Career/Internship Opportunities – Dairy and Food Science

Dairy and Food Science Majors

The dairy and food science major offers numerous exciting job opportunities and maintains 100% placement rate.

Job Outlook

Current starting salaries range in the region of $55,000 to $75,000 per year for students with a B.S. degree and slightly higher for M.S. and Ph.D. degrees.

Internships and Interviews

The Department of Dairy and Food Science assists students with summer internship placement, as well as for permanent job opportunities. The department maintains active contacts with the dairy and food industry and invites companies to the department to conduct on-site interviews with students. Each year, 12-18 interview sessions are conducted for dairy science and food science students by companies that visit the department. In addition, the department also provides student resumes to industry for placement.

Recent Student Internships
Caitlin Swanson: Production
  • Internship Company and Location – Saputo Cheese USA; Waupun, Wisconsin
  • Internship Job Title – Production Intern
  • Major(s) and Minor(s) – Dairy manufacturing with minors in food science, biology and agricultural business
  • How did you find your internship? I learned of this internship through my cousin Joey Otta who has interned with Saputo and is now fulltime with Saputo. I talked to the Saputo booth at the Career Fair and was inspired by their energy, opportunity and company values.
  • What are your job duties? Throughout this internship I have been working on many different projects and studies. Most of my projects go toward improving process efficiency. Some of my projects include an agitation study on receiving direct shipment milk trucks where I was able to supply data that supported cutting down the required agitation times on these trucks. I also have been working on studying the water flushes of our Grade A cream and milk lines confirming that there is no water cross-contamination. I am working on two condensate studies regarding the Almix batches and dry-cookers used for the manufacturing of mozzarella cheese. The Almix condensate study will determine if what we are currently using in our make-sheets is accurate or if it needs to be adjusted. The dry-cookers condensate study will determine if any cookers are showing consistently more or less condensate, potential steam-injector change out, and temperature probe follow-up. I also got to partake in the weekly pizza bakes to observe our cheese functionality on pizza. Which means tasting lots of melty pizza cheese!
  • How does this internship prepare you for your future career path? Getting the exposure to working in a cheese manufacturing facility has helped link everything I have learned in the classroom to real life situations. Here I am seeing different situations unfold and learning how to successfully manage through them. I enjoy talking and learning from operators and I find it so important to be able to communicate well with fellow employees to maintain a trustworthy relationship. Being able to communicate properly and professionally with everyone in the workplace has helped me to become more confident in my self and communication skills.
  • What advice do you have for new students in your major? Be confident in yourself yet be able to admit your ignorance. By this I mean be yourself and be proud of who you are but be able to admit when you're wrong and make mistakes. You are here to learn so do not feel ashamed to ask questions. Take the time to get to know classmates and professors and do not be afraid to have conversations about school or life with them. Enjoy your time at SDSU and in the Department of Dairy and Food Science, it goes by fast!
Sadie Streff: Research and Development Technical Services
  • Internship Company and Location – Saputo Cheese USA, Inc.; Waupun, Wisconsin
  • Internship Job Title – Research and Development Technical Services Intern
  • Major(s) and Minor(s) – Food science and biochemistry dual major
  • How did you find your internship? I found my internship through an upperclassman. They advertised and sold me on the internship for the summer. Saputo was also helpful in my flexibility of what I wanted to get out an internship.
  • What are your job duties? I have various job duties. I maintain track of daily cheese analytics. I work on various projects to help the better understand of the cheese process within the plant, I also travel to other plants to assist on company projects, and I participate in pizza bakes to ensure the final product is what the costumer is looking for.
  • How does this internship prepare you for your future career path? This internship not only provided me excellent networking opportunities in the leaders of the dairy processing industry, but also taught me hands-on of the dairy industry and of the opportunities to advance the dairy industry. As a technical services intern, I assisted in finding the answers to the problems of cheesemaking.
  • What advice do you have for new students in your major? Invest in an internship that you will learn a lot. Knowledge and experience are what is going to set you apart from others.
Josie Sutherland: Ruminant Sales Field
  • Internship Company and Location – Phibro Animal Health Corporation; Remote with Territory of Nebraska, Western Iowa, Western Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota
  • Internship Job Title – Ruminant Sales Field Intern
  • Major(s) and Minor(s) – Dairy production major with agriculture business and marketing minors
  • How did you find your internship? I found this internship through connections at some of the networking events that I have been to in college, like Central Plains Dairy Expo and World Dairy Expo.
  • What are your job duties? Throughout my internship, I had various job duties that were focused on preparing me for the workforce in a ruminant nutrition career. I had many meetings with nutritionists and producers that I worked closely with. I learned how to properly pH cows and draw blood on close-up cows, fresh cows and calves for my research project. My projects entailed testing phosphorus levels in lactating cow blood from herds on both Animate and X-Zelit feed supplements and tracking blood calcidiol levels on close-up and fresh cows. I also collected feed samples and assisted in pink eye swabbing.
  • How does this internship prepare you for your future career path? I would like to pursue a future career in ruminant nutrition sales. This internship prepared me by giving me hands on opportunities to learn important skills and be immersed in the day-to-day life of a salesman. I also gained many new connections that will help me to further my career through graduate school and into the workforce.
  • What advice do you have for new students in your major? My biggest piece of advice would be finding a good mentor. Having someone that has been in the field you are interested in goes a long way. They allow you to be pushed to grow and follow new opportunities no matter how out of reach they seem.
Jessemy Sharp: Industrial Performance
  • Internship Company and Location – Bel Brands, Brookings, South Dakota
  • Internship Job Title – Industrial Performance Intern
  • Major(s) and Minor(s) – Dairy manufacturing and food science majors
  • How did you find your internship? I found contacts through the department recruiter, Cheyenne Edmundson.
  • What are your job duties? Some of my job duties included website and data updating, painting corridors, trial leading and training, extra help when needed, and more.
  • How does this internship prepare you for your future career path? This internship helps me gain exposure to the industry and all the different areas I could pursue.
  • What advice do you have for new students in your major? My biggest piece of advice would be to not be afraid to ask questions about everything. Everyone has started out in your shoes, and they understand that it is scary at first.
Industry Contacts

Companies who have interviewed and hired our students:

  • Agropur
  • AMPI
  • Bel
  • Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores
  • Cargil
  • Dairy Farmers of America
  • Darigold
  • Daisy
  • Davisco Foods
  • Ecolab
  • Glanbia Nutritionals
  • Hilmar Cheese Company
  • Kemps
  • Kraft
  • Leprino Foods
  • Midwest Dairy
  • Blue Bunny
  • Stensland Family Farms
  • Prairie Frams
  • Grain Millers
  • Schreiber
  • International Flavors and Fragrances
  • Trans Genetics
  • DHIA Services
  • Accelerated Genetics
  • DeLaval
  • Diamond V
  • Poet
  • Nestle
  • OLM Food Solutions
  • Empirical
  • Hormel Foods
  • Sunny Fresh
  • Hood
  • Milk Specialties Global
  • Saputo
  • Tetra Pak
  • Valley Queen
  • Zoetis
Careers of our Alumni
Contact Us
Photo of Department of Dairy and Food Science
Department of Dairy and Food Science
Physical Address
1224 Medary Ave.
Brookings, SD 57007
Mailing Address
Alfred Dairy Science Hall 136, Box 2104
Brookings, SD 57007
Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
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