Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code CIR
Quality Control Analysts
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.
Also called: Lab Technician (Lab Tech), QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor), QA Tech (Quality Assurance Technician), Quality Control Technician (QC Tech), Lab Analyst, Laboratory Analyst, Microbiology Lab Analyst, QA Lab Tech (Quality Assurance Lab Technician).
O*NET 19-4099.01
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $62,280
- Middle half earn $48,030 to $79,780. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 38% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Conduct routine and non-routine analyses of in-process materials, raw materials, environmental samples, finished goods, or stability samples.
- Interpret test results, compare them to established specifications and control limits, and make recommendations on appropriateness of data for release.
- Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment.
- Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained.
- Perform visual inspections of finished products.
- Complete documentation needed to support testing procedures, including data capture forms, equipment logbooks, or inventory forms.
- Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses.
- Identify and troubleshoot equipment problems.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Monitoring3.8 / 5
- Active Listening3.4 / 5
- Writing3.3 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.3 / 5
- Speaking3.1 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Mathematics4.2 / 5
- Production and Processing4.0 / 5
- Chemistry3.7 / 5
- English Language3.7 / 5
- Administrative3.3 / 5
- Computers and Electronics3.3 / 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.
- Realistic52
- Investigative65
- Artistic0
- Social3
- Enterprising27
- Conventional83
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)
- industrial quality manager · DE Qualitätsbeauftragter in der Industrie/Qualitätsbeauftragte in der Industrie · FR responsable en qualité industrielle
- chemist · DE Chemiker/Chemikerin · FR chimiste
- chemical application specialist · DE Applikationsspezialist Chemie/Applikationsspezialistin Chemie · FR spécialiste d’application produits chimiques
- chemical tester · DE Stoffprüfer Chemie/Stoffprüferin Chemie · FR agent de laboratoire en métallurgie/agente de laboratoire en métallurgie
- chromatographer · DE Chromatografie-Fachmann/Chromatografie-Fachfrau · FR chromatographiste
- chemical manufacturing quality technician · DE Qualitätssicherungstechniker Chemiefertigung/Qualitätssicherungstechnikerin Chemiefertigung · FR technicien qualité en fabrication chimique/technicienne qualité en fabrication chimique
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Customer service managers (4143)106,200 employed
- Customer service supervisors (7220)40,100 employed
- Production managers and directors in manufacturing (1121)227,800 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 “Technicians and associate professionals”. 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.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
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 +0.45. 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 (19-4099).
Related careers
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