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

What is a quality control scientist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Betsy Smith

A quality control scientist conducts tests to determine the quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate, and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests. Their main duty is testing and assessing products, usually in an industrial or warehouse setting. The quality control scientist may test parts or products using a variety of techniques, checking that specifications are met and that the product works as intended.

Essential skills required to qualify for the position include excellent technical skills, leadership skills, planning and organizational skills, communication, and interpersonal skills, among others. Furthermore, they perform analysis on raw materials, intermediates, standards, and finished products, and also carry out routine maintenance activities for QC systems and meet quality and safety standards.

Quality control scientists can find work with a high school diploma or G.E.D. However, many companies are now seeking candidates who have a certificate in quality control from a community college or technical school. This is typically a two-year program that covers quality control principles and best practices and may prepare students for certification through an organization like the American Society for Quality.

Quality control scientists make an average of $32.83 an hour during a traditional workweek. This amounts to over $68,000 a year.

What general advice would you give to a quality control scientist?

Dr. Betsy Smith

Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Elmira College

I would advise students just graduating to be flexible and open-minded in their job search. Chemistry is a challenging major, and students who succeed in it have learned how to learn, so they shouldn't assume that pure chemistry is the only thing they can do. One growing field is biomedical research, and chemistry majors are often qualified for jobs in that area. If you have other strengths like writing, there are often jobs that can combine them as a technical writer or work for a science journal. There are jobs out there that might be perfect for you that you haven't heard of until you see an ad for it, so be open to different possibilities.

ScoreQuality Control ScientistUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $75,410

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.04%

Asian 15.70%

Black or African American 8.76%

Hispanic or Latino 15.59%

Unknown 6.05%

White 52.87%

Gender

female 55.65%

male 44.35%

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 scientist

Explore quality control scientist education requirements

Most common quality control scientist degrees

Bachelor's

81.3 %

Master's

12.4 %

Associate

3.3 %

Start to develop specific quality control scientist skills

Skills	Percentages
QC	12.82%
HPLC	6.48%
Dosage Forms	4.43%
Analytical Methods	4.21%
Test Methods	3.90%

Complete relevant quality control scientist training and internships

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

Research quality control scientist duties and responsibilities

SAP, Trackwise and outlook manage.
Assist with timely release of raw materials and finish products through several test methods including HPLC and GC testing and analysis.
Conduct DNA/RNA manual testing with PCR assays such as ELISA, extractions and poison assays/high pure assays.
Analyze air samples by GC.

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