Opportunities for doctoral graduates within agricultural industries

Doctoral graduates regularly choose positions in the private sector following completion of their postgraduate studies. The reasons for doing so are many and varied; a desire to be involved in the commercial application of research, lack of opportunity or disillusionment with the academic research environment, greater prospects for continuing employment, potential for greater financial reward, the opportunity to be involved in a range of activities in addition to research, or opportunities to continue with their own research interests. Preparing for the challenges involved in industry-based research is generally not a core part of graduate research candidature, so deciding to accept a position in industry can be a 'leap into the great unknown'. In this chapter, we examine some ofthe strategies used by doctoral graduates to secure postdoctoral research positions in industry, outline some of the challenges of industry positions and discuss strategies adopted to address these challenges. Information in this chapter is drawn from our experience with the agricultural sector, which covers production agriculture, natural resource management and microbial food safety; however, many of these strategies are relevant to a wide range of employment opportunities within industry.