Sustainable Food and Farming: Now What? : College of Natural Sciences : UMass Amherst

Quick Facts: Agricultural and Food Scientists and Specialists

Found on the Occupational Outlook Handbook

2023 Median Pay: $76,400 per year; $36.73 per hour
Entry-Level Education: Bachelor's degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation: None
On-the-job Training: None
Number of Jobs, 2022: 35,400
Job Outlook, 2023-32: 6% (Faster than average)
Employment Change, 2022-32: 2,100

What is Sustainable Food and Farming?

The Sustainable Food and Farming major allows students who are interested in the practical, social, political and scientific issues of sustainable agriculture and food systems to seek a broad exposure to this discipline in the liberal arts tradition. Students can tailor their individual programs to prepare for careers in sustainable farming, policy, advocacy, community outreach and education in topics related to crop production, food access, and hunger issues, as well as many others. Graduates will be qualified to compete successfully for a wide array of emerging careers in the growing field of sustainable food systems.

Selection of Internship Sites advertised by Stockbridge School of Agriculture: (https://www.umass.edu/stockbridge/internships)

Abundance Farm
Backyard Growers
Bardwell Farm
Book and Plow Farm
Boston Area Gleaners
Broadfork Permaculture
Clark Organic Farm
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
Essex Farm
Fort River Farm
Foxfire Farm
Fungi Ally
Gallatin Valley Botanical
Green Rivers Farms
Laughing Dog Farm
Meeting Place Pastures
Morning Glory Farm
Natural Roots Farm Apprenticeship Program
Nourse Farm
Nourishing the North Shore (NNS)
Orchard Hill Breadworks
People’s Medicine Project
Sampson Farm LP
Share the Harvest Farm
Simple Gifts Farm
Sirius Eco-Village
Small Ones Farm
Stout Oak Farm
The Farm School
The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts
UMass Amherst Student Farm
UMass Hydrofarm
Unadilla Farm
Yard Birds Farm

Career Planning Resources & Websites

Career Exploration Tools: https://www.umass.edu/careers/career-journey/self-discovery

Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook: www.bls.gov/ooh

Massachusetts Career Information System: http://masscis.intocareers.org

(Click Mass Resident to login with “Amherst/01003” Then click “Occupations” or “Assessments”)

Career Planning Resources for Environmental Science: http://www.careercornerstone.org/

Environmental Science.org: www.environmentalscience.org

Reports on Jobs in the Growing Green Economy: https://www.findingearthworks.com/resources/

Sustainable Food and Farming Job and Internship Search Resources

UMass Amherst Specific Job Search Resources

Handshake: https://umass.joinhandshake.com/

UMass Amherst Dept of Environmental Conservation: http://eco.umass.edu/for-current-students

UMass Amherst Local Sustainability Jobs/Internships: www.umass.edu/sustainability/resources

Umass Office of Undergraduate Research & Studies: https://www.umass.edu/ours/

Sustainable Food and Farming Jobs

CISA (local): https://buylocalfood.org/classifieds/job-opportunities/

Eastern Mass CRAFT List: https://easternmasscraft.wordpress.com/resources/

Eco-Farm Jobs: http://eco-farm.org/jobs

Environmental Education: https://naaee.org/eepro/jobs

Fair Trade Job Board: https://fairtradefederation.org/fair-trade-job-board/

Good Food Jobs: http://goodfoodjobs.com/

Idealist.org https://www.idealist.org/en

New Entry Farmer Resources: https://nesfp.org/about/employment-opportunities

Southeastern Mass: https://semaponline.org/category/jobs-opportunities/

Southern US Farm Jobs: https://www.ssawg.org/jobs

Sustainable Agriculture Jobs: https://sustainableaged.org/resources/job-listings/

Work Abroad

https://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/shortterm/farm_jobs_agriculture.shtml

Green Job Sites

Environmental Career Opportunities (ECO): http://www.ecojobs.com/

Environmental Health & Safety Jobs: http://ehscareers.com/search

Environmental Jobs: http://environmentaljobs.com

Green Dream Jobs: www.sustainablebusiness.com

Green Jobs (store resumes &and apply through site): http://www.greenjobs.net/

Green Job Search: www.greenjobsearch.org

GreenBiz Jobs Board: http://jobs.greenbiz.com

Global Vision International Careers Abroad: www.careersabroad.co.uk/vacancies

LinkedIn Green Job and Career Network: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=77194

Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (Mass CEC): http://www.masscec.com/work-clean-energy/jobs

Massachusetts (State) Environmental Agencies: www.mass.gov/eea/agencies

National Environmental Health Assoc Job Board: https://www.neha.org/careers?utm_source=web&utm_medium=home_icon

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Jobs: https://www.epa.gov/careers

USA Jobs (for ALL Federal Govt Jobs): www.usajobs.gov

General Science Jobs

General Science Jobs (widely defined): http://jobs.sciencecareers.org

General Science Jobs (widely defined): http://jobs.newscientist.com/

NatureJobs (widely defined): www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/

Professional Organizations

Many professional organization’s websites have career information on them. You can often use them to search for networking events, meet a mentor in your field of study, find current research, search for internships or jobs, and gain insight into what direction within the field you may wish to pursue.

Sustainable Food Trade Association: https://www.sustainablefoodtrade.org/

Consultative group on Int Ag Research (CGIAR): https://www.cgiar.org/

EcoAgriculture Partners: https://ecoagriculture.org/

Feedback: https://feedbackglobal.org/

Foodtank: https://foodtank.com/

Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy: https://www.iatp.org/

New Harvest: https://new-harvest.org/

Reducetarian Foundation: https://www.reducetarian.org/

Slow Food: https://www.slowfood.com/

The Sustainable Restaurant Association (THESRA): https://thesra.org/

Soil Association: https://www.soilassociation.org/

What Do Employers Look For? (NACE 2024 Job Outlook for Students)