Human edge, steady

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

Inspect, test, sort, sample, or weigh nonagricultural raw materials or processed, machined, fabricated, or assembled parts or products for defects, wear, and deviations from specifications. May use precision measuring instruments and complex test equipment.

AI Resistance Index 45 of 99

In the middle of the pack: more resilient than 45% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +2.5% by 2035, slower than average.

AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.

Median pay (2025): $48,570
Job growth to 2035: +2.5%
Openings a year: 66,700
People doing it (2025): 602,000
Usual route in: High school diploma, then moderate on-the-job training

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Where people already use AI for this work

Measure physical characteristics of materials, products, or equipment
Advise others on business or operational matters
Adjust equipment to ensure adequate performance

From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).

Work AI rarely helps with

Monitor equipment operation
Test characteristics of materials or products
Evaluate production inputs or outputs

What the work looks like

Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.

From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.

What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects

Fewer of these jobs, as automated technologies increase productivity by enabling more accurate measurements/inspections in a shorter period of time by fewer inspectors.
Fewer of these jobs, as Internet of Things (IoT), 3D scanning, and related technologies increase productivity by enabling more accurate measurements/inspections in a shorter period of time by fewer inspectors.

Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook

Packaging and filling machine operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 91, +4.1%
Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tendersHuman edge, growing, Index 90, +5.9%
Food batchmakersHuman edge, growing, Index 85, +6.5%
Log graders and scalersHuman edge, steady, Index 58, -2.2%

Also known as: Inspector, Quality Control Inspector (QC Inspector), Quality Inspector, Quality Technician, QA Auditor (Quality Assurance Auditor), QA Inspector (Quality Assurance Inspector), QA Technician (Quality Assurance Technician), QC Technician (Quality Control Technician).

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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.