By Cat Holmes
University of Georgia
Drew Chrisohon, a recent University of Georgia graduate, wasn’t
worried about whether he’d find a job. The problem he faced was
which job offer to accept.
The economy is soft and the job market hurting. The U.S. Labor
Department reported 5.7 percent — 8.3 million people — of the
nation’s labor force unemployed last month.
But Chrisohon, with a poultry science degree, recently fielded
five serious job offers before accepting a management trainee
position with ConAgra at their Canton, Ga., complex.
“I didn’t even look very hard,” the Comer, Ga., native said. “I
haven’t ever worried about finding a job in this field. Everyone
eats chicken. If there’s a depression, people will continue to
eat chicken because it’s such a deal.”
Not unique
Chrisohon is a good student and “a great guy,” said UGA poultry
science department head Mike Lacy. But he’s not unique.
Though he has no hard figures, Lacy said there are probably three
jobs for every poultry science graduate coming out of UGA, based
largely on the number of companies calling his department.
“We tell students that if they want to stay close to home, the
Georgia poultry industry has a place for you,” he said.
“We also say, ‘Become a poultry scientist and see the world,’ and
it’s no joke,” he said. “We have had recent graduates take jobs
in Thailand, Latin America, Canada and England. Poultry jobs are
available all over the world, and there are an estimated 100,000
jobs in poultry in the state of Georgia alone.”
Jobs aren’t limited
The jobs aren’t limited just to those with science degrees, he
said.
“There are a variety of … business-related jobs,” Lacy said.
“Some of our graduates go into pharmaceutical sales. Some take on
environmental issues. Some work with farmers, helping them to
make a better living. Others go into some aspect of poultry
processing, product development or food safety.”
Poultry science graduates can expect to enter the job market
making a salary in the mid-$30,000 range, he said.
While Chrisohon fielded job offers from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and several other companies, he finally settled on
the job with ConAgra in early February.
Coming full circle
“It’s all still new to me,” Chrisohon said. “The great thing
about working in a complex such as the one in Canton is that I’ll
be able to go through and learn about the hatchery, feed mill,
live production and the plant.”
Chrisohon’s very first job when he was 15 was as a general
laborer at a broiler farm with eight chicken houses. But he
wasn’t eager to pursue a poultry career when he started
college.
“I didn’t appreciate it when I was a teenager,” he said with a
laugh. “All my friends were working at pizza places and I was
working my tail off.”
Chrisohon went to Young Harris College and majored in business.
But he just didn’t like it, so he transferred to UGA, took a
number of agricultural business classes and ended up with a
poultry science degree. So far, it’s proven to be a good move.
