Validation Engineers build complex problem solving, judgment and decision making and social perceptiveness skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Quality Control Systems Managers (85%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Quality Control Systems Managers | 85% | $126,060Pay for the broader BLS group “Industrial Production Managers” | Not compared | None |
| 2 | Materials Scientists | 82% | $117,790 | — | None |
| 3 | Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | 81% | $104,300 | — | None |
| 4 | Industrial Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 80% | $66,120 | — | None |
| 5 | Food Scientists and Technologists | 79% | $88,720 | — | None |
| 6 | Occupational Health and Safety Specialists | 77% | $90,150 | — | None |
| 7 | Information Security Analysts | 77% | $129,180 | — | None |
| 8 | Occupational Health and Safety Technicians | 76% | $61,560 | — | None |
| 9 | Environmental Compliance Inspectors | 76% | $80,730Pay for the broader BLS group “Compliance Officers” | Not compared | None |
| 10 | Water Resource Specialists | 76% | $167,220Pay for the broader BLS group “Natural Sciences Managers” | Not compared | None |
Compared with Validation Engineers, median —. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as validation engineers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
85% skill match · $126,060 (broader BLS group)
Management of Financial Resources · Quality Control Analysis · Judgment and Decision Making
82% skill match · $117,790
Judgment and Decision Making · Management of Financial Resources · Equipment Selection
No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.
81% skill match · $104,300
Programming · Installation · Technology Design
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Quality Control Systems Managers (85% skill match, median $126,060), Materials Scientists (82% skill match, median $117,790) and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers (81% skill match, median $104,300), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
None of the 25 closest matches pays more than validation engineers at the national median (BLS May 2025). Higher-paying moves usually need more training.
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.