Penn State maintains flocks of chickens for instruction and research. Careers in the poultry industry are many and varied. Although the backbone of the industry is still the production of meat and eggs, the industry today is highly economically integrated and ranges from the development of genetic stocks to processing, packaging and marketing a variety of products at both the institutional and retail level. A number of the large poultry companies have over one billion dollars in sales annually and offer employment to college graduates in a number of sales and service positions. Sales can range from the technical sales of a large number of products used by the poultry industry to the sales and marketing of the meat and egg products produced by the industry.
Employees possessing the skills to manage both birds and people are in high demand.
The number of students who continue their studies in graduate school before seeking a full-time job varies between 10 and 50 percent of the class. Employers seek graduates with basic knowledge of the biology of birds, nutritional understanding, basic knowledge of diseases of poultry, verbal and written communication skills, knowledge of the use of computers, computational skills, and the ability to relate to people. Flock and processing plant supervisors in integrated poultry companies will be the primary area of employment. Positions will also be available with feed mills and hatcheries. All facets of the poultry industry will expand in the next five years, especially in the area of chicken and turkey products.