitals and other care facilities. Nutrition is of paramount importance. If you like working in the healthcare industry, this could be a great job for you. Rehabilitate the reputation of hospital food. You have the power.
Meat Scientist. Study meat. That's what this one comes down to. Look, with the exceptions of vegetarians and vegans, people love meat. That's a whole lot of food that needs to get packaged and processed and preserved as it goes from the animal to your plate. (If that last sentence grossed you out, look into becoming a vegetarian.) Meat has the potential to carry a lot of bad stuff—just ask anyone who's ever had food poisoning—and your job would be to keep that from happening.
Quality Assurance Specialist. You know how when a computer program does something it's not supposed to, it's called a bug? Well, the people that are supposed to find that are quality assurance specialists. For food, it's the same thing, although the "bugs" tend to be of the terrifyingly literal variety. You're kind of like the guy who has to eat all of the food before the king does, just to make sure it isn't poisoned.
Restaurant Owner. You know the scientific reason why people like food, and you know how to make sure it doesn't kill them. Okay, that sounded a little ominous, like we're suggesting some kind of restaurant-themed supervillainy, which is totally not what we're after. All we're saying is that you're prepared to enter the crazy world of restaurant ownership. You'll be an expert on keeping all of your customers fed, happy, and healthy. That sounds pretty good.
Viticulturist. (21 and older, please) Maybe you're more into beverages than you are into food. That's fine, because some foods get turned into beverages. One of the most popular of these is the grape, which gets turned into wine. Shocking, we know. Assuming you're of age—and unless you'll be graduating college scarily early, you should be—you might want to help cultivate specific kinds of grapes for specific kinds of wine. The best part? Wine country tends to be in really pleasant, temperate climates, like California's Central Coast.
Current unemployment of the major
4.0%Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
43%Stats obtained from this source.