How To Become A Quality Control Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a quality control operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a quality control operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.77 an hour? That's $34,879 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 2,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreQuality Control OperatorUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,879

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 10.44%

Black or African American 9.65%

Hispanic or Latino 17.05%

Unknown 5.68%

White 56.20%

Gender

female 39.33%

male 60.67%

Age - 35

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 - 35

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.4

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a quality control operator

Explore quality control operator education requirements

Most common quality control operator degrees

High School Diploma

32.7 %

Bachelor's

30.9 %

Associate

18.9 %

Start to develop specific quality control operator skills

Skills	Percentages
Quality Checks	22.34%
Machine Operators	9.09%
Laboratory Equipment	7.50%
ISO	6.31%
Pallet Jack	5.68%

Complete relevant quality control operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New quality control operators 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 quality control operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real quality control operator resumes.

Research quality control operator duties and responsibilities

Operate, setup and programme CNC mills & lathes.
Operate CNC machine fabricating parts and inspecting there tolerances.
Inspect pasta products for presence of metal in accordance with GMP standards.
Coordinate ISO, RoHS, FCC/CE, and UL initiatives for engineering department.

Prepare your quality control operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your quality control operator 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 quality control operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable quality control operator resume templates

Build a professional quality control operator 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 quality control operator resume.