Trades Today Career Opportunities

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fabrication work may have other

requirements in terms of training or

job experience.

Quality control

inspectors

The job: Speaking of quality control,

there is an entire class of manufac-

turing workers dedicated to making

sure that the products being deliv-

ered by an assembly line process

meet certain standards for quality.

These individuals inspect, test,

measure, sample, sort, weigh, and

otherwise assess products or parts,

looking for defects, wear and tear

from the assembly process, or other

deviations from product specs.

The pay: Quality control pros earn

a median annual salary of just over

$46,000.

The prospects: Quality control is

another aspect of the manufac-

turing industry that is expected to

shrink in the coming years, due to

increasingly sophisticated auto-

mation technologies. Specifically,

the BLS projects a four percent

decline (approximately 23,000 jobs)

between 2022 and 2032.

The education: A high school

diploma and on-the-job training are

the most common requirements

for quality control inspectors. How