Your Career 

Safeguarding America

Plant Protection and Quarantine

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Program Aid No. 1852

We encourage all interested parties to apply, 

including veterans, people with disabilities, 

and surplus or displaced Federal employees. 

For more information about careers 

with PPQ, visit our Web site at

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/

ppq_recuitment, or 

call us toll-free at 1-800-762-2738.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs

and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where

applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation,

genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s

income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases

apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for

communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint

of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250–9410, or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or

(202) 720–6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

Issued August 2006

Slightly Revised February 2009

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Your Career Safeguarding America

Established: 1972

Headquarters: Riverdale, MD

Regional Offices: Raleigh, NC; Fort Collins, CO

Field Offices: Located in all 50 States and U.S.

territories

Center for Plant Health and Science and Technology

Raleigh, NC

PPQ Employees: More than 3,300

The employees of the Plant Protection and Quarantine

(PPQ) branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s

(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

(APHIS) safeguard the Nation’s $1.5 trillion agricultural

economy. PPQ’s diverse workforce—from botanists to

virologists, accountants to writers—is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing American agriculture.

With sharp increases in the levels of international travel

and commerce, PPQ is facing greater challenges than

ever before in accomplishing its mission—safeguarding

agriculture and natural resources from risks associated

with the entry, establishment, or spread of animal and

plant pests and noxious weeds. PPQ accomplishes its

mission through careful inspection, detection, and protection activities. PPQ is seeking a diverse group of people to fill a variety of interesting jobs. 

Many U.S. industries and a large part of the U.S. economy depend on the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, agricultural products, and natural resources that

Americans import and export every day. But if foreign

plant pests and animal diseases are introduced into the

U.S. environment, they can greatly damage our farm

economy, affect human health, decimate our natural

resources, and cost billions of dollars in control and eradication. APHIS-PPQ employees form America’s first line

of defense against the establishment and spread of foreign pests and diseases.

United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

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• Biologists

• Molecular biologists

• Veterinarians

Protect

Sometimes the front line protecting our Nation’s agricultural and natural resources leaves the United States

entirely! For certain plants imported in quantity, such as

bulbs and cut flowers, PPQ officers perform their preclearance inspections overseas. Conducting this work

abroad significantly reduces the risk of foreign pest invasion. Preclearance work is an important part of PPQ’s

new emphasis on safeguarding through surveillance

overseas to prevent destructive pests from entering our

country.

If you have a background in the biological sciences, are a

motivated self-starter, and thrive on challenging, problem-solving work with an investigative aspect, we invite

you to apply for a PPQ officer position. A degree isn’t

necessary, but you must have earned at least 24 hours

of college-level credits in plant science, entomology, biology, or closely related courses. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply. Candidates selected for positions must

successfully complete an 8-week PPQ training course.

• Plant Protection Technicians

• Environmental Technicians

• Biological Technicians

• Export Certification Specialists

• Smuggling Interdiction and 

Trade Compliance (SITC) Officers

Detect

PPQ agriculturalists are detectives. When they investigate a possible new outbreak of a destructive plant disease, they determine the presence of pathogens, such as

the fungus that causes soybean rust. PPQ’s surveillance

work helps USDA track the advance of many foreign diseases (e.g., soybean rust and citrus greening) that reduce

crop yields and could cause devastating losses to the

agricultural sector if they became established nationwide.

If you want to use your education, skills, and experience

detecting pests and diseases on the front line, PPQ has

career opportunities for:

• Agriculturalists

• Botanists

• Plant Pathologists

• Entomologists

Your Career Safeguarding America

Inspect

PPQ’s Plant Health Safeguarding Specialists are looking

for hitchhikers, but they’re not watching the interstate

highways. These specialists are on the lookout for exotic

pests infesting trees in parks and inner-city and suburban

neighborhoods in big cities such as Chicago and New

York. They also carefully scrutinize plant shipments for

invasive pests and diseases at plant inspection stations

located at ports of entry around the country.

In addition, the PPQ program includes Veterinary Medical

Officers. With a title like this, you may be wondering

how this group fits under the PPQ program. The reason

is that the risks to U.S. agriculture are not just limited to

plants—animal-derived products pose a great threat of

bringing diseases into our country as well. PPQ’s

Veterinary Medical Officers provide scientific advice and

expertise at ports of entry across the Nation to prevent

the introduction of infectious, contagious, or communicable diseases of livestock into the United States through

imported animal products. 

Plant Health Safeguarding Specialists and Veterinary

Medical Officers are critical to keeping American agriculture and natural resources safe. Other key positions

involving inspection work include:

If your talents lie in administrative work, computer science, or management, PPQ offers interesting careers in

those areas, too. But the real question is . . .

Are You Ready?

If you seek a career that offers challenges and rewards,

potential and growth, stability and job satisfaction, the

APHIS-PPQ team has opportunities for you to consider.

Competitive salaries, flexible hours, a supportive and

innovative work environment, and travel opportunities

are just the start. Outstanding benefits include:

• Competitive starting pay with regular increases

• Opportunities for salary reviews and advancement

• Family-friendly work and leave policies

• 10 paid Federal holidays and paid vacation leave

• Opportunities for recognition and awards

• Comprehensive medical benefits 

• Health, wellness, and fitness programs

• Paid medical leave

• Affordable health and life insurance

• Attractive retirement benefits and pension plan

• Domestic and international travel opportunities

Become an integral part of safeguarding the Nation’s

agricultural economy and precious natural resources.

Join us in Plant Protection and Quarantine.

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