Quality Control Inspectors: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more
- Job Outlook
-
The projected percent change in employment from 2016 to 2026: -11% (Decline)
(The average growth rate for all occupations is 7 percent.) - Licenses/Certifications
- The American Society for Quality (ASQ) offers various certifications, including a designation for Certified Quality Inspector (CQI), and numerous sources of information and various levels of Six Sigma certifications. Although certification is not required, it can demonstrate competence and professionalism, making candidates more attractive to employers. It can also increase opportunities for advancement. Requirements for certification generally include a certain number of years of experience in the field and passing an exam.
- Median pay: How much do Quality Control Inspectors make?
- $36,780 Annual Salary
- $17.68 per hour
Quality control inspectors examine products and materials for defects or deviations from specifications.
What do Quality Control Inspectors do?
Quality control inspectors typically do the following:
- Read blueprints and specifications
- Monitor operations to ensure that they meet production standards
- Recommend adjustments to the assembly or production process
- Inspect, test, or measure materials or products being produced
- Measure products with rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers
- Operate electronic inspection equipment and software
- Accept or reject finished items
- Remove all products and materials that fail to meet specifications
- Report inspection and test data such as weights, temperatures, grades, moisture content, and quantities inspected
Quality control inspectors monitor quality standards for nearly all manufactured products, including foods, textiles, clothing, glassware, motor vehicles, electronic components, computers, and structural steel. Specific job duties vary across the wide range of industries in which these inspectors work.
Quality control workers rely on many tools to do their jobs. Although some still use hand-held measurement devices, such as calipers and alignment gauges, workers more commonly operate electronic inspection equipment, such as coordinate-measuring machines (CMMs) and three-dimensional (3D) scanners. Inspectors testing electrical devices may use voltmeters, ammeters, and ohmmeters to test potential difference, current flow, and resistance, respectively.
Quality control workers record the results of their inspections through test reports. When they find defects, inspectors notify supervisors and help to analyze and correct production problems.
In some firms, the inspection process is completely automated, with advanced vision inspection systems installed at one or several points in the production process. Inspectors in these firms monitor the equipment, review output, and conduct random product checks.
The following are examples of types of quality control inspectors:
Careers for Quality Control Inspectors
- Ampoule examiners
- Bag graders
- Cigarette examiners
- Compressed gas testers
- Inspectors
- Machined parts quality inspectors
- Materials inspectors
- Mechanical inspectors
- Petroleum samplers
- Quality assurance inspectors
- Quality inspectors
- Samplers
- Sorters
- Spark plug testers
- Testers
- Weighers