How to Become a Sericulturist: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Jobs, Scope, Salary

Some of the quick facts for Sericulturist are given below:

What Does a Sericulturist Do? 

• A person who deals with the rearing of silkworms and is an expert in techniques associated with the manufacturing of raw silk is called a Sericulturist. 
• A Sericulturist is involved in the cultivation and rearing of silkworms and extraction of raw silk fibres from them.
• They take care and pay attention to every minute detail from the larval stage to the cocoon stage of a silkworm.
• A sericulturist must have good stamina, and focus as the job role of a sericulturist involves a lot of manual labor.

Steps to Follow to Become a Sericulturist 

There are simple yet important steps to follow to become a Sericulturist:

Decision Making 

If students want to pursue Sericulture as a career then they should decide and take decisions after their SSC. If they have keen interest and required skills like good eyesight , attention to details, Physical, mental and Mechanical ability then they can go ahead with Sericulture as a career.

Subject Choices

Students need to choose science stream after SSC with the PCB group and they need to focus on biology and agricultural field. For graduation there are various courses in this field. Then they can go ahead with Sericulture as a career.

Know More: Agriculture Courses

Entrance Exam Preparation 

There is no such entrance exam for Sericulture course. Student can take admission directly and admission procedure is totally merit based. But some of the universities may conduct its own entrance exam or accept ICAR AIEEA scores.

Selecting Correct Colleges 

Some of the top colleges and universities have sericulture courses and agricultural courses too. Student can take admission directly after passing 12th from recognized board. Some top colleges are Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, etc.

Types of Sericulturists 

Candidates interested in a career in the silk industry or silkworm rearing can review the following job roles:

• Sericulture Specialist: A Sericulture Researcher collaborates with central or state institutes to conduct research and development for the sericulture industry. R&D is carried out by a candidate with a PhD in sericulture or an equivalent degree.
• Assistant in Sericulture: A Sericulture Assistant works closely with the team to ensure that all sericulture-related work processes run smoothly.

• Professor of Sericulture: A Sericulture Professor is hired at a higher education institute that offers sericulture courses. To become a professor, the candidate must have a master's degree in sericulture or an equivalent.

Courses to Become a Sericulturist 

To become a Sericulturist, a candidate must first complete a BSc Sericulture or BSc Sericulture (Hons) course and then pursue a postgraduate or doctoral degree to gain expertise before embarking on a career as a Sericulturist.

Bachleor of Sericulture 

• BSc Sericulture or bachelor of science in sericulture is three years full-time, undergraduate degree course with mainly deals with the study of silk farming.
• The admission method for BSc Sericulture course is purely based on the marks scored by a student in the previous examination. However, some Universities conduct their own entrance exams for admission to BSc Sericulture.
• Candidates must have passed a 10+2 or equivalent examination from a recognized board and must achieve high marks because admission is based on merit.
• Aspirants must have taken Biology as a compulsory subject in their 10 and 12 grades.
• The candidate's age should be less than 21 years.

Check: Top BSc Sericulture Colleges

MSc Sericulture 

• MSc Sericulture is a postgraduate level course of 2 years duration specifically aimed for students to specialize further in sericulture. A candidate must have a minimum of 50% in their bachelor's degree to be admitted to the MSc program.
• The admission method for masters of Sericulture courses is either based on the merit and marks scored by a student in the previous examinations and in the entrance examination too.
• The course fee is primarily determined by the course structure and varies from university to university. The average course fee should be around INR 1 lakhs.
• One of the major benefits of the Sericulture course is that candidates from any Agriculture course are eligible. The detailed eligibility criteria for the same are as follows:

• Candidates seeking admission to the MSc Sericulture program must pass a national-level entrance exam, the ICAR AIEEA PG. Some state universities even hold their own entrance exam for M.Sc Sericulture admission.

Check: Top MSc Sericulture Colleges

PhD Sericulture 

• PhD Sericulture is a doctoral-level course of three years and is divided into six semesters.
• Admission to PhD Sericulture program will be based on the student's performance in the entrance exam administered by the respective department or school of the university or institute.
• The average fee ranges from INR 2,00,000 to 3,00,000/-

• The minimum Eligibility criteria for admission is students must have a postgraduate degree in sericulture or related fields from a recognized University.

Check: Top PhD Sericulture Colleges