Agricultural Environmental Specialist 2 

(Male, Age 33) from Lafayette, LA

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 33 who works as a Agricultural Environmental Specialist 2 in Lafayette, LA. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Agricultural Environmental Specialist 2
Salary $38,688
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location Lafayette, LA
Years Experience 11 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
The Louisiana Department of Agriculture oversees all aspects of the agriculture and forestry industries in the state of Louisiana. It is a regulatory agency that employs between 500 and 1000 people.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I do work as an inspector in 4 major programs: pesticides (use, sale, registration of pesticides, certification of pesticide applicators), horticulture and quarantine (regulating plant related occupations(nurseries, landscapers, etc.) and monitoring movement of plants in and out of the state), ag chemistry (sampling feed, fertilizer, and lime), and seed (sampling and field inspections).

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
6.5 hours of annual and sick leave earned per pay period (26 pay periods per year), state retirement program, choice of health plans

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I’m pleased with my slary, but I’d like to get more.

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I generally don’t work with my coworkers. The nature of my job is to work alone, but I interact a lot with the public and people in the industries we regulate. I get along great with my coworkers, I love this aspect of my job.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work in the field 4 days a week and spend one day a week in an office. Working in the field is great, becauce it gives me a lot of independence. I don’t have someone looking over me constantly.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 6
Benefits: 4
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 1
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 3

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am Traveled to my first stop, which was a nursery. Began doing routine inspection of the nursery for the purpose of nursery certification.
8am to 9am Continued nursery inspection, which includes checking plant material on hand for signs of disease or infestation.
9am to 10am Concluded nursery inspection. Spoke to my office manager regarding plans for us to work together the following day.
10am to 11am Traveled to my next stop, which was a retail establishment which sells plants and has a floral department. Interacted with a manager and the licensed florist for the establishment. Conducted routine inspection of the establishment, checking for quality of plant material being sold.
11am to 12pm Concluded aforementioned inspection. Stopped for lunch.
12pm to 1pm Traveled to my next stop, which was a similar establishment to my previous stop. The licensed florist was not present, but I interacted with two managers. Conducted routine inspection identical to the one performed at the previous location.
1pm to 2pm Concluded inspection I was doing. Traveled to my last stop of the day, which was a sweet potato processing facility. Interacted with security guard at entrance to processing facility.
2pm to 3pm Inspected sweet potatoes at the processing facility, checking for infestation with sweet potato weevil. Monitored activities at the processing facility, which includes observing trucks delivering sweet potatoes to the facility for adherence to department rules and regulations.
3pm to 4pm Left sweet potato processing facility. Traveled home.
4pm to 5pm home
5pm to 6pm home
6pm to 7pm home
7pm to 8pm home
8pm to 9pm home
9pm to 10pm home
10pm to 11pm home
11pm to 12am home

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
I applied for every civil service job for which I was qualified, which included this one.

What was the application process?
I submitted an application and took a civil service test.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I interview once with the assistant commissioner in charge of my division of the department. He spent a half an hour describing the job to me.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
After the assistant commissioner explained the job to me, he asked me if it sounded like something I was interested in doing. I was worried that I had not shown enough enthusiasm in my response. He also asked me if I had any background in farming or agriculture.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I have always had people around me to advise me and help me, from day one to now.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
My training involved spending time working with other inspectors doing the plethora of things we have to do.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
For the most part, no. There is very little that I learned in school that I use now.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n/a

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
My job requires a batchelor’s degree in agriculture or a related field. I have a B.S. in biology.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
It is important to be able to work alone with little supervision. It is also important to work well with the public and be magnanimous and diplomatic.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
No. I learned pretty much everything I know about my job from my coworkers.

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Listen to the older inspectors and learn from their experiences. You can’t get the knowledge they have from a book.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. I fully intend to continue to do the job I have now until it’s time to retire. I love what I do, and the retirement sysem is great.

What are your current career goals?
I may be interested in getting promoted to a higher position within the department near the end of my career, but for the most part, I’m exactly where I want to be.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I conisder myself to be truly blessed and fortunate to have the job I do.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Dishwasher approx. 7 months total don’t remember Spent two summers and one winter break washing dishes at a casino restaurant to earn spending money while in college.
Prior Job 2

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3.6

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.4 Louisiana-Lafayette Biology (B.S.)
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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