Egg Inspector. Salary: $27,000 or less (private company)

Fresh, liquid, dried, or frozen—if a chicken produced it, you are there to see they make it safely from the nest to the store. Just like your teachers from school, you're ready with your trusty red pen in hand to grade the chickens' work. Unlike the eggs, you never crack under pressure.

Junior CSI. Salary: $41,000

Dressed head to toe in protective gear, you circulate through the lines watching for problems. You check testing logs. You monitor processes. You love knowing your work means safe food in everyone's refrigerator, even if your mom rarely cooks.

Experienced CSI. Salary: $49,500

You are well-seasoned, just like the new line of pre-cooked convenience roasts your company produces for a large name-brand food company. You know food safety like the back of your rubber-gloved hand and can spot a problem before it happens. You know how to reassure everyone it's perfectly okay...just like when a production worker balks at making summer sausage in December.

Import Inspector. Salary: $55,000

So you want to work the docks without being in the Coast Guard, huh? Tons of food products are shipped into the U.S. from all over the world and must get a thorough inspection to make sure they're okay and safe for everyone to eat. If it seems fishy, it's up to you to throw it back.

Senior CSO. Salary: $90,000

You travel from site to site, auditing safety precautions, doing independent testing, and checking for compliance issues. By this point in your career, you've left private work behind and now you're a full-fledged Fed. A senior government inspector. You inspect the inspectors and make sure they're following all the rules to a "T."