Plant Pathologist Family
Career series with 3 positions across 2 levels
In New Jersey civil service, Plant Pathologist names a 2-level progression covering 3 distinct titles.
Entry is typically through Plant Pathologist 1, advancing through the ladder toward Plant Pathologist 2 and, from there, into supervisory roles. Pay across the family spans $60,876 to $117,228, around the 43rd percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 2 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Agriculture.
Plant Pathologist reports to supervising titles such as Senior Sewage Plant Operator / Sewer Repairer.
Positions in This Family
- PLANT PATHOLOGIST 1 (02553) $60,876 - $88,743/year
- PLANT PATHOLOGIST 2 (02554) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- SUPERVISING PLANT PATHOLOGIST (02555) $79,844 - $117,228/year
What the Plant Pathologist family covers
Plant Pathologist is a graded series in the New Jersey civil service classification plan, running 3 title codes across 2 levels. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
The state runs working laboratories rather than research institutes, so scientific titles are tied to a statutory job: testing water and air, screening newborns, analysing evidence, monitoring pesticides, mapping geology. Degrees in a named field do the qualifying, and the exam is often an evaluation of education and experience rather than a written test. Because each laboratory is small, these families tend to be short ladders inside one agency instead of broad classifications spread across government.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Plant Pathologist rungs look like this. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Supervising Plant Pathologist — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Plant Pathologist 2 — $69,668 to $101,951 (a bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Plant Pathologist 1 — $60,876 to $88,743 (a bachelor's degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Plant Pathologist 1 to the top of Supervising Plant Pathologist is $56,352, an increase of about 93% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.
- Plant Pathologist 1: Under the direction of the Supervising Plant Pathologist, or other supervisory officer, in the Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, participates in…
- Plant Pathologist 2: Under the direction of the Supervising Plant Pathologist, or other supervisory officer, Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, assists in the planning…
- Supervising Plant Pathologist: Under the direction of the Chief, Bureau of Plant Pest and Disease Control, Division of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, develops, implements and…
What it takes to qualify
Across the 3 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 3 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 3 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
2 of the 3 titles carry a license or certification requirement. On how the jobs are filled: 3 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.
Who actually employs these titles
2 people appear on the state payroll under 2 of these titles, at 1 agency. Agriculture alone accounts for about 100% of them.
- Agriculture — 2 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $86,027 for Plant Pathologist 2 up to $109,652 for Supervising Plant Pathologist. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
Hiring for this family runs through state service. Departments, commissions and boards fill these titles from eligible lists built by the Civil Service Commission, so the route in is an announcement and a filing deadline rather than a posting you apply to directly. What state jurisdiction means, and a breakdown of who employs what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Plant Pathologist, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.
- Speech Pathologist (local jurisdiction)
- Power Plant Helper (local jurisdiction)
- Sewage Plant Repairer (local jurisdiction)
- Sewage Plant Attendant (local jurisdiction)
- Inspector Plant Industry ($45,874 to $66,294, state jurisdiction)
- Chief Sewage Plant Operator (local jurisdiction) — in the Chief family
Common questions about Plant Pathologist jobs
How many separate Plant Pathologist classifications does New Jersey have?
The Plant Pathologist family holds 3 title codes arranged across 2 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
How much is a Plant Pathologist paid?
Published salary data for this family runs from $60,876 at the bottom of Plant Pathologist 1 to $117,228 at the top of Supervising Plant Pathologist. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Is there a civil service test for Plant Pathologist?
Yes for most of the family. 3 of the 3 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What are the requirements to become a Plant Pathologist?
The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 3 of the 3 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 3 years depending on the rung. 2 of the titles also require a license or certification. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Plant Pathologist staff?
State payroll records show 2 people in this family across 1 agency, with Agriculture the largest at 2. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.