Just my opinion - degrees for most fields are so watered down now, they are just about worthless. I've gotten to the point with college graduates the last 10 years that I actually see a degree from someone as a sign that they can't critically think. My experience shows that schools now do nothing to help with that.

And if you have an "executive MBA" you might be the biggest dumbazz around. To me it is nothing more than a sign of an incompetent person. Basically, the person wasn't good enough to do it on their own and feel like they have to have the title to back them up.

At least I'll own my hypocrisy. I have two, both got in the 90s that to me were worthless.

AGEC 97 here. Spent the first 20 years as a manufactures rep for 2 different Ag equipment companies traveling Texas and the Southeast selling equipment to dealers. Spent the last 8 years managing a John Deere Construction dealership.

I think high paying opportunities are fewer for AGEC grads directly out of college compared friends who graduated with ID, engineering and degrees from Mays. That being said, with hard work and willingness not settle, AGEC grads are just as successful as any other major. The degree is broad and can lead to lots of different opportunities.

Banking, sales, commodity/energy trading, management, real estate, investing are just a few of the paths of other AGEC grads I know.

I agree with what was said earlier about Dr. Rister's class. Probably the hardest but most useful and rewarding class I took at A&M. Hope he is still teaching it in a couple years when my son is far enough along to take it.

Ag eco grad. I'm an analyst for an insurance company

AgEco 00, Ag Ed MS 01...worked a few years in grain marketing economics then pivoted to graduate education program management. Also owned a sole proprietorship in between state agency careers. Kept my rule of 80 TRS, wahoo!

Gigem87818 said:

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2010 Ag Business here (not so new haha). 10+ years in wholesale distribution and now work in commercial insurance.

My experience- I felt like other majors opened up more doors for entry level roles. It's tough for Ag majors to compete with ID/Mays grads for jobs fresh out of school all things equal. But like anything, it's all about who you know more than what you know and major becomes less relevant after some experience.

Me personally- I'll try to steer my kids towards ID if they're at all interested in sales and construction science if they don't pursue engineering or a specialized route. Most of my peers (myself included) wandered around for a few years before landing in sales or construction.

Happy to talk salary via PM if you'd like more info.

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We might have known each other then. I graduated in December 2010.

Guarantee we have crossed paths at some point!

Ag Business class of '86 from Angelo. Wanted to be county agent, state wasn't hiring then. Worked for Coca Cola in sales for 13 years. Worked 21 years for 3M factory work and retired now. Been a good life.

Hehateme1 said:

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Ag Business class of '86 from Angelo. Wanted to be county agent, state wasn't hiring then. Worked for Coca Cola in sales for 13 years. Worked 21 years for 3M factory work and retired now. Been a good life.

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Did you work at the Brownwood 3M plant? Always heard 3M tried to come to Angelo before B-Wood and the county didn't want to play ball on the taxes so they moved to B-Wood as a next option. Not sure if thats actually the truth but i always heard that from a lot of people from San Angelo.

Never have heard that about Angelo but would have been before my time, Brownwood got into economic development game early. Have a big Kohler plant, the big 3M plant , Superior Essex and several other mfg facilities.

Wanted to also add info for OP, of the bunch I graduated with, only folks who stayed in Ag field were folks whose families were already producers. Only exception was one old boy from Mason that found a job in feed sales.

I graduated AgBusiness in 2018 and got into construction sales. I started with a competitive base salary and have since 6X what I started with and is now a very rewarding and stable career.

For the OP, I wouldn't do it again. I would pick something else with a lot more demand and way more opportunity.

Yes. I'm in the food business.

AgEco 2016. I have been in the investment industry (asset management) since graduation. I gained a lot from Dr. Litz and Dr. Rister. I also took the Financial Planning minor degree course through AgEco program. Looking back, I was really impressed with the program and have seen many different career choices from both AgEco and AgBusiness grads. Seems that most are doing pretty well. Like others have said, the degree might not seem as "flashy" as a business degree from Mays, but life is what you make it! AgEco seems to be a good group of people with both common sense, intelligence and social skills.

Son was Ag Eco now bank examiner.