Career change

[delilah]

I note your point about not being able to volunteer due to family commitments, and it is a fair point, but if you are starting from a point of zero experience then volunteering for a couple of hours a week would be of huge benefit. Couple of places not too far from you.
https://www.woodhousefarmandgardencic.org.uk/
https://www.fordhallfarm.com/

 

[teslacoils]

I think most folk will say they regret the things they didn't try rather than the things they did.

You mention you are in your mud twenties but also have a family? Did you do something before your degree?

Don't take this the wrong way, but my farm is not tiny, but I'd struggle to say it was in any way a full time job and I'm looking for work off-farm. Stock farms work every day of the year - have you considered if working on s farm in a part-time role might be a good start? Weekend milking, or just doing a "normal" job four days a week and then working on a farm even as work experience one day a week? If you're married, you could consider farming almost as a hobby which in many ways is what mine is.

 

[Boysground]

One of the biggest sheep farmers in this area started by doing an apprenticeship with a friend of mine. While there he bought his first sheep from my friend. Has 1000s of them now.

@Strangelybrown it may be worth looking dairy farming to gain experience. Many farmers need relief weekend workers which may be a place to start. Others like me milk 3 times a day which requires many more staff to cover all the shifts. I like employing night milkers who have never milked before, it’s much easier to train them to our way of thinking. Of all my night staff at the moment only 1 wasn’t first trained to milk here.

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[DrWazzock]

I would have thought psychology would be in high demand the way things are going. A front room with a comfy chair in it and £100 per hour for a chat over a cuppa , nice little earner for little outlay.

 

[puppet]

You need to just help out a few hours a week at a friendly farm first who will have the patience to teach you. Lambing would be good as low tech with buckets, barrows and muck.
This morning I have only fed cattle but wouldn't allow someone with no experience to do any of it unsupervised. Involved a loader, a grab , rolling back a silage sheet, a foot of mud to drive through, knowing what is hay or straw, walking through 2 sheds and knowing where the bull is to keep safe, an ancient scraper tractor and driving a quad. Any or all of these could kill you or an animal.
However, if you want it, go for it.

 

[Frodo]

The country is screaming for people willing to do psychology type jobs, less so farm work. Stick with it and if you really have the farm bug find away to do it as a lucrative hobby.

 

[ollie989898]

The country is screaming out for people to do care type jobs, including psychology but it doesn't want to pay that much, not that you should be entering a career in healthcare purely for money mind. Top clinical psychologists will earn about 45-50K outside of the NHS but it will take several years to get there. In some ways, earning 30K plus with a house milking cows will probably end up being better off.

 

[teslacoils]

I'll trade an hour's therapy a fortnight for the pleasure of winter digging drains out.

So much easier and more enjoyable to farm if you have an off-farm money source.

 

[Strangelybrown]

Right, so after reading through some more of your replies there appear to be a few members suggesting to see farming as more of a part time, secondary venture to fit in around a different career. In this instance, is part time farming seen as a way to supplement your main income, or does it tend to be more of a hobby with little money making ability? I don't mind either way, but it's just nice to know. Also, can someone fill me in on the specifics? i.e. if I were to go down the part time route would it be preferable to remain an employee or is it still possible to go it alone after building up the necessary experience?

 

[Strangelybrown]

The country is screaming out for people to do care type jobs, including psychology but it doesn't want to pay that much, not that you should be entering a career in healthcare purely for money mind. Top clinical psychologists will earn about 45-50K outside of the NHS but it will take several years to get there. In some ways, earning 30K plus with a house milking cows will probably end up being better off.

I must say I do agree with you there, Ollie. It is immensely competitive to gain entry to the Clinical Psychology Doctorate, with many talented psychology graduates never achieving a place, so spending years trying to gain relevant work experience with no guarantee of a career at the end is quite a daunting prospect.

 

[Strangelybrown]

I think most folk will say they regret the things they didn't try rather than the things they did.

You mention you are in your mud twenties but also have a family? Did you do something before your degree?

Don't take this the wrong way, but my farm is not tiny, but I'd struggle to say it was in any way a full time job and I'm looking for work off-farm. Stock farms work every day of the year - have you considered if working on s farm in a part-time role might be a good start? Weekend milking, or just doing a "normal" job four days a week and then working on a farm even as work experience one day a week? If you're married, you could consider farming almost as a hobby which in many ways is what mine is.

I did a few odd jobs before my degree, but never had a career as such.

 

[Stewie]

Just try it for a year. If you are smart it is enough to understand if you actually like and to get a feeling of the way people think/how to make it a career. If it doesn't work you will have lost nothing and you won't have to live with the "what if...".

 

[Optimus]

Get your self on a shearing course.you'll learn a lot about handling sheep on one.

 

[Hampton]

Apologies for not replying to anyone directly, I'm still getting to grips with the forum. The general consensus seems to be that experience trumps qualifications, so thats definitely given me some food for thought regarding what approach to take. In response to Egbert, I have no start up capital (the joys of being a skint student) so I will seek opportunities on nearby farms, visiting them in person if possible

I'm fine with earning minimum wage for a while, as money and possessions have never been motivating factors in my life. However, I don't want my family to be struggling to get by for the next couple of decades, so is there a very approximate timescale for how long it takes to move up the ladder, e.g. taking on a tenancy, assistant farm manager etc (I'm not in a mad scramble to get to the top, i just want to provide a decent lifestyle for the children).

From following various 'celeb' shepherds such as Amanda Owen and James Rebanks, i have fallen in love with the idea of sheep farming. Is that realistic in the Staffordshire/Shropshire area?

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, and I get shot down almost every time I do, but here goes anyway.
Degrees and academia are not the be all and end all, but they are the quickest way to get on the ladder.
If you would like to do farm management, you would be wise to look at velcourt and see what qualifications they require. I can guarantee you that the RAU course (or other courses at many different unis) will be a necessity to get an interview.
Have a word with the post grad department at Harper, they will give you good advice. I found that the level of careers support at Harper was second to none. I don’t remember receiving any from my first uni (Reading) save a guy from Deloitte telling us that 60% of Reading Ag grads become accountants.

 

[Strangelybrown]

This isn’t the first time I’ve said this, and I get shot down almost every time I do, but here goes anyway.
Degrees and academia are not the be all and end all, but they are the quickest way to get on the ladder.
If you would like to do farm management, you would be wise to look at velcourt and see what qualifications they require. I can guarantee you that the RAU course (or other courses at many different unis) will be a necessity to get an interview.
Have a word with the post grad department at Harper, they will give you good advice. I found that the level of careers support at Harper was second to none. I don’t remember receiving any from my first uni (Reading) save a guy from Deloitte telling us that 60% of Reading Ag grads become accountants.

Can you advise on what other post graduate farm management courses are out there for a graduate from a non agricultural background? As the only one I can find is at RAU and the rest tend to be for undergraduates

 

[Suffolk Serf]

I've always got on best recruiting people with absolutely no pig or farming experience. I always hire on attitude rather than experience.
I know a very good woman farmer who has a psychology degree.

 

[DrWazzock]

I did a few odd jobs before my degree, but never had a career as such.

I’m 51 and can still say the same.

 

[ajd132]

If you are switched on, talented and driven you will do well whatever you try. Dig about and try and find an open minded farmer who will give you a shot. Personality is more important than experience and qualifications, they can be taught.

 

[chaffcutter]

A very skilled and respected family of established farmers have just taken over the Rodbaston Farm from the college managers, must be near to you, They will be sure to be running some practical courses in sheep management and you could do a lot worse than gett in touch there, might help you a lot.

 

[Cows 'n grass]

Speak to Rupert. He'd be one of the top operators in the country and a know he does a lot of on going training with his employees.