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.
- Median pay
- $48,570
- Doing it now
- 602,000
- By 2035
- Up 2.5%
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
66,700 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
- Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
- Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded.
- 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.
- Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models.
- Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Quality Control and Safety Technologies/TechniciansSee 31 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Analytical and curious
Careers like this one
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Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $48,570 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.