Career
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Check products for quality before they ship.
$48,570
Median pay
+2.5%
Job growth, 2025–35
66,700
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
- Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
- Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
- Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
- Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Quality Control Analysis, Critical Thinking, Writing, Active Listening.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $48,570 a year and 66,700 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Quality Control Technology/TechnicianCIP 15.0702
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians$67,820 · +4.8%
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics$64,520 · +17.8%
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers$65,380 · -5.6%
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.