Quality Control Analysts: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

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Quality Control Analysts

Quality Control Analysts conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.

Salary
$56830
Becoming One
Medium
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality



Job description

Quality Control Analysts conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.

  • Conduct routine and non-routine analyses of in-process materials, raw materials, environmental samples, finished goods, or stability samples.
  • Interpret test results, compare them to established specifications and control limits, and make recommendations on appropriateness of data for release.
  • Perform visual inspections of finished products.
  • Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses.
Read more about what does a Quality Control Analyst really do at work and what is it like being and working as one.



Salary

Average salary
$52940 per year

Average hourly wage
$25 per hour


Quality Control Analysts with little to no experience tend to make between $29830 and $37940 while the more experienced ones can earn over $63340 per year.

Top 5 paying states Hourly Annual
MD $33 $69,500
MA $31 $63,450
CT $30 $62,090
DC $29 $61,000
NJ $29 $60,660

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Quality Control Analyst is to move to a higher paying state like MD. Right now, the highest paying states for Quality Control Analysts are MD, MA, CT, DC and NJ.

However, a higher pay at MD doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at MD might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Quality Control Analyst is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.


Requirements

Recommended degree level
Bachelor’s degree

We asked other Quality Control Analysts what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by a College Certificate.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Science Technologies/Technicians, General
Chemical Process Technology
Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
Read more about how to become a Quality Control Analyst and the degree, training and education you need.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Quality Control Analyst.

PROS
Suitable for people who likes to follow routines
Suitable for people who wants to work in a supportive work environment
This career is perfect for people who love to work indoors.
It is not too difficult to get into this career. Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.
CONS
Not suitable for people who likes to help and teach others
Salary is below average
Long working hours (More than 40 hours per week)

What is the job like

Job satisfaction
69%

Is this job meaningful
65%


69% of Quality Control Analysts said they were satisfied with their job and 65% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.

Serena Kirton
An agency who provides foster homes to high risk youth

My name is Serena and I work as a Quality Control Analyst with an agency who provides foster homes to high risk youth in the care of children and family services (MCFD in Canada).

My job includes monitoring of the homes to ensure the youth have all their needs met and that the care is up to the standards of care across all of our homes. This involves checking the cleanliness of the home, analyzing incident trends and behaviours, checking the furnishings and beds to ensure they are in good condition, and checking in with the youth directly to ensure they feel included in the home.

My Typical Day

A typical day will involve a lot of interaction with social workers and quite a bit of paperwork. All of our monitoring gets documented and inputted into our file management system. We then review the files monthly to check for trends that may need further attention. For example, one of the youth may become increasingly involved in substance use. As the quality control analyst, I am required to show justification with incident reports and behaviour reports to involves outside intervention for this youth (could be a substance use counsellor, a rehab program, police liaisons, psychiatric assessments, or the implementation of a harm reduction model into the home). From there, once the care team for this youth is in agreement on the measures to be put in place, I follow and measure the effectiveness of our implemented interventions and provide adjustments as needed.

A quality control analyst is not always a job for stats and numbers. Sometimes the job is more diverse. My role involves stats and numbers, but much of what I do involves personal interactions and identification of needs. As quality control, I am responsible for ensuring our standards of care reach all of our clients/youth.

Pros

  • There is always something new to learn and challenge you
  • My particular side of Quality control involves an everchanging workday so I never know exactly what my day will look like
  • Flexibility: because of the nature of my industry I work a lot of flex days (start early, end early, work some short days and some long days, bank extra hours to have a shortened work week, etc)
  • A balanced mix of human interactions and paperwork
  • Team and interpersonal development is always ongoing through case planning meetings and the analysis of incident trends, brainstorming ideas for implementation with a variety of other professionals including social workers, behavioral consultants/interventionists, family members, persons served, probation officers, and a variety of other professionals
  • Constant learning opportunities
  • Always changing: my job takes on the road, all around the province depending on where I am needed

Cons

  • Lots of computer screen work
  • High stress environment
  • There is a high burnout rate
  • High demands on tight timelines

Advise to a student considering a position as a Quality Control Analyst

In my field, quality control is not strictly a numbers and paper game. In the social services sector, Quality Control involves a human component that is quite unique to the field. A critical and creative mind is key to success with a basis of statistical understanding. You need to be able to see the statistics, read the data, and process several options for solutions to present to your team. You need to be open to suggestions and be flexible in adapting to your clients needs within the framework of policy and standards of care.

My advice if someone is considering a position in Quality Control is to learn not just how to read a statistic, but to also learn the field you are looking at providing Quality Control for. Every field has something unique to offer, find it and make it work for your strengths. My strengths are in paperwork and problem solving, people are my weakness. I am forced to constantly develop my people skills but I am also constantly finding new ways to solve the problems that arise day to day in our foster homes. Quality control is about more than numbers, in my field it is about care. It is about heart. And it is about making sure that the needs of a child, no matter how small or how large or how obscure, are met by everyone involved in that child’s care. And I never know where my job will take me tomorrow so be prepared for anything – even moving houses!



Is this right for me

Best personality for this career
The Organizers and The Thinkers

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like following set procedures and routines. They like working with data and details more than with ideas..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.



Learn more about Quality Control Analysts

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Related career information

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