My Dream Career

My Career Essay
By Charlie Gilbert

My chosen career is a farm manager. This is because I love farming and feel that is what I would like to do when I leave school.

A farm manager's job is to produce milk/wool/meat and grain products from livestock and your machinery. You care for your livestock and raise good crops that are put into foods. You plan your day to day jobs and you must be punctual. Farming offers freedom of your own little country to do what you want on it.                        
To work on a farm you need a basic knowledge of animals, machinery and agriculture.  Having your driving licence is essential, driving trucks/trailers/motorbikes and tractors is important to run a farm and help with day to day jobs.
After finishing school, you can study agriculture at Lincoln University near Christchurch.  Your course covers things like looking after animals, studying weather patterns, crops, machinery, agricultural spraying and drilling, fencing and other practical aspects of farm work.
Getting on the job experience is important and you can work in a variety of different farm operations, dairying, sheep, crop, forestry, pig and chicken farms etc.
A good basic maths knowledge is important for measuring and working out spraying amounts and drilling quantities.  You need to keep good records of what is happening in your business and work well with others like contractors who come in to do special jobs for you on the farm. You need to be physically fit and strong and be calm when things go wrong. Having common sense is really great when you are working with animals that don't always do what you want them to do.
I enjoy working outdoors, am physically fit and like the freedom to choose what we are doing each day. I am safety conscious around the farm and driving my motorbike.  I am prepared to work in all conditions.  This year I have been helping Dad with lambing, it has been very cold and tough on the animals but it's great to see them doing well and being happy.