Association of Nepalese Agricultural Professionals of Americas (NAPA) hosted an online panel discussion on Careers in Agriculture on August 29, 2020 via zoom. The objective of the panel discussion was to highlight various career paths, and eligibility, process, and preparation required for those career paths in the United States of America and beyond for graduate students and early career professionals of agricultural and allied fields. NAPA is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-religious, and non-political professional organization dedicated to serve humankind through educational, scientific, and developmental initiatives. NAPA General Secretary Dr. Ramjee Ghimire hosted the meeting and NAPA President Dr. Megha N. Parajulee delivered welcome remarks. NAPA Vice President Dr. Pradeep Wagle moderated the first session (short speeches from each panelist in the flyer) of the program, while NAPA’s Student Coordination Committee (SCC) Chair Shubhechchha Sharma and Co-chair Bikash Ghimire moderated the second session (Q/A).
The panel discussion was open to NAPA members only. Panelists represented employees from federal and state governments, academia (teaching, research, and extension), private industries, non-profit institutions, and postdoctoral researchers. Panelists shared their job experiences and highlighted career path and opportunities, professional growth and development, pros and cons, and must-know points of each job sector.
Panelists representing federal and state agencies emphasized that these jobs are more secure, with lucrative benefits, research publications, and collaborative opportunities with other agencies. Federal jobs, unless contracted through third party contractors for temporary appointments, must require green cards and/or citizenship, and state government jobs mostly require green cards (though state agencies in some states may sponsor visas), which is a key limitation for recent graduates and early career professionals.
Small industries and small non-profit organizations may provide an opportunity to grow faster in career and offer higher bargaining power. However, job security might be compromised depending upon the size and financial status of the organizations. Small organizations may provide better opportunities to learn managerial and administrative responsibilities, which could be crucial for someone looking forward towards entrepreneurship in the future. International and multinational non-profit organizations such as International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) provide better abroad travel and networking opportunities globally, but most of these positions are term-basis (no permanent appointments).
Panelists from academic and extension jobs highlighted University related teaching, research, and extension services. Teaching in small and teaching focused universities are different compared to research and extension focused universities. Teaching experiences via Teaching Assistantship (TA) and research experiences via Research Assistantship (RA) and publications are vital for someone looking forward to developing career related to teaching and research in academia as a faculty. Extension jobs require good communicative skills, interpersonal and problem-solving skills, ability to get along with diverse ethnic and racial groups of farmers. Teaching and research faculty are usually tenure-track positions whereas tenure track extension positions largely depend on universities. Sponsoring green cards and H1B visas are relatively easier for university jobs than other sectors.
Postdoctoral jobs are temporary career enhancement positions for a smooth transition to permanent jobs. In general, post-doctoral job experience is more effective for those who want to pursue career in academia. In addition, panelists emphasized on developing network, attending and presenting on conferences, and using networking platforms such as twitter and LinkedIn to connect with professional in respective fields. NAPA SCC Advisor Dr. Santosh Dhakal adjourned the program.
*NAPA Communications Team (Mr. Bijesh Mishra and Dr. Shyam Kandel) prepared this press release
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