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

What are your career options after graduating? How can you already begin to orient yourself towards specific career paths and different roles during your study? And what does the current labour 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. Research

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 institution connection to a university, but also a position as a researcher at a R&D department at a company. A job at a knowledge company such as TNO is also possible.

As a PhD candidate you would work on a research topic for a term of four years and thereafter your promotion. You have to write around four scientific articles and bundle this as one big research result. You can also have the side tasks to guide other employees (laboratory assistants), or to lecture.

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 pass on information in a good way to these different target groups. In addition, you must be able to translate your substantive knowledge 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 organisation. You often get look at a wide variety of companies within the organisation. They are also demanding professions. Your customers expect a lot from you; namely that you solve their problems. It is not a matter of knowing that you know, but that you can quickly gather the right information, translate this information into the concrete practical problem of the client 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 development and implementation of policy, local, for an organisation or international. 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 organisation. You write policies, attend meetings, achieve consensus on certain policy issues and absolutely know how a Business works. After all, the policy officer has the knowledge to know how a certain proposal can go.

Example function titles

• Policy officer
• Policy advisor
• Programme manager

5. Technical Specialist

In professions that fit within the role 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 specialised 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 specialised in your area. This role seems a bit similar to a Research role, research is more fundamental and technical specialist is more applicable.

Example function titles

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

6. Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur can become an entrepreneur by combining all the roles in a business of their own. 

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 programme 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 Programme ‘Design for AgriFood and Ecological Systems' might be a good step in your career. The goal of the EngD programme 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 of applying them in innovative designs and prototypes by employing 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). With a completed designer degree, you have an "Engineering Doctorate" (EngD).

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 Realising 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.
• Master track Entrepreneurship (WUR): a programme embedded into your MSc programme focusing on innovative, sustainable entrepreneurship within the Wageningen domains.
• Starthub Wageningen: startup incubator and educator for students, PhD's 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): minor programma waarin je ervaring in het onderwijs opdoet en waarmee je een (beperkte) lesbevoegdheid kunt behalen.
• Het Onderwijsloket (only in Dutch): informatiepunt voor werken in het onderwijs.
• Werken in het onderwijs (only in Dutch): informatiepunt voor werken in het onderwijs.

Labour 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 labour market in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands (in Dutch). 

Worldwide information: Career guides & labour 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 management differences you come across in that country. 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 provide you a different insight to jobs overseas and moving and working abroad. You can find the Career Guides in the WUR library at the section of the Study Collection, Section 218.

MSc salary indication (2024)