Kallie Smith
Commodity Meats Grader, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Garden City, Kansas
On the job: 11 months

Career satisfaction:
I enjoy the independence and being able, to a certain extent, to be my own boss. We have supervisors, but as long as we abide by agency standards, our quality and yield grade calls are usually final.

Advice to other women:
The Animal Science field is very broad, with many opportunities for women in every aspect from production to management.

Career inspiration:
I participated in meat judging throughout high school and college. Working for the USDA as a commodity meats grader was right up my alley and my judging experience helped in the transition.
Member: 2005 Garden City Community College Reserve National Champion Meats Team
Selected: Second Team All-American Meat Team Judging Team, 2005

Rewards:
My starting salary wasn’t quite what I expected, but within my first year I’m eligible for an eight percent raise and I’m in a position to have 100 percent of my student loans paid by the federal government. There are also many more opportunities for additional pay increases in meat grading.

Challenges in role:
I really don’t see any gender barriers in meat grading. The government has a zero tolerance policy for it. Generally, we all see each other as equals and want to provide our service to the public in the most professional manner possible.

Working with men:
I don’t feel I’ve had any challenges from being in a male dominated learning environment. In fact, some were excited to see a female interested in their field.

Experience and education:
I completed my associate in animal science in 2006 at Garden City Community College and my bachelor of science in the same field at Texas Tech University in 2008. I studied mostly animal science or animal production courses, plus specific coursework in meat science and muscle biology. I also received hands-on training though collegiate meat judging and that helped strengthen my writing, communication, time management and problem solving skills -- all useful for employment and life.

Key skills:
In this field, you need a solid work ethic and communication skills. If you’re not afraid to be a hard worker, animal science offers great opportunities in many different areas.

Gender barriers:
I’ve really experienced no barriers.

Most valuable lesson:
There are no boundaries. Animal science is an extremely large field and there is something out there for everyone.

Other thoughts:
Since animal and food science are such broad fields, there are also careers open that aren’t directly involved with cutting meat or cleaning pens at a feedlot. There are careers that involve policymaking, scientific analysis and even the legal aspects of the industry.