Careers

Did you know?

Limestone, a rock composed of mainly calcium carbonate, is an ingredient in toothpaste.
NSW fish and aquaculture products are worth around $150 million annually.
Iron ores, found in naturally occurring minerals, are mined and refined to make the steel and iron in cars.
The soft hair of sheep or wool is woven to make the warm soft jumpers we love to wear.
Around one in four houses built in Australia uses pine grown in NSW softwood plantations.

It's hard to believe that we clean our teeth with rocks; use minerals for transport; wear animal hair, and live in houses made from trees, but most of what we rely on each day such as food, clothing, housing and transport comes from natural resources harvested or extracted by primary industries.

Primary industries touch our lives in so many ways each day. In fact the agriculture, mining, fishing and forestry industries provide approximately 30% to 40% of the employment in NSW areas and are key financial drivers of regional economies, generating 40% to 50% of economic activity in this state.

Working with plants, animals, the environment and people to grow, harvest, sustain and manage our natural resources is the job of the people who work in primary industries.

Use this page to discover some of the many professional and rewarding careers in primary industries.

For primary students

What do you do? Geologist ( PDF, 1.9 MB)
What do you do? Forest Ecologist
What do you do? Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Officer
What do you do? GIS operator ( PDF, 313 kB)
Working as a Forester

For secondary students

Choose an industry sector that interests you to begin exploring primary industry careers.

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
How about working to grow, harvest, process, manage or protect natural resources by being an Agricultural Engineer, Beekeeper, Farmer, Farm Manager, Farm Hand, Winemaker, Botanist, Nurseryperson, Forester, Ranger, Wood Machinist, Fisheries Officer, Aquaculture Farmer or Master Fisher. Find more careers and information here.
Tocal College
Tocal College, comprising CB Alexander Campus near Maitland and the Murrumbidgee Rural Studies Centre at Yanco, offers a range of courses for school leavers to work on and manage farms and is a national leader in distance education for landholders. Tocal College is part of Industry & Investment NSW.
Mining

A geologist field mapping a quartz vein.

Do you have an interest in ancient landscapes or finding mineral resources? Check out these careers: Geologist, Mining Engineer, Geophysicist, Metallurgist, Miner, Geoscience Technician, Mineral Exploration (Drilling), and Seismic Drilling. Find more careers and information here.
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
Like finding solutions or coming up with new ideas? Test these careers: Cartographer, Archaeologist, Chemist, Cultural Heritage Officer, Laboratory Worker, Marine Biologist, research Officer, Technical Writer, Geophysicist. Find more careers and information here.

Working in primary industries - career profiles

Videos

See a variety of videos on courses, training, and profiles of people and their jobs.

Work experience

Agriculture (www.nswfarmers.org.au/students)
Available to financial student members.
Primary industry scholarship camps and industry placements
Careers camps, lab and site visits or industry placements which enable students to investigate science in the primary industries sector including gene technology, precision agriculture, climate, environment, wine, aquaculture, genetics and horticulture - the list goes on.

Publications

Careers in Forest Management
Tocal College (CB Alexander campus) course prospectus
Bullseye booklet - school subjects you like and jobs they can lead to. Published by the Australian Government.
Interactive Bullseye booklet - school subjects you like and jobs they can lead to, with hyperlinks to corresponding occupation profiles.

Presentation library

SlideShare - browse through our growing library of presentations, including stories from trainees.