Investigating Students’ Career-Readiness in the Agricultural Sciences: A Phenomenological Case Study

The agricultural industry lacks qualified workers, suggesting students may not participate in opportunities that effectively develop their employability skills. We used a phenomenological case study approach to investigate Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students’ career-readiness factors influencing career-readiness. conducted interviews with 19 juniors seniors. Open coding procedures revealed five emergent themes—Career Advice-Seeking Behavior,Employability Skills Development, Network Establishment, Relevant Experiences, Personal Growth. Findings indicate do take advantage resources help them career preparation. also lack skills development, especially relating communication science Students identified high-impact experiences they believed improved recommend strategies for educators improve agriculture career- readiness offer research recommendations examine prepare meet 21st century workforce demands.