If your equipment starts producing defective products, who do you call? Quality control systems managers! In fact, call them before you notice something is wrong; quality control is a necessary and ongoing process. Quality control systems managers generally work in laboratories and factories, but may also find roles in healthcare. They collect and analyze samples from their production lines and services every day to make sure everything is going as planned. Whether your product is a Frisbee, a car, a food item, or a healthcare service, as a quality control manager, it’s your job to meet standards, comply with regulations, and continuously improve quality. If a problem occurs, these managers need to troubleshoot the process to find a solution and communicate with all of the departments, vendors, and contractors who might be affected by it. On the people side, they supervise employees, and personally advise customers on technical issues. Quality control systems managers often have a four-year degree related to their industry. They must be well versed in quality systems, statistics, and risk analysis. But for these professionals, their work experience is a more important credential. While they usually work typical business hours, overtime might be necessary when big production deadlines approach.
What they do:
Plan, direct, or coordinate quality assurance programs. Formulate quality control policies and control quality of laboratory and production efforts.
On the job, you would:
Collect and analyze production samples to evaluate quality.
Analyze quality control test results and provide feedback and interpretation to production management or staff.
Stop production if serious product defects are present.
Business
management
administrative services
Math and Science
chemistry
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
Arts and Humanities
English language
Manufactured or Agricultural Goods
manufacture and distribution of products
Basic Skills
reading work related information
keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Verbal
communicate by speaking
read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
notice when problems happen
use rules to solve problems
Math
choose the right type of math to solve a problem
add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Attention
pay attention to something without being distracted
People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.
They do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail
Analytical Thinking
Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Integrity
Initiative
You might use software like this on the job:
Analytical or scientific software
Minitab
Statgraphics
Industrial control software
ASI DATAMYTE GageMetrics
Infinity QS ProFicient
Data base user interface and query software
Microsoft Access
Structured query language SQL
bachelor's degree or master's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
$97,140
per year, on average
You might like a career in one of these industries:
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