Agricultural Inspectors
What Agricultural Inspectors Do
Inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- Not available
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 2 of 5Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
- Education
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
- Job training
- Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.5/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 3.4/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 3.3/5
- Administrativeimportance 3.3/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.2/5
- Public Safety and Securityimportance 3.2/5
- English Languageimportance 3.1/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate4.6/5
- Contact With Others4.6/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.3/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.3/5
- Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results4.2/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.2/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Construction and Building Inspectors97% skill match
- Food Scientists and Technologists97% skill match
- Occupational Health and Safety Technicians95% skill match
- Fire Inspectors and Investigators95% skill match
- Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors95% skill match
- Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters93% skill match
- Occupational Health and Safety Specialists93% skill match
- Surgical Assistants93% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Quality Control Analysisimportance 4.1/5
- Operations Monitoringimportance 3.3/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Analysisimportance 3.1/5
- Systems Evaluationimportance 3.1/5
- Instructingimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Cautiousness
- Self-Control
- Perseverance
- Sincerity
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- RealisticHigh
- ConventionalHigh
- InvestigativeMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- SocialLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where agricultural inspectors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Gainesville, GA36.78× national avg
- 2Dothan, AL19.37× national avg
- 3Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA11.31× national avg
- 4Yakima, WA11.12× national avg
- 5St. Joseph, MO-KS10.99× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Construction and Building InspectorsCareer Change
- Food Scientists and TechnologistsCareer Change
- Occupational Health and Safety TechniciansCareer Change
- Occupational Health and Safety SpecialistsCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.