When you first step into the pest control industry you usually start out as an assistant depending on your certifications and practical experience. The pest control assistant will need supervision at all times and cannot apply pesticides by himself or herself without any supervision from a licensed pest control technician. The trainee or assistant is also not allowed to recommend pesticides or sell them as well as applying certain pesticides that follow under certain classes of pesticides such as class 2 pesticides or Class 3 pesticides which are “avicide, rodenticide, fumigant or suspension in air” without the direct supervision of a licensed exterminator. 

 The step to becoming a licensed pest control technician requires a certain amount of conditions you need to fulfill. such as following the ministry approved safety courses and has followed and shadowed practical training from a licensed exterminator within the last 24 months. These classes are typically offered at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus where one is given study material and in-class instruction. For the practical training, which typically lasts around three or four months, the training is directly supervised and guided by a licensed pest control technician. After he receives satisfactory approval that the pest control technician needs to sign off on, the paperwork then is sent to the appropriate channels such as the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks and to the University of Guelph. 

To become a field supervisor experience and in-depth knowledge is needed to supervise pest control technicians and exterminators. The field supervisor is a senior position which means that people who have been active in the field for roughly five or more years will be qualified to supervise pest control technicians. With that level of seniority, the field supervisor will be able to assist, recommend, and come up with an efficient strategy if any of the other technicians have trouble or run into something unusual. Administrative work might also be part of the position where you may be expected to work in the software part of the MS Office software package such as Excel and Microsoft Word, but this is entirely dependent on the pest control company you are working for. Strong leadership and communication skills are vital for the position as you will be taking a team of technicians under your wing.

The Office Manager is the most senior position you can achieve, if not be the CEO of the company. The Office Manager is in charge of all the administrative responsibilities and is part of the sales and marketing team depending on how your company hierarchy is structured. Usually, this involves making sales calls or being in charge of customer service depending on the scale of the company. In any case, the position takes place in the office, and not in the field. The Office Manager has the demands to fulfill the position with full confidence as he demonstrates all the traits to thrive in a leadership position such as skill, knowledge, team leader, certifications, and qualifications from the ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks. 

In any case, any position in the pest control industry is equally important, but if you are enjoying what you are doing and putting in the hard work expect to see some results back!