How To Become A Printed Circuit Boards Inspector: What It Is and Career Path

What is a printed circuit boards inspector and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a printed circuit boards inspector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $13.98 an hour? That's $29,078 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -17,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePrinted Circuit Boards InspectorUS Average

Salary

2.3

Avg. Salary $29,078

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.2

Growth rate -3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.76%

Asian 11.24%

Black or African American 8.78%

Hispanic or Latino 21.97%

Unknown 4.37%

White 52.89%

Gender

female 78.13%

male 21.88%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress level

8.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.4

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a printed circuit boards inspector

Explore printed circuit boards inspector education requirements

Most common printed circuit boards inspector degrees

High School Diploma

53.1 %

Associate

25.0 %

Bachelor's

12.5 %

Start to develop specific printed circuit boards inspector skills

Skills	Percentages
Electronic Components	35.60%
IPC-A-610	16.71%
Electronic Circuit Boards	15.75%
Dial Indicators	11.94%
Calipers	8.97%

Complete relevant printed circuit boards inspector training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New printed circuit boards inspectors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a printed circuit boards inspector based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real printed circuit boards inspector resumes.

Research printed circuit boards inspector duties and responsibilities

Inventory and manage all stock products within a retail warehousing environment utilizing RF scanner and barcode readers to document material.
Perform PCBA visual inspection to IPC-A-610 (latest revision) Class3 workmanship criteria.
Inventory and manage all stock products within a retail warehousing environment utilizing RF scanner and barcode readers to document material.
Select to work in prototype/pilot program manufacturing and inspecting angioplasty catheters.

Prepare your printed circuit boards inspector resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your printed circuit boards inspector resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a printed circuit boards inspector resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable printed circuit boards inspector resume templates

Build a professional printed circuit boards inspector resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your printed circuit boards inspector resume.