Name: Anita C
Role: Industry Development Officer
Location: Institute for Horticultural Development Knoxfield

ABOUT MY CAREER

What does a typical day in your job involve?
» Conducting on farm trials with growers.
» Chatting and working with fruit and vegetable growers, food processing companies and fruit and vegetable retailers.
» Develop training programs and written materials including videos, workbooks and practical exercises for the fruit and vegetable industry .
» Teach people in the fruit and vegetable industry about food safety, correct fruit handling after harvesting and pest management.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
» Working with the farming community and meeting different people.

Why did you choose this career?
» It is a practical area of science.
» There are opportunities to move in various directions.
» It focuses on improving production, handling and storage systems within the fruit and vegetable industry, which will help to make them more efficient.

What would you like to do in the future?
» To become more involved in marketing the work that is being completed at the institute to the fruit and vegetable industry, and capture more funding for this research.
» I hope to be more involved in the area of business management and marketing.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MYSELF

Where did you grow up?
» I grew up in Ferntree Gully, which is east of Melbourne.

How did influence your chosen career?
» My mother's family is from the land and I grew up holidaying on my cousins' farms in Northern Victoria and Southern NSW.
» I went to a high school where I had the opportunity to study Agriculture as a subject in Year 10.
» My involvement with the agricultural and horticultural industries throughout my younger life directed my interest in a career in this area.

MY EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Were courses in secondary school planned for this sort of work?
» I undertook a very practical subject called Agriculture in Year 10 at Fairhills High School. This looked at different animal production systems and plant propagation.

Which University or TAFE course have you completed?
» Agricultural Science at Melbourne University.

Have you completed any Work experience?
» During my secondary study, I worked at animal shelters and at veterinary practices.
» While at university I worked for 4 months at Struan Research Centre in Naracoorte in SA, where I did research on cattle production systems.

FUTURE OPPURTUNITIES

Is there a lot of learning on the job?
» Learning on the job comes in many forms whether it be formal or informal.
» Opportunities to learn are up to the individual, there can be as many or as few learning experiences that the individual wishes.

Do you plan to do further study?
» At the moment I am completing a Masters in Marketing at Monash University.

Do you travel much in your job?
» Opportunities to travel depends a lot on the project you are working on.
» I travelled to Israel to an international conference, which was a great opportunity to meet and talk with people from around the world working in a similar area of work.
» I have travelled interstate such as NSW and QLD to conduct field trips and visit other scientists working in the same area.
» There are many opportunities to get out in the field in mud or sun around Victoria whether it be to visit growers or conduct trials on farms.

What are graduates from you course doing now?
Friends who graduated from my course have gone into a wide variety of careers such as:
» Sales representatives for chemical , fertiliser and animal health companies
» Feedlot Managers
» Farm Managers
» Research Scientists

ADVICE TO STUDENTS NOW
» There are many career opportunities in Agriculture and Horticulture such as Science, Research, Sales, Marketing, Consultancy, Production or Natural Resource Management.