Plant Protection Technician Series, 0421

Individual Occupational Requirements

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above)

Qualifying specialized experience must have provided familiarity with the methods, procedures, and techniques involved in inspecting, detecting, identifying, eradicating, suppressing, or controlling plant pests, and in the enforcement of Federal and State quarantines. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Inspecting nursery plants for the presence of a specific plant pest.
• Surveying areas for specific plant pests or for the presence of alternate plant hosts.
• Developing rough maps showing control or eradication treatment completed, areas surveyed, or pest finds located.
• Performing survey control or eradication procedures in a local pest control program.
• Answering questions regarding plant pest control procedures, harmful side-effects of pesticides to other living organisms, etc.
• Inspecting vehicles in the enforcement of plant quarantine regulations.
• Performing laboratory work involved with raising and/or sterilizing various insects.

OR

Education and Training

For GS-3: Successful completion of 1 year of study that included at least 4 semester hours in courses such as biology, plant pathology, entomology, zoology, botany, forestry, chemistry, agriculture, or physics.

For GS-4: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 8 semester hours in courses such as those shown above For GS-3.

For GS-5: Successful completion of 4 years of study that included at least 16 semester hours in courses such as those shown above For GS-3.