Quality Control Systems Manager Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Quality Control Systems Managers earn a median of $126,060 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 147% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $60.61/hr. The middle half earn between $98,160 and $161,880. The top 10% earn $205,520 or more.

The median hourly wage for quality control systems managers is $60.61 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $126,060 annual median works out to about $10,510 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of quality control systems managers earn less than $78,000 a year and the bottom quarter less than $98,160 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Yes, more often than not. The median is $126,060, so more than half of quality control systems managers earn over $100,000 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 52 states the median itself is above $100,000: Delaware ($153,000), Wyoming ($151,490), Massachusetts ($148,050), New Jersey ($147,260), and 48 more.

The highest state medians for Quality Control Systems Managers are Delaware ($153,000), Wyoming ($151,490), Massachusetts ($148,050) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Wyoming moves to the top at $163,436.

BLS does not split quality control systems managers' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $205,520, against a median of $126,060 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Delaware ($153,000), Wyoming ($151,490), Massachusetts ($148,050).

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Quality Control Systems Managers, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as considerable preparation. Employers typically expect 5 years or more of related work experience first. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 100.0% hold bachelor's degree.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for quality control systems managers is a bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of work experience in a related occupation. O*NET classes the work as needing considerable preparation.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.6% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 17,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Industrial production managers oversee the operations of manufacturing and related plants. A core O*NET task: identify quality problems or areas for improvement and recommend solutions. Employers most often ask for Content workflow software, Data base user interface and query software, Document management software.

Most work more than 40. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 95% of quality control systems managers usually work more than 40 hours a week, 5% work exactly 40 and 0% work fewer. 90% say their schedule is regular and 10% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Quality Control Systems Managers highest on the Conventional, Enterprising and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with leading, persuading, selling and making decisions. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESTJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 22.8% of quality control systems managers, against 47.1% of all employed people: more men than in the workforce as a whole. 22.9% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 46.1 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.