Operational test mechanic vs quality inspector

The differences between operational test mechanics and quality inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an operational test mechanic has an average salary of $42,957, which is higher than the $33,197 average annual salary of a quality inspector.

The top three skills for an operational test mechanic include R, functional test and QC. The most important skills for a quality inspector are calipers, micrometers, and quality standards.

Operational test mechanic vs quality inspector overview

	Operational Test Mechanic	Quality Inspector
Yearly salary	$42,957	$33,197
Hourly rate	$20.65	$15.96
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	51,939	70,978
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	High School Diploma, 37%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Operational test mechanic vs quality inspector salary

Operational test mechanics and quality inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Operational Test Mechanic	Quality Inspector
Average salary	$42,957	$33,197
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $64,000	Between $25,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	North Kingstown, RI	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	Connecticut	Washington
Best paying company	Bristol-Myers Squibb	Nabors Industries
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between operational test mechanic and quality inspector education

There are a few differences between an operational test mechanic and a quality inspector in terms of educational background:

	Operational Test Mechanic	Quality Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 50%	High School Diploma, 37%
Most common major	Mechanical Engineering	Business
Most common college	-	-

Operational test mechanic vs quality inspector demographics

Here are the differences between operational test mechanics' and quality inspectors' demographics:

	Operational Test Mechanic	Quality Inspector
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 92.1% Female, 7.9%	Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.5% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between operational test mechanic and quality inspector duties and responsibilities

Operational test mechanic example responsibilities.

Box build sub-assembly level by solder wire into connector, lead, and fan according to MPI and visuals aid.
Perform basic QC for components and complete system.
Provide construction and testing of electro-mechanical sub-assemblies for high quality medical equipment build from blueprints and schematics.
Ensure that daily automate regression testing is running and completing successfully.

Quality inspector example responsibilities.

Task involve use of calipers, optical comparators, volt/ohm meters and curve tracer.
Utilize measuring instruments like calipers, gauges, and micrometers to assure product conformance to customers specifications.
Recycle ESD products as required.
Maintain logs of products as required per AS9100.
Document and inspect for ESD requirements and for proper handling of MSD moisture sensitive devices.
Perform surface plate set-ups, utilizing gage blocks, angle blocks, sine plates and bars.

Operational test mechanic vs quality inspector skills

Common operational test mechanic skills

R, 44%
Functional Test, 38%
QC, 18%

Common quality inspector skills

Calipers, 9%
Micrometers, 7%
Quality Standards, 6%
Quality Inspection, 6%
Inspection Results, 4%
CMM, 4%

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Operational Test Mechanic
Operational Test Mechanic vs Quality Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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