Quality Control Analysts
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.
Most important skills
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Complex Problem Solving
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Operations Monitoring
Key knowledge
- Mathematics
- Production and Processing
- Chemistry
- English Language
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
- Food Production
- Mechanical
What the work involves
- Train other analysts to perform laboratory procedures and assays.
- Perform visual inspections of finished products.
- Serve as a technical liaison between quality control and other departments, vendors, or contractors.
- Participate in internal assessments and audits as required.
- Identify and troubleshoot equipment problems.
- Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained.
- Write technical reports or documentation, such as deviation reports, testing protocols, and trend analyses.
- Write or revise standard quality control operating procedures.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Investigative, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (37.8% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (33.7%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (33.9%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Quality Control Analysts is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 19-4099 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 77% of occupations compared | 61% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 90% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 84% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 58% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 54% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 60% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared | 33% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 76% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 28.65%
- Contact with others about half the time: 6.45%
- Contact with others most of the time: 3.57%
- Constant contact with others: 61.34%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 54.04%
- Fairly important: 18.94%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 11.37%
- Extremely important: 15.66%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 3.57%
- Important: 50.47%
- Very important: 16.17%
- Extremely important: 29.79%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 4.7%
- Limited freedom: 22.21%
- Some freedom: 36.34%
- A lot of freedom: 36.75%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Time pressure
- Never: 4.92%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 3.57%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 29.5%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.79%
- Every day: 32.22%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Conflict situations
- Never: 29.04%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 20.58%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.94%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.07%
- Every day: 15.37%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 31.92%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 33.07%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 3.57%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 14.13%
- Every day: 17.31%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2020
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 7.62%
- Fairly serious: 22.1%
- Serious: 12.03%
- Very serious: 16.43%
- Extremely serious: 41.82%
n = 16, Incumbent 08/2020
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O*NET-SOC 19-4099.01 · SOC 19-4099 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8