Lawrence makes a good point.
Usually, hopefully, the pay scale will be commensurate with the responsibility of the particular type of inspection and/or examination and your past experience in the field.
QCRobert
One must ask, QC/QA work in a shop? Or Field erection work? or Pipeline work? or for a testing lab?
What part of the country are you looking at?
I'm guessing, by your name, you want to use your CWI as a pipeline welding inspector? Are you already employed by a particular company?
Have a Great Day, Brent
Here's an immediate opening ad that just came up yesterday (Aug 11, 2011).
Looking for a CWI with structural steel experience. 3 month contract job in Manhattan, KS. 25-30/hr + per diem.
Please send resume and references to mjohnston@pegstaff.com
East Valley - Phoenix, AZ
United States
$17-20/Hr.
QA/QC Inspector. 5 years of experience in welding or quality control required. CWI helpful. Serious applicants only. Must be able to pass background check.
qaqcinspect@gmail.com
Structal Bridge (CanAm), New Hampshire, heavy structural iron, shop CWI inspector: $18.00 hr
You don't want to know what the welders make. Tough economy. Hope it picks up soon.
By jarcher 
Date 08-26-2011 16:58
Edited 08-26-2011 17:00
The average CWI pay for a given area can be found at www.payscale.com. Bare in mind that pay is not a normal distribution, meaning that median pay would be a much more relevant measure of central tendency. Also payscale.com doesn't give any details about how they sample, e.g., are all the reported wages are employee wages or do they mix contractors with those employed by a company? At any rate they give several conditionals for CWI pay such as location, experience, etc. It offers a starting place to try to determine what a fair wage is for your area. Another place to look is www.pqndt.com. They have a downloadable payscale compilation for all inspectors and NDE techniques, although I think their estimates are a bit on the high side in my experience.
Edit: Grammar
