A quality assurance inspector makes sure that products of a certain industry meet the prescribed quality standards. They might work in a wide variety of fields from IT to insurance, from manufacturing to finance or consulting. The list goes on, although quality inspection processes greatly differ from one area to the next.
Depending on the sector they work for, quality inspectors use a variety of tools, from handheld measurement devices to electronic inspection equipment. Sometimes all they have to do is monitor automated vision inspection systems. Other times quality assurance inspection can be a complex process that requires a team of experts to come up with the most efficient system to determine if the desired quality of products is met and sustained. The profession has evolved significantly since its first occurrence, which entailed testing the performance of ammunition in World War II.
Regardless of what kind of product they inspect, they will record their inspections and create reports to present to their supervisors. At the end of the day, the job earns them $15.41 an hour, on average.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a quality assurance inspector. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.57 an hour? That's $34,461 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -18% and produce -100,900 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many quality assurance 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, mechanical skills and physical strength.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a quality assurance inspector, we found that a lot of resumes listed 7.1% of quality assurance inspectors included quality standards, while 5.9% of resumes included micrometers, and 5.6% of resumes included product quality. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the quality assurance inspector job title. But what industry to start with? Most quality assurance inspectors actually find jobs in the manufacturing and technology industries.
If you're interested in becoming a quality assurance inspector, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 25.9% of quality assurance inspectors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 4.6% of quality assurance inspectors have master's degrees. Even though some quality assurance inspectors have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a quality assurance inspector. When we researched the most common majors for a quality assurance inspector, we found that they most commonly earn high school diploma degrees or bachelor's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on quality assurance inspector resumes include associate degree degrees or diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a quality assurance inspector. In fact, many quality assurance inspector jobs require experience in a role such as quality control inspector. Meanwhile, many quality assurance inspectors also have previous career experience in roles such as inspector or cashier.