Career Afternoon at Accokeek Foundation

Question #1

Please describe your job and how it is linked to agriculture or the environment

Question #2

Is your current career what you imagined for yourself in high school? If yes, please describe what you had to do to become qualified for your position. If no, please describe the process that brought you to your current job.

Question #3

Can you describe set-backs that you have experienced along your career trajectory. How were these set-backs resolved?

Question #4

To earn a lucrative wage and necessary benefits (like healthcare) doing farming or other environmentally related  jobs, is it necessary to go to college? What are the pros and cons?

Question #5

Follow-up: What other skills, in addition to educational degrees, are necessary to secure well-paying positions? Do I need on-going educational certificates?

Question #6

This is 2017 and it is widely acknowledged that agriculture has changed significantly. What does it mean to work in agriculture today? Do you just have to be a farmer? And more broadly, how should we now think about environmental work?

Question #7

If I don't like working outside does this mean that I am not the best candidate for environmental or agricultural work? And vice versa, If I hate being inside is farming the only thing available?

Question #8

Are small independent farmers a thing of the past?

Question #9

What are up and coming career trends that you are noticing?

Question #10

 Are you happy in your work? What are the elements necessary to transform a decent paying job into work that is personally pleasingly and rewarding?

Question #11

In what way does Maryland offer exciting opportunities for future farmers and environmentalists. Are there other states providing comparable or better opportunities?

Question #12

What do you wish you knew when you were 17 about choosing a career and what advice would you give to a teenager today?