Career success through agricultural education is one of the foundations of the National FFA Organization’s mission. National FFA continues to ensure that its programs and resources align with agriculture and prepare members for future careers. AgExplorer, an interactive career exploration tool, is one way that FFA delivers.

AgExplorer was developed in 2016 by National FFA and has since experienced several renovations to refresh content, improve usability, and maintain relevance — including a major update in 2023. It stands out among other career exploration sites for being student-friendly, personalized and navigable.

An interactive “MyCareer Quiz” poses a series of in-depth questions related to work style, interests and skills, then generates a list of top matches in more than 300 agriculture-related careers. Users can save their results and continue to discover more whenever they choose.

Furthermore, AgExplorer exposes FFA members to real-world scenarios, employers and careers through Virtual Field Trips — on-demand videos that deliver a firsthand look into agriculture work ranging from agronomy researchers to retail distribution managers.

With AgExplorer, students can easily connect their FFA experiences to future careers through detailed suggestions of supervised agricultural experiences (SAEs) that can be applied to their fields of interest. SAEs, one of the three components of agricultural education, allow students to become proficient in a focus area through experiential service and work-based learning. AgExplorer enables students to turn ideation into practical application by exposing them to the plethora of opportunities in agriculture.

Teachers find AgExplorer to be a beneficial classroom tool for helping students find their place in agriculture. It can be challenging to relate how students’ interests and skills could lead to potential careers, but AgExplorer can be used at every step of their education.

Katie Cooper, an agriculture educator and FFA advisor at Salmon Junior/Senior High School in Idaho, describes AgExplorer as a “go-to” for her classes.

“I start using it with my middle school students and, because of its depth and breadth, I am able to continue to use it until my students are seniors,” Cooper said. “They start out with the very basic exploration tools and, eventually, are able to fully research careers, explore related SAEs and see the careers in action through the virtual field trips.”

As a resource for opening a world of opportunities to young people, AgExplorer is essential. Cooper explained that her students are typically unaware of the magnitude of agricultural careers available.

AgExplorer, she said, “allows them to quickly see how much is out there that they have previously not been exposed to.”

Cooper noted a recent example. An out-of-state transfer student was placed in her introduction to agriculture class despite having no interest in the subject. The student was initially resistant, opposed to anything agriculture-related, and insistent upon a future art career; but Cooper convinced her to try the MyCareer Quiz.

“Well, one of her results was graphic designer!” Cooper said.

This showed the student, Cooper said, that, “While she may think that she doesn’t relate to agriculture at all, there are opportunities available if she wishes to pursue them.”