Orientating yourself on career paths, roles, and the labour market

What are your career options after graduating? How can you start exploring different career paths and roles while you are still studying? And what does the current labor market look like? Here, you can read more about it. 

Which role fits me best?

In general, many graduates pursue one of the six roles listed below after completing their academic education at WUR. Here are some general characteristics to help you determine which role may suit you best.

1. Researcher

You focus on a career in the scientific world or as a researcher in business or for the government. You can think of a position as PhD candidate at a university or research institute affiliated with a university, but also a position as a researcher at a R&D department at a company. A job at an independent research organization such as TNO is also possible.

As a PhD candidate, you will work on a research project for four years and thereafter your promotion. You typically write four scientific articles, which together form your doctoral dissertation. You may also supervise laboratory assistants or teach courses.

As a researcher at a research institute or a company, your activities may consist of the project-based design, execution, analysis and reporting of scientific research. You can also be involved in acquiring new projects. You must continually develop yourself in order to stay up to date with the latest knowledge and new developments in your field.

Example function titles

• PhD candidate
• Research associate, research assistant
• Researcher
• Scientist
• R&D engineer, R&D manager

2. Education & Development

Professions that fit within the role of education and development focus on training, teaching or educating people in content areas that suit you. They focus on facilitating the development of people both nationally and internationally.

You are interested in helping to develop other people and / or companies, perhaps also in developing countries. It is very important that you can communicate and convey information clearly to these different target groups. In addition, you must be able to translate your subject-matter expertise into information / training material and you must constantly develop yourself to stay up-to-date with developments in your area.

Example function titles

• Lecturer
• Development officer
• Trainer
• Educator
• Coordinator
• L&D specialist, L&D coordinator, L&D advisor (Learning & Development)
• Consultant (not for profit, NGO)

3. Consultancy, Commercial

Professions that fit within the role of consultancy and commercial functions focus on putting professional knowledge into practice, generating turnover, building and maintaining contact with customers.

They are versatile professions, in which you encounter many people, at different levels of the organization. You often work with a wide variety of clients and organizations. They are also demanding professions. Your customers expect a lot from you; namely that you solve their problems. It is not about knowing everything, but about quickly finding the right information, translate this information into practical solutions for your client's challenges and convincingly convey it. You need to be stress-resistant, customer-oriented, creative and you need excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Example function titles

• Consultant
• Product manager
• Export manager
• Account manager
• Marketing manager
• Sales manager

4. Policy, Governance, Government

You focus on the developing and implementing policy at local, organizational, national or international level. Different scales of policy, flexibility, long-term impact, dealing with a lot of stakeholders, negotiation process, background research desk studies, adaptability to different topics.

As a policy officer, you have the task of advising your employer or organization. You write policies, attend meetings, achieve consensus on certain policy issues and have a thorough understanding of how organizations operate. After all, the policy officer has the knowledge to know how a certain proposal can go.

Example function titles

• Policy officer
• Policy advisor
• Program manager

5. Technical Specialist

In professions that fit within the role of specialist, (technical) specialist you focus on using very specific professional knowledge. As a specialist within (a certain area) of your profession, you apply your substantive knowledge to tackle and solve certain problems, or provide others with specialist information.

The professions you end up with are often specialized in a small area. You are very interested in and committed to (a part of) your field. You keep yourself well informed of all the latest developments. Often it is important that you can translate specialist knowledge into practical applications and that you can translate the knowledge you have into a message that is understandable for people who are not specialized in your area. This role is similar to a Research role, but research is generally more fundamental, whereas a technical specialist focuses on more practical applications.

Example function titles

• Specialist
• Technical sales manager (between commercial and technical specialist)
• Technical consultant
• Technical specialist
• Product manager

6. Entrepreneur

As an entrepreneur, you combine elements of all these roles while running your own business. 

Orientation on career paths

Doing a PhD

Interested in research? Do you want to stay in academia? Are you curiosity driven and want to contribute to academic knowledge that can be used to tackle world challenges? Are you keen to show that you can do this in an independent manner? If so, a PhD might be a good step in your career.

Where to find PhD positions

• Own funding
• PhD program at WUR
• Academic Transfer
• Research Gate
• PhDs Archives - Agristok
• Overview of all (regular) vacancy search links

Doing an EngD

Interested in technological designs? Then the Engineering Doctorate Program ‘Design for AgriFood and Ecological Systems' might be a good step in your career. The goal of the EngD program is to gain knowledge of scientific ideas and methods, which are then applied in design. The program is not focused on developing new, fundamental scientific insights (like the curiosity-driven research in a PhD), but on synthesizing new and existing scientific knowledge from different fields, with the goal to develop innovative designs and prototypes by using design methods.

PhD vs. EngD

The three most obvious differences between a PhD and EngD are:

• A PhD student focuses on research at a university, while an EngD student focuses on technological designs for industry and society.
• A PhD takes four years; an EngD takes two years
• After completing a PhD, you may use the title "Doctor" (Dr. or PhD). After completing an EngD program, you are awarded the "Engineering Doctorate" (EngD) degree.

Entrepreneurship

Interested in becoming an entrepreneur? WUR offers many opportunities to explore an entrepreneurial career path! 

• Entrepreneurial courses at WUR (more info via Osiris):
  • Entrepreneurial Skills (YMS31903)
  • Pursuing and Realizing Entrepreneurial projects (ELS67700)
  • Developing Entrepreneurial Agency: from ideas to impact (ELS66100)
  • Management Skills (ELS66300)
• BSc minor Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WUR): focuses on the value of knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship in life sciences, environmental sciences and agriculture.
• MSc track Entrepreneurship (WUR): a program embedded into your MSc program focusing on innovative, sustainable entrepreneurship within the Wageningen domains.
• Starthub Wageningen: start-up incubator and educator for students, PhD students and recent graduates of Wageningen University & Research.

Teaching

Interested in becoming a teacher? WUR offers many opportunities to explore a teaching career! 

• Minor Education (only taught in Dutch) (WUR): A minor program in which you gain practical teaching experience and can obtain a (limited) teaching qualification..
• Onderwijsloket: practical and independent information for internationals considering a career in Dutch education.
• Werken in het onderwijs (only in Dutch): information point for working in education.

Labor market information

National information: national career guide (NL)

• Nationaleberoepengids.nl: find information on career perspectives, career opportunities, training options, salary indications, etc. in the Netherlands (in Dutch).

Regional information: province of Gelderland (NL)

• Statistisch Zakboek Gelderland: find a short overview of the current labor market in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands (in Dutch). 

Worldwide information: Career guides & labor market

• At the WUR Library, you can borrow Career Guides per country. These guides tell you how to look for a job in a particular country and what cultural differences you may encounter in the workplace. Additionally, the career guides include information on how to compile CVs and application letters in different countries. Next to this, the career guides feature interviews with people who are working in that particular country, to give you insight into working abroad and pursuing an international career. You can find the Career Guides in the WUR library at the section of the Study Collection, Section 218.

MSc salary indication (2024)

Salary is one of the many factors that may influence your career choice. The figures below provide an indication of average starting salaries for graduates from different study  programs Keep in mind that actual salaries vary depending on factors such as the type of role, sector, employer, location and previous experience. 

While salary can be a useful point of reference, we encourage you, above all, to consider what motivates you, where your strengths lie and which career path best fits your interests and ambitions.