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Quality Control Analysts
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.
Also Known As:
Lab Analyst
Lab Technician (Lab Tech)
Laboratory Analyst
Microbiology Lab Analyst
QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor)
QA Lab Tech (Quality Assurance Lab Technician)
QA Tech (Quality Assurance Technician)
Quality Control Analyst (QC Analyst)
Quality Control Lab Technician (QC Lab Tech)
Quality Control Technician (QC Tech)
Wages
Annual wages for Quality Control Analysts in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2033 Projected Employment
88,200
6% Change From 2023
Explore Quality Control Systems Managers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Participate in internal assessments and audits as required.
- Ensure that lab cleanliness and safety standards are maintained.
- Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment.
- Interpret test results, compare them to established specifications and control limits, and make recommendations on appropriateness of data for release.
- Identify quality problems and recommend solutions.
- Review data from contract laboratories to ensure accuracy and regulatory compliance.
- Write technical reports or documentation, such as deviation reports, testing protocols, and trend analyses.
- Develop and qualify new testing methods.
- Investigate or report questionable test results.
- Serve as a technical liaison between quality control and other departments, vendors, or contractors.
- Perform visual inspections of finished products.
- Identify and troubleshoot equipment problems.
- Conduct routine and non-routine analyses of in-process materials, raw materials, environmental samples, finished goods, or stability samples.
- Receive and inspect raw materials.
- Train other analysts to perform laboratory procedures and assays.
- Evaluate analytical methods and procedures to determine how they might be improved.
- Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment.
- Compile laboratory test data and perform appropriate analyses.
- Prepare or review required method transfer documentation including technical transfer protocols or reports.
- Perform validations or transfers of analytical methods in accordance with applicable policies or guidelines.
- Monitor testing procedures to ensure that all tests are performed according to established item specifications, standard test methods, or protocols.
- Write or revise standard quality control operating procedures.
- Evaluate new technologies and methods to make recommendations regarding their use.
- Participate in out-of-specification and failure investigations and recommend corrective actions.
- Supply quality control data necessary for regulatory submissions.
- Coordinate testing with contract laboratories and vendors.
- Complete documentation needed to support testing procedures, including data capture forms, equipment logbooks, or inventory forms.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")