Best degree programs for Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 49 schools train Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $48,570 median wage, 597,370 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 49 schools train inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, graduating 442 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Quality Control Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $48,570 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 15.0702 | 442 | 100.0% | 49 | $63,479 | $25,000 |
Top 49 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texasmoderate | $46,210 | 56,390 | 1.04× | 3 | 70 |
| Wisconsin | $49,610 | 17,670 | 1.56× | 6 | 54 |
| Georgialimited | $46,130 | 19,980 | 1.06× | 1 | 48 |
| Utahlimited | $48,910 | 6,630 | 0.99× | 2 | 47 |
| Californiamoderate | $54,300 | 61,130 | 0.87× | 3 | 38 |
| Michigan | $44,490 | 27,980 | 1.65× | 5 | 33 |
| South Carolinalimited | $46,890 | 13,360 | 1.51× | 1 | 25 |
| Nebraskalimited | $51,270 | 3,350 | 0.85× | 2 | 23 |
| Illinoislimited | $47,920 | 31,700 | 1.35× | 2 | 16 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $57,090 | 7,460 | 1.15× | 3 | 12 |
| Oklahomalimited | $49,630 | 7,430 | 1.13× | 1 | 9 |
| Indianalimited | $47,900 | 24,790 | 2.02× | 2 | 8 |
| Floridalimited | $47,540 | 22,630 | 0.59× | 2 | 6 |
| Minnesotalimited | $57,170 | 9,710 | 0.86× | 2 | 6 |
| Ohiomoderate | $47,360 | 32,060 | 1.50× | 4 | 6 |
| North Carolinalimited | $46,430 | 19,700 | 1.04× | 1 | 5 |
| Washingtonlimited | $64,420 | 12,010 | 0.88× | 1 | 5 |
| Missourilimited | $54,420 | 12,480 | 1.11× | 1 | 4 |
| Pennsylvanialimited | $48,320 | 25,870 | 1.11× | 1 | 4 |
| Tennesseelimited | $45,760 | 17,140 | 1.36× | 1 | 4 |
| Louisianalimited | $49,490 | 8,110 | 1.09× | 1 | 3 |
| New Yorklimited | $49,990 | 19,790 | 0.53× | 1 | 3 |
| Kentuckylimited | $46,280 | 12,880 | 1.68× | 1 | 2 |
| Kansaslimited | $53,680 | 9,300 | 1.68× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
- Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
- Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
- Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
- Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
- Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
- Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
- Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Writing3.3
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Monitoring3.0
- Mathematics2.6
- Active Learning2.4
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing4.3
- English Language3.6
- Customer and Personal Service3.4
- Mechanical3.2
- Mathematics3.1
- Computers and Electronics2.9
Abilities
- Oral Expression3.6
- Near Vision3.5
- Oral Comprehension3.5
- Perceptual Speed3.4
- Flexibility of Closure3.3
- Problem Sensitivity3.3
Core activities
- Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.3
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.3
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.3
- Getting Information4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Inspector
Job zone 2 of 5 · SVP Below 6.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Ranges from a few days to one year of on-the-job training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0702Quality Control Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Inspector?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Quality Control Technology/Technician, which awarded 442 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Inspector?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 442 people a year.
How much do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers earn?+
The median is $48,570 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $35,510 at the 10th percentile to $77,860 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers growing?+
BLS projects a +0.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 69,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
49 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Inspector, Quality Inspector, Quality Technician, Quality Control Inspector (QC Inspector) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 51-9061.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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