Quality Control Tech

Types of Degrees Quality Control Tech Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many quality control technology graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,482
Master’s Degree	717
Associate Degree	622
Basic Certificate	500
Undergraduate Certificate	122
Graduate Certificate	90
Doctor’s Degree	7

What Quality Control Tech Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, quality control tech majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Quality Control Tech Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Quality Control Tech Majors

A major in quality control tech prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Quality Control Tech Majors

Quality Control Tech majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Quality Control Tech Major?

People with a quality control tech degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Environmental Engineering Technicians	12.4%	$50,560
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	8.1%	$73,020

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Quality Control Tech?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 1,685 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in quality control technology in 2021, making it rank #141 in popularity. This major attracts more men than women. About 79% of the graduates in this field are male.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of quality control tech majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	15
Black or African American	104
Hispanic or Latino	76
White	1,032
International Students	12
Other Races/Ethnicities	243

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Quality Control Tech, too. About 0.8% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Quality Control Tech

Some degrees associated with quality control tech may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to quality control tech have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	9.1%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	35.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	11.3%
Some College Courses	5.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	6.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	27.3%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.7%
Master’s Degree	3.4%

Online Quality Control Tech Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	42	5
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	76	14
Bachelor’s Degree	24	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	24	10
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Quality Control Tech

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to quality control tech.

Major	Number of Grads
Industrial Production Technology	11,351
Electromechanical Engineering Technology	10,996
Drafting & Design Engineering Technology	9,134
Environmental Control Technology	8,781
Electronics Engineering Technology	8,331
Engineering-Related Fields	7,918
Mechanical Engineering Technology	5,841
Construction Engineering Technology	4,771
General Engineering Technology	4,002
Computer Engineering Technology	3,432
Engineering Technology (Other)	2,458
Architectural Engineering Technology	1,261
Energy Systems Technologies	1,230
Civil Engineering Technology	1,199
Engineering-Related Technologies	1,144
Mining & Petroleum Technology	433
Nuclear Engineering Technology	261
Nanotechnology	105

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Gina Collecchia under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.