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.
597,370 people do this job in the US. $48,570 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 30%
- 0%
- 70%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 26%. Today's estimate: 28%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 31 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitor production operations or equipment to ensure conformance to specifications, making necessary process or assembly adjustments.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Write test or inspection reports describing results, recommendations, or needed repairs.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Inspect, test, or measure materials, products, installations, or work for conformance to specifications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Clean, maintain, calibrate, or repair measuring instruments or test equipment, such as dial indicators, fixed gauges, or height gauges.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Inspect or test raw materials, parts, or products to determine compliance with environmental standards.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Administer tests to assess whether engineers or operators are qualified to use equipment.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Adjust, clean, or repair products or processing equipment to correct defects found during inspections.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Monitor machines that automatically measure, sort, or inspect products.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min8 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments, such as rulers, calipers, gauges, or micrometers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Recommend necessary corrective actions, based on inspection results.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Read blueprints, data, manuals, or other materials to determine specifications, inspection and testing procedures, adjustment methods, certification processes, formulas, or measuring instruments required.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 17 min4 min to 50 min | 96%Half by now | |
| Grade, classify, or sort products according to sizes, weights, colors, or other specifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians17% now, 55% by 2028
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics15% now, 17% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers17% now, 17% by 2028
- Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4% now, 4% by 2028
- Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers5% now, 5% by 2028
- Weighers, Measurers, Checkers, and Samplers, Recordkeeping21% now, 21% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).