Also called: PV Factory Auditor, Module Quality Assurance Inspector
Gets hired by solar farm buyers to watch over panel factories, checking materials and testing samples so bad panels never ship.
You spend two weeks inside a panel factory, checking that the glass, cells and wiring match what the buyer ordered. You pull random panels off the line for electrical tests and photograph defects. Each night you send a report back to the solar developer.
Estimated from solar quality firm postings; travel pay adds more.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in engineering or a technical field, or factory quality experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Quality Management.
Growing about average. Big solar buyers often require independent factory checks.
Medium risk for 10 years. Factory cameras catch more defects, but independent audits and judgment calls stay human.
Classes: Physics, Chemistry, A foreign language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-9061.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.