Insulating sprinkles...hmmm. (Source)

The Real Poop indeed—the world eats about sixteen-and-a-half billion pounds of food a day (source). Factoring in the issues of standards, sustainability, transportation, and food waste, which amounts to nearly half as much as we eat, it's a lot to manage for the 12,000 food scientists employed in the U.S. today (source). 

With all that hullabaloo, we could use all the innovation and administration we can get. Rest assured, it's a noble profession, even if you are just coming up with new ways to keep fudgesicles from melting.

In short, there are plenty of reasons to be interested in the field of food science besides happening to walk into a career fair while hungry. If any of the multitude of jobs relating to food science interests you, from research to regulation, and you've got the capacity to pick up the science and problem-solving chops a food scientist needs, this job might be for you.

If so, you're probably wondering about the money. We don't blame you—it helps with getting a lot of things done. The average food scientist earns about $58,000 per year, with the top ten percent earning a solid six figures and those working in Management and Private Research out-earning those in Manufacturing and Academia (source). 

 

You love me too, right money? (Source)

Wherever you begin, be it in the lab, the administrative office, or the factory, if you put your time in, you're likely to advance to a higher rank where you're managing others and bringing in more of that sweet cash-ola, if you're so inclined, of course. We wouldn't want you to bite off more than you can chew.

The daily life of a food scientist ranges anywhere from experimenting with new potato chip flavors in the lab to working with international regulatory agencies to ensure safety, getting food products where they need to go, or overseeing daily operations at a food processing plant. There are even food scientists who work for NASA to make advances in preservation and zero-G-functional packaging (source).

To succeed as a food scientist, you first have to study, study, study, and then specialize, specialize, specialize until you are the foremost expert in your narrow field. You need to do that while also retaining enough knowledge to work with other professionals in all sorts of fields that may relate to your work—this takes creativity, people skills, organization, and research skills.

People from all backgrounds, from chemistry and agricultural engineering to medicine and microbiology, work in this field. It's important to learn to get along. There are tons of programs specifically designed for food science and technology, so no matter what you decide to major in, you can probably still make a career as a food scientist (okay maybe not theater kids). 

With all that's going on in the food industry today, it's a pretty big field with plenty of room for growth. If you're a science-y type with business sense and an organized sort of mind, look no further. The grass-fed beef is greener on the food science side. (Hang on, is that a good thing or not?) 

In any case, you'll keep the grass green and the cows...not green. Unless your employer is a fast food restaurant pulling some sort of St. Patty's day gimmick. In that case, green away.

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