Quality inspector vs mechanical inspector

The differences between quality inspectors and mechanical inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a mechanical inspector has an average salary of $49,727, which is higher than the $33,197 average annual salary of a quality inspector.

The top three skills for a quality inspector include calipers, micrometers and quality standards. The most important skills for a mechanical inspector are calipers, micrometers, and mechanical inspection.

Quality inspector vs mechanical inspector overview

	Quality Inspector	Mechanical Inspector
Yearly salary	$33,197	$49,727
Hourly rate	$15.96	$23.91
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	70,978	33,863
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Associate Degree, 30%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

What does a quality inspector do?

A Quality Control Inspector is responsible for making sure that the manufactured products in a particular company or organization are up to standard and adheres to the rules and regulations. They continuously monitor production operations where they manually inspect products, accepting and rejecting those that do not meet the standard quality, and provide recommendations should it be necessary. Moreover, the Quality Control Inspectors coordinates with workers to ensure improvements, and with management to report the results.

What does a mechanical inspector do?

Mechanical inspectors are skilled professionals who are responsible for inspecting the electrical, mechanical, and other systems for commercial and residential buildings. These inspectors are required to inspect equipment such as boilers, HVAC systems, and elevators to ensure they are properly functioning. They must ensure that the works done are following local regulations while investigating reports of code violations. Mechanical inspectors must also interpret engineering drawings and specification requirements while performing quality evaluations on materials to determine the acceptance of products.

Quality inspector vs mechanical inspector salary

Quality inspectors and mechanical inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Quality Inspector	Mechanical Inspector
Average salary	$33,197	$49,727
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $42,000	Between $36,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	Minneapolis, MN	Omaha, NE
Highest paying state	Washington	Connecticut
Best paying company	Nabors Industries	PBF Energy
Best paying industry	Health Care	Government

Differences between quality inspector and mechanical inspector education

There are a few differences between a quality inspector and a mechanical inspector in terms of educational background:

	Quality Inspector	Mechanical Inspector
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 37%	Associate Degree, 30%
Most common major	Business	Mechanical Engineering
Most common college	-	-

Quality inspector vs mechanical inspector demographics

Here are the differences between quality inspectors' and mechanical inspectors' demographics:

	Quality Inspector	Mechanical Inspector
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 53.5% Female, 46.5%	Male, 91.8% Female, 8.2%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between quality inspector and mechanical inspector duties and responsibilities

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.

Mechanical inspector example responsibilities.

Inspect parts to blueprints using all measuring equipment; micrometer, surface plate, calipers, customer certifications and P.O.
Review vendor supply certifications and first article inspection reports for accurate completion of documentation.
Draft ISO's as needed.
Adhere to FDA and ISO compliance.
Assemble composite assemblies in jigs.
Program and operate Mitutoyo CMM.

Quality inspector vs mechanical inspector skills

Common quality inspector skills

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

Common mechanical inspector skills

Calipers, 10%
Micrometers, 9%
Mechanical Inspection, 8%
GD, 6%
Engineering Drawings, 6%
Aerospace, 4%

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Quality Inspector vs Mechanical Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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