Production · Holland code RCI

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

Also called: Inspector, Quality Control Inspector (QC Inspector), Quality Inspector, Quality Technician, QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor), QA Inspector (Quality Assurance Inspector), QA Technician (Quality Assurance Technician), QC Technician (Quality Control Technician).

O*NET 51-9061.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $48,570; Middle half earn $39,890 to $61,440. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 70% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 2 of 5; Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: 0% · Little or no change; 598,000 jobs in 2024, projected 598,100. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Quality control inspectors".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.
Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Writing3.3 / 5
Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.1 / 5
Active Listening3.1 / 5
Speaking3.1 / 5
Monitoring3.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Production and Processing4.3 / 5
English Language3.6 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.4 / 5
Mechanical3.2 / 5
Mathematics3.1 / 5
Computers and Electronics2.9 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic79
Investigative40
Artistic0
Social0
Enterprising6
Conventional73

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

leather sorter · DE Ledersortierer/Ledersortiererin · FR trieur de cuirs et peaux/trieuse de cuirs et peaux
product quality inspector · DE Qualitätsprüfer/Qualitätsprüferin · FR contrôleur de la qualité des produits/contrôleuse de la qualité des produits
cigar inspector · DE Zigarrenprüfer/Zigarrenprüferin · FR vérificateur de cigares/vérificatrice de cigares
clothing quality inspector · DE Produktprüfer - Bekleidung/Produktprüferin - Bekleidung · FR contrôleur qualité en habillement/contrôleuse qualité en habillement
textile quality inspector · DE Produktprüfer -Textil/Produktprüferin - Textil · FR contrôleur qualité des textiles/contrôleuse qualité des textiles
battery test technician · DE Qualitätskontrolleur für Batterien/Qualitätskontrolleurin für Batterien · FR technicien d’essais de batteries/technicienne d’essais de batterie

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Routine inspectors and testers (8143)54,800 employed
Weighers, graders and sorters (8144)7,800 employed
Chemical and related process operatives (8113)34,100 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Craft and related trades workers, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€40,086
Germany	€38,638
Austria	€38,194
Sweden	€37,856
Netherlands	€37,077
Ireland	€36,098
France	€27,145
Italy	€26,488
Spain	€22,817
Portugal	€11,142
Poland	€10,099

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.03. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-9061).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test