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Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

Related: Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, & Systems Assemblers Calibration Technologists & Technicians Electrical & Electronic Equipment Assemblers Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers Industrial Machinery Mechanics

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
Analyze test data, making computations as necessary, to determine test results.
Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment.
Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners.
Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances.
Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
Check arriving materials to ensure that they match purchase orders, submitting discrepancy reports as necessary.
Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products.
Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities.
Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
Position products, components, or parts for testing.
Compute defect percentages or averages, using formulas and calculators.
Fabricate, install, position, or connect components, parts, finished products, or instruments for testing or operational purposes.
Interpret legal requirements, provide safety information, or recommend compliance procedures to contractors, craft workers, engineers, or property owners.
Compute usable amounts of items in shipments.
Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.
Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.
Stack or arrange tested products for further processing, shipping, or packaging.
Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.
Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards.
Disassemble defective parts or components, such as inaccurate or worn gauges or measuring instruments.
Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.
Weigh materials, products, containers, or samples to verify packaging weights or ingredient quantities.
Compare colors, shapes, textures, or grades of products or materials with color charts, templates, or samples to verify conformance to standards.
Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
Remove defects, such as chips, burrs, or lap corroded or pitted surfaces.
Collect or select samples for testing or for use as models.
Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments.
Record inspection or test data, such as weights, temperatures, grades, or moisture content, and quantities inspected or graded.

Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.

Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

58450/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.1/hr

Currently Employed

13,120

Yearly Projected Openings

1650

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Cautiousness
Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity

Accelerometers
Ammeters
Bench scales
Beta gauge measuring systems
Binocular light compound microscopes
Calibrated resistance measuring equipment
Calipers
Circuit tester
Comparators
Compression testers
Conductivity meters
Coordinate measuring machines CMM
Creep testers
Depth gauges
Digital testers
Ductility testing machines
Eddy current examination equipment
Electrical frequency meters
Fatigue testers
Force or torque sensors
Forklifts
Frequency counters or timer or dividers
Go or no go gauge
Hardness testers
Height gauges
Hipot testers
Hydraulic pumps
Impact hammers
Impact testers
Impedance meters
Integrated circuit testers
Interferometers
Laser measuring systems
Leak testing equipment
Level generators
Lifts
Liquid penetrant examination equipment
Magnetic particle examination equipment
Metallurgical microscopes
Micrometers
Moisture meters
Multimeters
Optical flats
Oscilloscopes
Personal computers
Pin gauge
Plotter printers
Power meters
Reflectometers
Refrigerated and heated walk in environmental or growth chambers
Resistance thermometers
Rulers
Shear strength testers
Shock testing apparatus
Signal conditioners
Signal generators
Sorters
Spectrometers
Strain gauges
Tension testers
Thickness measuring devices
Thread counters or gauges
Track cranes
Ultrasonic examination equipment
Vibration testers
Viscosimeters
Voltage or current meters
X ray radiography examination equipment

Analytical or scientific software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Content workflow software
Data base management system software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop communications software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise application integration software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Industrial control software
Label making software
Medical software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Optical character reader OCR or scanning software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Program testing software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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