In the United States, as in many other nations, federal, state, and local laws, which actually an inherent government job, provide services and protection to citizens in many areas of daily life. An important aspect of the enforcement of law involves setting acceptable standards and then, providing ways and means of ensuring that these standards are met. Common law in England has long been applied to certain roads and footpaths open to the general public. The major roads, however, were essential to the kingdom for carrying on trade and other commerce within the nation, and for access to seaports for both military and commercial ventures. In the twelfth century these important roads were designated the ''King's highways,'' that is, roads that were to be maintained passable and safe. Letting a ''highway'' fall into disrepair or charging a tool to use it was forbidden. Inspectors were appointed by ''the Crown'' to ensure that these highways met certain standards.
Even today, inspectors are appointed in Great Britain by the Crown (not the government) to ensure standards in other areas such as school curriculum and quality of teaching. Generally, written law only states that something must or must not be done. Rather than wait until the law is actually ''broken,'' governments have found it more efficient to provide the service of inspectors to maintain a continuous watch on the way in which the requirements of law are carried out. This is part of their inherent duty of performing local government jobs. If a law requires that food be stored at a certain temperature to prevent the growth of microorganisms, regular inspections of the place where the food is stored to make sure the law is kept are better than waiting until disease or illness occurs. Food quality standards are also enforced. In the same way, the government takes responsibility for public safety in transportation and other industries, labor standards, and immigration, and preservation of the environment through a system of regular inspection and reporting.
Moreover, state government jobs include specialists in the health field such as chemists, microbiologists, engineers, and other health workers work with health inspectors in the areas of food, drugs, cosmetics, and other consumer products to ensure that government standards are met. Health inspectors must ensure compliance with health and safety laws and regulations while the specialists in the various areas determine how such compliance can best be met Food and drug inspectors, for instance, have the responsibility to check firms that produce, store, handle, and market food, drugs, and cosmetics. Packaging must be accurately labeled showing the contents, and the inspectors perform spot checks to confirm this. The weight or measurement of a product must also be accurate. The inspectors use different equipment for testing, including scales, thermometers, chemical testing kits, container sampling devices, ultraviolet lights, and cameras. They look for evidence of bacteriological or chemical contamination and assemble evidence that a product is harmful to the public health or does not meet other standards.
Part of holding a government job, food inspectors are empowered by state and federal law to inspect meat, poultry, and their by-products to ensure these are safe for public consumption. In a slaughterhouse, the inspection team leader is always a veterinarian who can ensure that the animals and birds are healthy. Proper sanitation, processing, packaging, and labeling is inspected constantly. Inspection specialists concerned with raising animals for consumption and with processing meat and meat products include veterinary livestock inspectors, veterinary virus-serum inspectors, and veterinary meat-inspectors.
On the other hand, to land a job and acquire a government careers, there is such a variety of skills involved in these inspection jobs that the qualifications and education required in the federal government must pass the Professional and Administrative Career Examination (PACE) to work in consumer safety; alcohol, tobacco, and firearms; wage-hour compliance; occupational safety and health; and customs and immigration. A bachelor's degree and three years' work experience are required to take this examination. Coursework and other preparation must be related to the job. For example, applicants for food inspector positions must pass an examination based on specialized knowledge. Likewise, in some states, no written examination is required for agricultural commodity graders and quarantine inspectors but they need experiences and education in agricultural science. Likewise, a bachelor's degree in the physical or biological sciences or in environmental health is required for sanitarians or environmental health inspectors. These qualifications are set by the state by reason that health inspectors are holding a vital government jobs concerning the general welfare of the people particularly, on health.
