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The differences between food inspectors and inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food inspector has an average salary of $43,824, which is higher than the $38,757 average annual salary of an inspector.
The top three skills for a food inspector include food handling, federal laws and food preparation. The most important skills for an inspector are sketch, good communication, and magnetic particle.
| Food Inspector | Inspector | |
| Yearly salary | $43,824 | $38,757 |
| Hourly rate | $21.07 | $18.63 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 64,809 | 17,670 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
The Food Inspector focuses on securing all consumers' health and safety from a company's food products. They must enforce all food standards outlined by the Food and Drug Administration. Other responsibilities include inspection of slaughterhouses, food production facilities, and other food-related establishments if they follow safety and health regulations and protocols. The Food Inspector determines if the establishment is safe to sell food products and if they have permits to operate. Their job also requires them to ensure that all food sold is fit for consumption and safe according to federal laws.
An inspector is responsible for overseeing the overall condition of the site, ensuring that it complies with the safety standards and regulations. Inspectors' duties include monitoring the quality of the materials used, inspecting any defects and discrepancies that might compromise the operations, generating reports to assess the product costing if it meets the budget goals, and utilizing available resources in the market for the highest quality project. An inspector must have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills to perform comprehensive actions on risk management and service delivery.
Food inspectors and inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Food Inspector | Inspector | |
| Average salary | $43,824 | $38,757 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $70,000 | Between $27,000 And $54,000 |
| Highest paying City | Harrisburg, PA | Vancouver, WA |
| Highest paying state | Pennsylvania | Louisiana |
| Best paying company | Office of Human Services | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Government | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a food inspector and an inspector in terms of educational background:
| Food Inspector | Inspector | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between food inspectors' and inspectors' demographics:
| Food Inspector | Inspector | |
| Average age | 50 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1% | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 5.5% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 4% |