10 Key Attributes Agricultural Inspectors Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Olivia Williams

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Agricultural inspectors inspect agricultural commodities, processing equipment, and facilities, and fish and logging operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and laws governing health, quality, and safety.

The core tasks that agricultural inspectors are likely to carry out include:

Inspect agricultural commodities or related operations, as well as fish or logging operations, for compliance with laws and regulations governing health, quality, and safety.
Inspect or test horticultural products or livestock to detect harmful diseases, chemical residues, or infestations and to determine the quality of products or animals.
Verify that transportation and handling procedures meet regulatory requirements.
Collect samples from animals, plants, or products and route them to laboratories for microbiological assessment, ingredient verification, or other testing.
Interpret and enforce government acts and regulations and explain required standards to agricultural workers.
Write reports of findings and recommendations and advise farmers, growers, or processors of corrective action to be taken.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that agricultural inspectors would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 95.29%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 94.4%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 91.2%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87.2%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.2%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.2%

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Attribute Type: Skills Score: 82.4%

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 82.4%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81.6%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.8%