---

Animal Nutrition

Types of Degrees Animal Nutrition Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Animal Nutrition can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Doctor’s Degree	5

What Animal Nutrition Majors Need to Know

Studies in Animal Nutrition develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Animal Nutrition graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Animal Nutrition emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Biology — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Food Production — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a Animal Nutrition program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Judgment and Decision Making — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Animal Nutrition careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Animal Nutrition graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.3 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.3 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Scheduling Work and Activities	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Animal Nutrition professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
ESRI ArcGIS software	Geographic information system	—
Geographic information system GIS software	Geographic information system	—
Kahoot!	Multi-media educational software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	—
ServiceNow	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Animal Nutrition graduates include:

• Adjunct Instructor
• Farm Consultant
• Extension Worker
• Agricultural Extension Educator
• Technology Education Teacher (Tech Ed Teacher)
• Home Advisor
• Future Farmers of America Advisor (FFA Advisor)
• Agriculture Extension Specialist
• Extension Service Advisor
• Resource Management Specialist
• Home Economics Extension Worker
• Farm Management Specialist
• Feed Advisor
• Agricultural Agent
• Cooperative Extension Agent

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Animal Nutrition graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Master’s degree	57.2%
Doctoral degree	15.5%
Bachelor’s degree	12.2%
Post-doctoral training	5.8%
Postsecondary certificate	3.0%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.8%
Less than a high school diploma	2.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.5%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Animal Nutrition?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 60% women and 40% men among Animal Nutrition graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3	60.0%
Men	2	40.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Animal Nutrition graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	3	60.0%
Hispanic or Latino	2	40.0%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Animal Nutrition Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Animal Nutrition graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$34,873
4 years	$43,315
5 years	$54,045

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $54,045 — roughly 55% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Animal Nutrition Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Animal Nutrition graduates earn a median of $43,315 four years after completion — roughly 14% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Animal Sciences	01.09
Agricultural Animal Breeding	01.0902
Animal Health	01.0903
Animal Sciences, General	01.0901
Animal Sciences, Other	01.0999
Dairy Science	01.0905
Livestock Management	01.0906
Poultry Science	01.0907
Range Science and Management	01.1106
Agronomy and Crop Science	01.1102
Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production	01.0302
Apiculture	01.0310

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.