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Role hub · Quality Control Analysts

Quality Control Analyst: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for quality control analysts separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other” (SOC 19-4099), which includes quality control analysts and other jobs; it is not a figure for quality control analysts alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
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Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$62,280
Hourly
$29.94
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Quality Control Analysts conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. The median pay is $62,280 a year ($29.94 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (38% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$62,280
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
73,910
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
38% of workers
Key facts

Quality Control Analysts at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other” (which includes quality control analysts) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $62,280 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists an associate's degree as the typical entry-level education for quality control analysts in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 73,910 people were employed as quality control analysts in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Quality Control Analysts

SalaryQuality Control Analyst salary

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The work

What quality control analysts do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Conduct routine and non-routine analyses of in-process materials, raw materials, environmental samples, finished goods, or stability samples.
  2. Interpret test results, compare them to established specifications and control limits, and make recommendations on appropriateness of data for release.
  3. Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment.
  4. Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained.
  5. Perform visual inspections of finished products.
  6. Complete documentation needed to support testing procedures, including data capture forms, equipment logbooks, or inventory forms.
  7. Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses.
  8. Identify and troubleshoot equipment problems.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all quality control analyst jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all life, physical, and social science technicians, all other (SOC 19-4099), the broader occupation.

  1. Educational services; state, local, and private37.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $62,280
  2. Professional, scientific, and technical services17.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $69,080
  3. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals10.1% of all jobs in this occupation · -2.3% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $71,570
  4. Administrative and support services6.0% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $58,550
  5. Chemical manufacturing4.0% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $83,260
  6. Hospitals; state, local, and private2.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $65,010

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Quality Control AnalysiscoreReading ComprehensioncoreMonitoringcoreComplex Problem SolvingActive ListeningOperations MonitoringWritingCritical ThinkingSpeaking

Knowledge areas: Mathematics, Production and Processing, Chemistry, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics.

Tools and technology

Software quality control analysts use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Sparta Systems TrackWiseCompliance softwareIn demand
  • Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology
  • Extensible markup language XMLEnterprise application integration softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft VisioProcess mapping and design softwareHot technology
  • SeleniumProgram testing softwareHot technology
  • The MathWorks MATLABAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Borland SilkTestProgram testing software
  • Code profilersProgram testing software
  • EkoDesktop communications software
  • Hewlett Packard LoadRunnerProgram testing software
  • Hewlett Packard QuickTest ProfessionalProgram testing software
  • IBM Rational Functional TesterProgram testing software

Also called: Lab Analyst, Lab Technician (Lab Tech), Laboratory Analyst, Microbiology Lab Analyst, QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor), QA Lab Tech (Quality Assurance Lab Technician).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.