Agriculture

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:  

Agriculture

• Agricultural consultant
• Agronomist
• Animal nutritionist
• Farm manager
• Field trials officer
• Land-based engineer
• Plant breeder/geneticist
• Soil scientist

Horticulture, forestry and fisheries

• Amenity horticulturist
• Arboriculturist
• Commercial horticulturist
• Fish farm manager
• Fisheries officer
• Forest/woodland manager
• Horticultural consultant

This is a large sector, so skills required will vary, but some common skills required include:

• a full driving licence
• willingness to be outside in all weathers and patience to undertake all sorts of practical, sometimes repetitive, jobs
• good attention to detail and accurate record keeping
• an awareness of customer demand, industry standards and sustainability
• the ability to work under pressure
• a good level of physical fitness
• good teamworking skills
• the aptitude to achieve commercial outcomes

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position and location.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

For information about how to negotiate a salary, visit Handling job offers.

• Browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed. 
• Use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13].  
• Attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates.  
• Sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting. 
• Attend events such as recruitment events and  employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions.   

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement - placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:  

• Prospects – environment and agriculture
• National Careers Service – animal, plant and land-related job profiles
• DeLacy Executive – graduate careers advice from Agri-Business recruitment specialists
• grow – horticulture careers information and news
• Agsites – websites related to agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and the outdoor world

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments is important for applications and interviews. 

See the professional bodies section below as well as these online magazines and sites:

• FarmingUK
• Farmers Weekly
• Latest Forestry and Timber News | Confor
• Forestry Journal
• News - Chartered Institute of Horticulture

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry. 

See our  recruitment events and employer & sector insights.  

Join specific student societies, such as the Agricultural Society. This society may help you network and build connections in the industry.  

Use social media to find industry insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on Twitter and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about  and subscribe to our sector Twitter list.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network  

Professional bodies often: 

• run networking events  
• have specialist groups you could join 
• post vacancies on behalf of their members 
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications 

Key organisations include: 

• Country Land and Business Association
• Innovation for Agriculture – consortium of 15 English agricultural societies
• Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland
• British Institute of Agricultural Consultants (BIAC) – a directory of consultants, news, events and a jobs board
• British Society of Plant Breeders
• Farmers' Unions include the National Farmers' Union and National Farmers' Union of Scotland.

Horticulture, forestry and fisheries

• Royal Horticultural Society – includes education, training and career profiles and videos
• Chartered Institute of Horticulture
• Institute of Chartered Foresters – includes a job board and placements advertising
• Institute of Fisheries Management
• Arboricultural Association – education, training and careers information

Sector skills and government departments

• Lantra – awarding body for land-based industries in the UK and the Republic of Ireland
• DEFRA – includes a guide to agricultural workers’ rights
• Forestry Commission
• Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
• FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department – part of the United Nations agency for food and agriculture

Finding professional bodies worldwide 

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide. 

Advertised work experience in agriculture is generally advertised throughout the year. A good time to look would be in early spring, to secure a position before the harvest. 

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites 
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad 

Search the following external sites for more opportunities, including voluntary:

Horticulture, forestry and fisheries

• Go Volunteer offer a variety of volunteering projects to Newcastle University students.
• National Parks – volunteering, work experience and placement opportunities for under 25s. Select the national park you are interested in working in to see opportunities.
• National Trust – voluntary opportunities
• Wildlife Trusts – includes voluntary opportunities
• Woodland Trust – volunteering opportunities
• Royal Horticultural Society – voluntary internships
• Kew Royal Botanical Gardens – work experience
• Royal Foresty Society- placement years and other opportunities
• WWOOF UK - volunteer on organic farms and learn about sustainable agriculture
• Natural England – includes potential dissertation projects
• Institute of Chartered Foresters – placements advertised
• British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) - includes a list of those offering volunteering opportunities

Agriculture

• local Young Farmers Clubs
• local NFU offices
• posting an advert on Farmers Jobs

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage:

• search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. 

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• Advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world.  

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.  

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. 

Use our resources to get started: 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts  
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites 

Search the external sites below:

• Farmers Weekly – search for agricultural jobs by employer type, category and region
• Horticulture Jobs
• Countryside Jobs Service – vacancies in countryside, conservation and environment
• Earthworks-Jobs – includes jobs in agriculture, forestry, plant science and related subjects
• Arbjobs.com
• Royal Forestry Society of England: job vacancies - for jobs with RFS and its corporate members
• Forestry Commission
• Civil Service jobs site (select relevant department under 'Organisation')
• British Trout Association
• Institute of Fisheries Management
• Environment Agency
• Agricultural Development and Advisory Service (ADAS)
• IAgrE: Jobs
• Role profiles link to employers and vacancy sources for specific jobs

See  for details of overseas vacancy sites. 

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:  

• additional vacancy websites  
• CV, application and interview advice   
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company. 
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated. 
4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts 
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin 

EXP: When to contact organisations

• targetjobs - search employers by sector, eg software engineering or technology
• Professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers. 
• MyCareer - click ‘Search' then 'Organisations’ to find companies the Careers Service has worked with. Can filter by keyword, sector and region
• British Society of Plant Breeders – includes a list of member organisations
• Country Land and Business Association – includes a business directory useful for speculative applications
• British Institute of Agricultural Consultants – includes a member directory (requires free registration)
• National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) – includes a directory of agricultural contractors
• Prospects profile includes a list of soil scientist employers
• Arboricultural Association – offers a list of consultants and contractors

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

Use the resources below to find organisations in the North East, UK and worldwide. 

North East organisations

International Newcastle - member directory

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:  

• staffing agencies and temporary help firms  
• executive recruiters and search firms  

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.