Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
SOC Code: 51-9061
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers carries a 47% AI exposure score (High automation risk), with a median annual wage of $47,460 and 0.0% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 598,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 47% AI exposure, Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers sits 10 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 83% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
26/100
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage F $47,460
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F 0.0%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 47% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers in the High band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
47% Higher than most higher than 83% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers's High automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score in the 40–70% range indicates meaningful automation pressure on specific task categories, but the role as a whole still requires human judgment for coordination, exception handling, or client interaction.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 51-9061) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Discard or reject products, materials, or equipment not meeting specifications.
- 2. Mark items with details, such as grade or acceptance-rejection status.
- 3. Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.
- 4. Notify supervisors or other personnel of production problems.
- 5. Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.
- 6. Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.
- 7. Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.
- 8. Read dials or meters to verify that equipment is functioning at specified levels.
- 9. Make minor adjustments to equipment, such as turning setscrews to calibrate instruments to required tolerances.
- 10. Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.
Key Skills Required
- Quality Control Analysis
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Monitoring
- Operations Monitoring
- Time Management
Knowledge Areas
- Production and Processing
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mechanical
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
- Engineering and Technology
- Administrative
- Public Safety and Security
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers has an AI exposure score of 47%, indicating a high level of automation risk. Some tasks in this role can be augmented or partially automated by AI, but core responsibilities require human judgment.
What is the job outlook for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is projected to grow by 0.0% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 598,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?
Key skills for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers include Quality Control Analysis, Writing, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is High school diploma or equivalent.
How much do Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers earn?
The median annual wage for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is $47,460, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?
The typical entry-level education for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers is High school diploma or equivalent. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Moderate-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers?
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
High automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. A moderate share of tasks may be augmented by AI tools.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (47% here).
- Conveyor operators and tenders · AI exposure 47%
- Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders · AI exposure 47%
- Database administrators · AI exposure 47%
- Librarians and media collections specialists · AI exposure 47%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (0.0% here).
- English language and literature teachers, postsecondary · growth 0.0%
- First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers · growth 0.0%
- Machinists · growth 0.0%
- Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians · growth 0.0%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 19 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).