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Horticultural Inspectors


Overview

Horticultural Inspectors

Introduction

Horticultural inspectors are employed by federal, state, and local governments to enforce those laws that protect public health and safety as they pertain to plants and agricultural products. There are about 17,700 agricultural inspectors, including horticultural inspectors, employed in the United States.

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$44,140

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Employment Prospects

Good

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

Prior experience in the field sometimes required


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Skills

Organizational
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Personality Traits

Curious
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Earnings

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, agricultural inspectors, an occupation that includes horticultural inspectors, earned median wages of $44,140 in May 2018. Earnings ranged from less than $27,930 to $67,400 or more annually. Agricultural inspectors who worked at local government agencies earned mean annual salaries of $63,120. Those at state agencies earned $42,370, while those at the ...

Work Environment

Most horticultural inspectors should expect to travel a considerable amount of the time. They will interact with a wide variety of people from different educational and professional backgrounds. Horticultural inspectors sometimes work long and irregular hours. Sometimes, inspectors will experience stressful, unpleasant, and even dangerous situations. Agricultural and food inspectors may be in c...

Outlook

Employment for agricultural inspectors is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all careers through 2028, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Federal and state governments are not planning to hire a significant number of new inspectors within the next few years, but there will be a need to replace inspectors who retire or leave the field for other reasons. However, the threat...