The role of a Mechanical Inspector, as the name implies, is to inspect and further test electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and other types of systems and technology, whether it be in use by a business, a government organization, or a residential or commercial area or group.

These systems can include things such as daily appliances, boilers, gas or oil lines, or elevators. They do not simply examine and test for the purposes of seeing whether or not the hardware works properly but also in order to see whether it works properly within a town's or city's regulations and laws. Thus, they usually work for the government and the organizations tied to it but can also be found in architectural agencies and engineering companies.

A potential candidate for the position of Mechanical Inspector has to have at least a high school diploma and some experience in the field. Some employers, however, also ask for college-level education in subjects such as Architecture or Engineering.

What Does a Mechanical Inspector Do

There are certain skills that many mechanical inspectors have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed dexterity, math skills and mechanical skills.

Learn more about what a Mechanical Inspector does

How To Become a Mechanical Inspector

If you're interested in becoming a mechanical inspector, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 27.7% of mechanical inspectors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.5% of mechanical inspectors have master's degrees. Even though some mechanical inspectors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Mechanical Inspector

Mechanical Inspector Career Paths

Average Salary for a Mechanical Inspector

Mechanical Inspectors in America make an average salary of $49,727 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $67,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $36,000 per year.
Average Mechanical Inspector Salary
$49,727 Yearly
$23.91 hourly

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Roles and Types of Mechanical Inspector

The role of a mechanical inspector includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general mechanical inspector responsibilities:

  • Perform work in accordance to the iso 9001/as 9100 standard perform mechanical inspections to all military
  • Performs visual and mechanical inspections of incoming materials, in-process components, assemblies, or final products per applicable engineering
  • Inspects purchased mechanical parts, assemblies, and materials for conformance to drawing requirements

There are several types of mechanical inspector, including:

Quality Control Inspector

Role:

Quality Control Inspectors are in charge of looking for defects in product specifications. While that may sound like it requires schooling, you really only need a high school degree because you'll go through on-the-job training, which will tell you everything you need to know.

Things may get a little dusty on the job. So you might want to invest in a good pair of goggles to wear. Maybe even a mask to cover your nose and mouth. There's no sense in covering your lungs in a layer of dust after all.

Speaking about being on the job, you'll most likely work in a manufacturing plant. The work environments are known to be a little loud, so maybe you want to bring some ear plugs as well. You know what? Just to be safe, you might just want to put yourself in a bubble. At least, that way you'll never get hurt, right?

  • Average Salary: $35,018
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Inspector

Role:

You probably already know from context clues that inspectors inspect things. Sure, the joke's not great but it's not inaccurate either. There are a lot of different types of inspectors out there. So what they're inspecting really depends on what type of inspector they are.

The fact that there are many different types of inspectors is truly a good thing for the career, though. While it means you have a tougher decision to make, it also means you have a lot of job opportunities to consider. The more opportunities, the better. We don't recall anyone complaining about too much job opportunity.

The attention is in the details for inspectors. Whether you're a quality control inspector, a parts inspector, a furniture inspector, or even a police inspector your job requires you to look at the fine print. Pay attention to the little things. You don't want to miss anything as an inspector, no matter how small it is.

  • Average Salary: $38,757
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Quality Inspector

Role:

This job seems pretty self-explanatory. I mean you are literally inspecting the quality of a product or material. While that's the case, there are some other duties you'll have as well.

Quality inspectors take a lot of time to conduct tests on certain products to make sure they're up to the task they were built for. Then they take the measurements into account to ensure the product has been measured properly.

Quite generally, quality inspectors will work along an assembly line or within a production department. That way they can take their measurements and conduct tests while a product is being built. Sometimes you'll find a product that just doesn't make the cut.

  • Average Salary: $33,197
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Mechanical Inspector Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active mechanical inspector jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where mechanical inspectors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Mechanical Inspector Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California2,035$49,973
2Texas978$45,974
3Florida805$44,924
4Georgia705$39,583
5New York611$52,840
6Massachusetts607$52,290
7Pennsylvania589$52,644
8Virginia493$51,814
9Ohio484$49,147
10Illinois474$42,874
11North Carolina437$43,640
12Colorado400$50,258
13Maryland392$55,482
14Minnesota385$47,875
15Michigan362$50,995
16Arizona361$52,510
17Washington344$65,187
18Wisconsin336$42,355
19Indiana327$45,846
20New Jersey292$56,355
21Missouri272$48,000
22Alabama241$40,170
23South Carolina236$43,359
24Tennessee223$45,490
25Utah196$50,733
26Connecticut177$70,537
27Kansas165$46,833
28Kentucky165$47,341
29New Hampshire155$51,339
30Oregon155$45,665
31Iowa148$50,029
32Louisiana119$57,655
33New Mexico114$51,961
34Nevada106$50,501
35Nebraska103$56,611
36Mississippi101$39,877
37Oklahoma88$50,678
38Maine86$47,539
39Arkansas80$43,970
40Idaho67$49,890
41Montana62$53,502
42Vermont53$49,006
43West Virginia51$47,087
44North Dakota44$52,071
45Delaware42$51,308
46Rhode Island39$55,967
47South Dakota35$51,936
48Hawaii24$44,815
49Alaska23$55,351
50Wyoming23$47,439

Mechanical Inspector Education

Mechanical Inspector Majors

13.4 %

Mechanical Inspector Degrees

Associate

30.1 %

Bachelors

27.7 %

High School Diploma

24.1 %

Top Skills For a Mechanical Inspector

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 9.5% of mechanical inspectors listed calipers on their resume, but soft skills such as dexterity and math skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Mechanical Inspector Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Mechanical Inspector templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Mechanical Inspector resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Mechanical Inspector diversity

Mechanical Inspector Gender Distribution

Male
Male
92%
Female
Female
8%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among mechanical inspectors, 8.2% of them are women, while 91.8% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among mechanical inspectors is White, which makes up 56.3% of all mechanical inspectors.

  • The most common foreign language among mechanical inspectors is Spanish at 39.1%.

Online Courses For Mechanical Inspector That You May Like

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Best States For a Mechanical Inspector

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a mechanical inspector. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Washington, Louisiana, and Nebraska. Mechanical inspectors make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $70,537. Whereas in Washington and Louisiana, they would average $65,187 and $57,655, respectively. While mechanical inspectors would only make an average of $56,611 in Nebraska, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Connecticut

Total Mechanical Inspector Jobs: 177
Highest 10% Earn:
$103,000
Location Quotient:
1.03

2. Washington

Total Mechanical Inspector Jobs: 344
Highest 10% Earn:
$84,000
Location Quotient:
0.9

3. Nebraska

Total Mechanical Inspector Jobs: 103
Highest 10% Earn:
$77,000
Location Quotient:
0.89
Full List Of Best States For Mechanical Inspectors

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Top Mechanical Inspector Employers

Most Common Employers For Mechanical Inspector

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Enbridge$71,438$34.359
2City of Los Angeles$65,217$31.358
3General Electric$61,649$29.6412
4Cobham$59,850$28.775
5Lear$58,884$28.318
6Boeing$55,193$26.5416
7BAE Systems$54,466$26.197
8General Dynamics$53,530$25.747
9Lockheed Martin$53,498$25.7214
10BNSF Railway$52,656$25.327

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