Job Prospects for Dairy Technologists and Dairy Engineers

Dairy Science, a highly specialized field of agricultural science, deals with a variety of processes such as the production and manufacturing, processing and preservation, quality maintenance and quality control, storage and packaging, marketing and distribution, and consumption of milk and milk products. The variety of dairy products is enormous which includes products such as fresh milk, processed milk, flavoured milk, ice cream, yoghurt, ghee, butter, milk cream, milk biscuits, cheese etc.

There are mainly two branches of dairy science, Dairy Technology and Dairy Engineering. Dairy technology deals with the technological aspects of the dairy industry such as technology involved in higher production rate, quality control technology, preservation technology etc while dairy engineering deals with the engineering aspects of the dairy manufacturing plants.

Many leading agricultural universities, veterinary and dairy colleges and some management institutes offer diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level courses in dairy science, dairy technology, dairy engineering and dairy management. Courses available are Diploma in Dairy Technology; B.Sc. in Dairy Science; B.Sc in Dairy Technology; B.Tech in Dairy Technology; B. Tech in Dairy Engineering; M.Sc. in Dairy Science; M.Tech in Dairy Technology, M.Tech in Food and Dairy Engineering and MBA in Dairy Management.

Diploma in Dairy Technology is a two year course and candidates are admitted after a plus two level education in science stream. Duration of bachelor courses varies from three to four years while master level courses will take one to two year to complete.

After the successful completion of the relevant course, career aspirants can join the dairy industry in various positions. Most common career profiles are as dairy scientists, dairy technologists, dairy managers and dairy engineers. Careers are also available as quality control specialists, marketing and distribution managers of dairy products, dairy consultants, dairy chemists etc.

Various organizations that recruit dairy science professionals are milk federations, milk cooperative societies, dairy production units, dairy manufacturing and processing plants, ice cream plants, rural banks, dairy machinery plants, technical consultancy firms, research organizations, and various academic institutions.