Field inspector education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a field inspector. Field inspectors usually study business, civil engineering, or criminal justice. 52% of field inspectors hold a bachelor's degree, and 21% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 3,963 real field inspector resumes to see exactly what field inspector education sections show.

The most common colleges for field inspectors are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online field inspector courses to help get the education required to be a field inspector.

There are certain field inspector certifications that you should consider. These field inspector certifications include OSHA Safety Certificate and Certified Construction Manager (CCM).

What education do you need to become a field inspector?

What degree do you need to be a field inspector?

The most common degree for field inspectors is bachelor's degree, with 52% of field inspectors earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 21% and associate degree degree at 14%.

Bachelor's, 52%

Associate, 21%

High School Diploma, 14%

Master's, 5%

Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a field inspector?

You should major in business to become a field inspector. 27% of field inspectors major in business. Other common majors for a field inspector include civil engineering and criminal justice.

Business, 27%

Civil Engineering, 13%

Criminal Justice, 8%

General Studies, 6%

Other Majors, 46%

Most common colleges for field inspectors

Field inspectors often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Western Washington University, and University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Here are the most common colleges for field inspectors in the US based on their resumes.

Field inspector common college	Percentages
University of Phoenix	18.18%
Western Washington University	6.82%
University of North Carolina at Greensboro	5.68%
Pennsylvania State University	5.11%
Michigan State University	4.55%

Show more common field inspector colleges

Best majors for field inspectors

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	26.7%
2	Civil Engineering	13.3%
3	Criminal Justice	8.1%
4	General Studies	6.1%
5	Accounting	4.2%

Show more common field inspector majors

Best colleges for field inspectors

The best colleges for field inspectors are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A field inspector with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for field inspectors. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become field inspectors.

1. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

2. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

3. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

4. SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Alfred, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,570

Enrollment

3,721

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. University of Alaska Southeast

Juneau, AK • Private

In-state tuition

$7,092

Enrollment

1,216

7. Wentworth Institute of Technology

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$33,950

Enrollment

4,254

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. The University of Texas at San Antonio

San Antonio, TX • Private

In-state tuition

$8,049

Enrollment

27,380

10. SUNY College of Technology at Canton

Canton, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,389

Enrollment

3,127

20 best online courses for field inspectors

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2. Intellectual Property Law

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3. Fundamentals of Residential Property Management

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Understand the foundation of residential property management as a property manager or landlord...

4. U.S. Residential Real Estate, Property & Mortgage Business

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5. Introduction to Intellectual Property

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6. Hardening, Polymers, Properties

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11. Effectively Lease Commercial Real Estate Properties

4.6

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12. Continuous Code Inspection with SonarQube

4.3

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13. SonarQube SonarCloud - Continuous Inspection and Code Review

4.3

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Automated continuous inspection and code quality. Sonar Qube and Sonar Cloud to analyse 25+ languages in real time...

14. Intro to Analyzing Rental Income Properties

4.5

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Learn the fundamentals of investment analysis specifically for rental income property investments...

15. Certificate course in Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

4.4

(260)

This course has been designed by experts to cover the basics of IPR and understand Patents, Trademarks and Copyright...

16. Real Estate Acquisitions 101

4.7

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How To Identify Commercial Properties, Run Due Diligence, Raise Capital, and Close Commercial Real Estate Transactions...

17. Fundamentals of Insurance - 2

4.4

(5,370)

Part 2...

18. Fundamentals of Analyzing Real Estate Investments

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Learn professional investment analysis techniques for real estate investing in residential and commercial properties...

19. Fundamentals of Insurance - 1

4.4

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Part 1...

20. Real Estate Asset Management 101

4.6

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Real Estate Asset Management Training From Acquisition, To Ownership, Through Sale For Profitable Real Estate Investing...

Top 10 most affordable universities for field inspectors

The most affordable schools for field inspectors are SUNY Farmingdale, california state university - bakersfield, and baruch college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for field inspectors are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for field inspectors.

1. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

4. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

5. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

6. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

7. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Cost of attendance

22,990

8. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Utica, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,238

Cost of attendance

21,567

9. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

10. USF Sarasota-Manatee

Sarasota, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,587

Cost of attendance

13,043

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for field inspectors

The hardest universities for field inspectors to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for field inspectors are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for field inspectors based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,492

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

5. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

6. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

7. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

8. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

43%

SAT average

1,338

9. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

10. Brandeis University

Waltham, MA • Private

Admissions rate

31%

SAT average

1,398

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for field inspectors

The easiest schools for field inspectors to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame de namur university, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a field inspector without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for field inspectors.

1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

2. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

3. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

4. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

5. LIM College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

83%

SAT average

1,061

6. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

7. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

8. Presentation College

Aberdeen, SD • Private

Admissions rate

97%

SAT average

1,050

9. Life University

Marietta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

94%

SAT average

979

10. Oregon Institute of Technology

Klamath Falls, OR • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,139

Average field inspector salary by education level

Field inspectors with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $52,530 annually. With a Associate degree, field inspectors earn a median annual income of $50,622 compared to $49,408 for field inspectors with an High School Diploma degree.

Field inspector education level	Field inspector salary
High School Diploma or Less	$49,408
Bachelor's Degree	$52,530
Some College/ Associate Degree	$50,622

Field inspector education FAQs

What is the best college for Field Inspectors?

Have more questions? See all answers to common construction and extraction questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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