Quick Links:

• New York State Job Vacancies: https://statejobs.ny.gov/public/vacancyTable.cfm
• New York Department of Civil Service, Information for Job Seekers and State Examinations for the Public: https://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/

How to Obtain a State Job: 

Applicants interested in working for the State of New York should begin by passing a civil service examination in a title of their area of interest. Successful passing of an examination is required to apply and compete for many state jobs that are “classified service.” Exams are specific to a job or class of jobs. Most jobs will require a candidates take and pass a civil service examination to qualify for employment. You can access current exam offerings at:  https://www.cs.ny.gov/examannouncements/types/oc/.  Once you have completed the exam, you will be added to the eligible list for hiring with that specific classification. Then applicants may review and apply for job postings through the online job bulletin or by contacting the hiring agency for additional information. 

Additionally, you may be recruited by a hiring agency once you have submitted your examination. If your exam score is high, an agency with a vacancy may send you a canvas letter, asking about your availability to fill the vacancy and providing a deadline to respond and provide the requested information (often to include resume, cover letter, etc.). Once the deadline for the job has been reached, the hiring agency will interview several individuals who submitted information. 

Interested applicants may also wish to review the New York Department of Civil Service Title and Salary Plan: https://www.cs.ny.gov/tsplan/tsp.html#A, which is maintained on a regular basis and is a valuable tool for identifying and locating a particular title or title code or producing a list of titles that fall within chosen occupational parameters.

How to Apply: https://statejobs.ny.gov/public/howItWorks.cfm

New York Department of Agriculture & Markets 

The New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets (NYSDAM) regulates manufactured food, retail food stores, dairy products, feed, produce and seafood.  The entry level classifications utilized by NYSDAM are:

Food Inspector 1 or Trainee 
Food Inspector 1 or Trainee 1 Spanish Language
Annual Salary: $47,925-$63,108

Food Inspector 2 or Trainee 2
Food Inspector Trainee 2 Spanish Language
Annual Salary: $79,325 to $100,342 

All of the listed positions are considered “open competitive” and require minimum qualifications for admission to scheduled announced examinations.

Minimum Qualifications for the Food Inspector series classifications are: 

On or before the date of the exam, you must have 120 college semester credit hours which must include 18 credit hours in specialized courses related to: chemistry, microbiology, food quality control, epidemiology, entomology, food technology, food science, food processing technology, food sanitation, dairy science, biology, environmental sanitation, or environmental health.

You must include a list of qualifying courses on your online application or provide a copy of your transcript indicating your qualifying courses. If you provide a list of qualifying courses, include the name of the school, department and course title, the number of semester credit hours, and the date completed for each course.

If you expect to meet the educational requirements within six months following the examination, you can be admitted to the written test, but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirement to the Appointing Authority at the time of the employment interview.

Substitution: Full-time professional experience in a position in which the primary responsibility involves the application of scientific techniques in the areas of environmental health protection and sanitation of food establishments or quality control of food products at a wholesale food manufacturing facility may be substituted for a maximum of 60 college credits at the rate of one year experience equaling thirty semester credit hours.

Advanced Placement: If you are selected for appointment you may, at the agency’s discretion, be appointed directly to Food Inspector Trainee 2, Food Inspector Trainee 2 (Spanish Language), Food Inspector 1, or Food Inspector 1 (Spanish Language).

To be considered for advanced placement to Food Inspector Trainee 2 or Food Inspector Trainee 2 (Spanish Language), you must possess, beyond the Minimum Qualifications: One (1) additional year of experience in which the primary responsibility involves the application of scientific techniques in the areas of environmental health protection and sanitation of food establishments or quality control of food products at a wholesale food manufacturing facility. You must inform the agency of this additional experience at the time of interview.

To be considered for advanced placement to Food Inspector 1 or Food Inspector 1 (Spanish Language), you must possess, beyond the Minimum Qualifications: Two (2) additional years of experience in which the primary responsibility involves the application of scientific techniques in the areas of environmental health protection and sanitation of food establishments or quality control of food products at a wholesale food manufacturing facility. You must inform the agency of this additional experience at the time of interview.

Dairy Products Specialist 1 or Trainee 1
Annual Salary: $47,925-$63,108

Minimum Qualifications: Either (1) Associate’s degree which must include 18 semester credit hours in specialized courses related to: public health, agricultural science, biological science, physics, chemistry, or production or processing of dairy or food products AND two years of satisfactory full time experience in dairy products inspection, milk or food plant production, or conducting public health inspections to determine compliance with federal, State, or local public health laws, regulations, and established public health standards;  OR (2) Bachelor’s degree which must include 18 semester credit hours in specialized courses related to: public health, agricultural science, biological science, physics, chemistry, or production or processing of dairy or food products.

This position requires completion of a two-year traineeship. After successful completion of the first year of the traineeship, appointees will be advanced without further examination to the Trainee 2 level G-14 (beginning salary of $45,455). Successful completion of the second year of the traineeship will result in permanent advancement to the Dairy Products Specialist 1 G-18 (beginning salary $56,604) without further examination. Candidates may be eligible for appointment directly to the Trainee 2 or full performance level. 

New York State Department of Health 

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) regulates retail food service operations.  The entry level classifications utilized by NYSDOH is:

Sanitarian Trainee
Starting Annual Salary: $44,633

Minimum Qualifications: Either (A) Bachelor’s degree, including 30 credits in the natural and applied sciences; of which at least 18 credits are in the natural sciences. Natural sciences that are considered appropriate are biology, chemistry, physics, and earth sciences (geology and hydrology). OR (B) an associate’s degree in the natural sciences AND 4-years’ experience in environmental health protection (experience in environmental health protection is defined as conducting inspections to determine compliance with federal, state, or local environmental laws, regulations, and established public health standards, OR experience in the notification of public health environmental hazards and the development of methods to eliminate or control such hazards and/or the spread of disease and other environmental factors impacting the health of individuals and/or the public, such as in hospitals and long term care facilities.