3 answers
Carmela
Student
San Carlos City, Ilocos Region, Philippines
1
Question
Asked
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Tell me about Food Technology
Hi, I am incoming first year food technology student. Can you tell me what's all about it. Is there any hard math computations? What are the job opportunities in this program?
I want to study this program but I really hate math, I get too hard understanding problem-solving , solutions and any other like x,f(x) like that.
I want some recommendations on how will I survive it, thank you in advance!
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3 answers
JOY WELLS
Food Scientist
4
Answers
Little Ferry, New Jersey
Updated
JOY’s Answer
Hi Carmela!
I’m happy to share that I’m a Food Science graduate from UPLB. There will be basic Math subjects just like any Bachelor of Science courses. I’m sure there will be tutorials in your school that can help. Buddy up with a math wiz classmate! There will be more chemistry subjects. The fun part from junior to senior years is you’ll be making ham and wine, those are what I can remember. After graduation you can work with food companies. You can either do new product development where you will learn about functions of ingredients, put them in a recipe or formulas, food processing and packaging. You can also work on the food quality and food safety side. I have been working with food companies for over 30 years now, among them are San Miguel Corp and Mondelez Int’l. Hope this helps and inspire you 😊
I’m happy to share that I’m a Food Science graduate from UPLB. There will be basic Math subjects just like any Bachelor of Science courses. I’m sure there will be tutorials in your school that can help. Buddy up with a math wiz classmate! There will be more chemistry subjects. The fun part from junior to senior years is you’ll be making ham and wine, those are what I can remember. After graduation you can work with food companies. You can either do new product development where you will learn about functions of ingredients, put them in a recipe or formulas, food processing and packaging. You can also work on the food quality and food safety side. I have been working with food companies for over 30 years now, among them are San Miguel Corp and Mondelez Int’l. Hope this helps and inspire you 😊
You rock! This advice is very helpful.
Carmela
Claire Zander
Food Scientist
3
Answers
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Updated
Claire’s Answer
Hi Carmela,
I am also a food scientist from the US. Because I had to work full-time to pay for my studies and attended a transfer school to save money, it was a gap of 4 years between math classes for me. Even though I had taken Calculus with good grades, I was struggling to remember basic math order of operations when I had math classes later in my academic career. To complete my degree I needed physics, food engineering, and many other classes required math to understand glass transition, shelf life modeling, flow rates, and concentration conversions, etc.
While I struggled (mostly with physics- it took three tries to get through with an average grade), I did finish with overall good marks. Most of what you will need to understand will be algebra, not calculus functions. I also found the math in applied courses much easier because the situations/ context of the problems was easier to understand.
I had a job lined up before I was out of school and I have been working in the industry for a little over 6 years now. In my first job out of college I handled safety and quality metrics and certifications. It required very little in the way of math skill- mostly organization and time management. In my second job, I was R&D at a production facility. That job required lots of real life application of my math skills, usually for situations where an ingredient didn't deliver to us in time but we had a critical customer order to fill. So calculations were required to understand how large a batch we could make with what was on hand, where we could produce that batch size, and rewriting the formula (including the new amounts for all the ingredients) for the new production area with new size and batch restraints in a very short period of time. In the event that someone was not up to that challenge alone, there was always plenty of help available from seasoned employees. Being able to do the math myself made me a better employee, was great for my confidence, and greatly helped me to excel- it also helped our plant meet customer expectations in tough situations. In my current role I am at an ingredient manufacturer in the applications lab. The most important skills in this role are understanding of the scientific process and being able to pick up on and objectively describe taste and texture differences. Math is still very necessary for formulation and reporting, but it's more data management and graphing with less time crunch.
Overall, there is a wide range of opportunity in the food industry. Chemistry and math are key to excellence and career mobility, but no matter your skill level in these subjects you can absolutely find a niche for yourself with whatever skill set you happen to have or cultivate. Do your best and you will find your way
I am also a food scientist from the US. Because I had to work full-time to pay for my studies and attended a transfer school to save money, it was a gap of 4 years between math classes for me. Even though I had taken Calculus with good grades, I was struggling to remember basic math order of operations when I had math classes later in my academic career. To complete my degree I needed physics, food engineering, and many other classes required math to understand glass transition, shelf life modeling, flow rates, and concentration conversions, etc.
While I struggled (mostly with physics- it took three tries to get through with an average grade), I did finish with overall good marks. Most of what you will need to understand will be algebra, not calculus functions. I also found the math in applied courses much easier because the situations/ context of the problems was easier to understand.
I had a job lined up before I was out of school and I have been working in the industry for a little over 6 years now. In my first job out of college I handled safety and quality metrics and certifications. It required very little in the way of math skill- mostly organization and time management. In my second job, I was R&D at a production facility. That job required lots of real life application of my math skills, usually for situations where an ingredient didn't deliver to us in time but we had a critical customer order to fill. So calculations were required to understand how large a batch we could make with what was on hand, where we could produce that batch size, and rewriting the formula (including the new amounts for all the ingredients) for the new production area with new size and batch restraints in a very short period of time. In the event that someone was not up to that challenge alone, there was always plenty of help available from seasoned employees. Being able to do the math myself made me a better employee, was great for my confidence, and greatly helped me to excel- it also helped our plant meet customer expectations in tough situations. In my current role I am at an ingredient manufacturer in the applications lab. The most important skills in this role are understanding of the scientific process and being able to pick up on and objectively describe taste and texture differences. Math is still very necessary for formulation and reporting, but it's more data management and graphing with less time crunch.
Overall, there is a wide range of opportunity in the food industry. Chemistry and math are key to excellence and career mobility, but no matter your skill level in these subjects you can absolutely find a niche for yourself with whatever skill set you happen to have or cultivate. Do your best and you will find your way
Emily Anderson
Bakery Lab Technician
2
Answers
St. Louis, MO
Updated
Emily’s Answer
Hi Carmela!
I'm a bakery lab technician here in the US. My job is very similar to that of a food technologist, I just specialize in products made with flour.
For my degree, the highest math class I took was Calculus 2. I also had to engineering physics classes, but these classes depended on your specialty. As a generality, I think most food scientists have to take a lot of chemistry. My specialty required organic chemistry and physical chemistry. Out of all these classes, physics, organic chemistry 2, and physical chemistry were my most difficult classes. Typically these classes are spread out throughout your time in college, so you can balance harder classes with easier ones.
As far as jobs, there are plenty here in the States. Everyone in my graduating class had a job or grad-school position after graduation! It really comes down to your preference on if you want to work in a lab or a production facility to determine what jobs are available.
I'm a bakery lab technician here in the US. My job is very similar to that of a food technologist, I just specialize in products made with flour.
For my degree, the highest math class I took was Calculus 2. I also had to engineering physics classes, but these classes depended on your specialty. As a generality, I think most food scientists have to take a lot of chemistry. My specialty required organic chemistry and physical chemistry. Out of all these classes, physics, organic chemistry 2, and physical chemistry were my most difficult classes. Typically these classes are spread out throughout your time in college, so you can balance harder classes with easier ones.
As far as jobs, there are plenty here in the States. Everyone in my graduating class had a job or grad-school position after graduation! It really comes down to your preference on if you want to work in a lab or a production facility to determine what jobs are available.