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:
Conduct tests to determine quality of raw materials, bulk intermediate and finished products. May conduct stability sample tests.
On the job, you would:
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.
Calibrate, validate, or maintain laboratory equipment.
Math and Science
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
chemistry
Manufactured or Agricultural Goods
manufacture and distribution of products
Arts and Humanities
English language
Business
administrative services
Basic Skills
keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements
reading work related information
Problem Solving
noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
People and Technology Systems
figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it
measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Verbal
read and understand what is written
communicate by writing
Ideas and Logic
notice when problems happen
use rules to solve problems
Math
choose the right type of math to solve a problem
Visual Understanding
quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things
People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.
They do well at jobs that need:
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Adaptability/Flexibility
Analytical Thinking
Dependability
Cooperation
You might use software like this on the job:
Program testing software
Hewlett Packard LoadRunner
Selenium
Desktop communications software
Eko
Data base user interface and query software
Microsoft SQL Server
Structured query language SQL
high school diploma/GED or bachelor's degree usually needed
Get started on your career:
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
$52,460
$30,800
$86,050
You might like a career in one of these industries:
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