Associate director, quality assurance vs laboratory manager

The differences between associate directors, quality assurance and laboratory managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an associate director, quality assurance and a laboratory manager. Additionally, an associate director, quality assurance has an average salary of $131,112, which is higher than the $74,314 average annual salary of a laboratory manager.

The top three skills for an associate director, quality assurance include qa management, FDA and GMP. The most important skills for a laboratory manager are lab equipment, patients, and customer service.

Associate director, quality assurance vs laboratory manager overview

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Laboratory Manager
Yearly salary	$131,112	$74,314
Hourly rate	$63.03	$35.73
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	67,521	43,321
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	6	6

What does an associate director, quality assurance do?

Quality analysts act as problem solvers and testers of products or services in the production phase. They are responsible for the development and support of testing, process planning, design, and execution. These professionals need to have skills such as good communication skills, logic and reasoning, information technology skills, and a creative mindset. They should also be equipped with knowledge about the testing techniques. A computer science bachelor's degree or any of its associated fields is necessary to become a quality analyst.

What does a laboratory manager do?

Laboratory managers provide accurate laboratory diagnosis through evaluating specimen procedures and coordinating with pathologists to validate laboratory findings. They are responsible for maintaining laboratory tools and equipment, ensuring the proper sterilization of instruments before and after use, organizing equipment based on its function, and immediately repairing or replacing defective items. A laboratory manager also secures the confidentiality of laboratory systems, keeping records of results, and releasing information to the appropriate personnel. Laboratory managers must have a broad knowledge of the scientific industry, as well as excellent analytical and critical-thinking skills.

Associate director, quality assurance vs laboratory manager salary

Associate directors, quality assurance and laboratory managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Laboratory Manager
Average salary	$131,112	$74,314
Salary range	Between $93,000 And $183,000	Between $49,000 And $111,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Hawaii
Best paying company	Corcept Therapeutics	Meta
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Pharmaceutical

Differences between associate director, quality assurance and laboratory manager education

There are a few differences between an associate director, quality assurance and a laboratory manager in terms of educational background:

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Laboratory Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 72%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Associate director, quality assurance vs laboratory manager demographics

Here are the differences between associate directors, quality assurance' and laboratory managers' demographics:

	Associate Director, Quality Assurance	Laboratory Manager
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2%	Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 70.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between associate director, quality assurance and laboratory manager duties and responsibilities

Associate director, quality assurance example responsibilities.

Create and manage worldwide GCP, GMP, and GLP audit program.
Manage and report quality data metrics including audits, investigations, CAPA, for management review meetings and steering committee meetings.
Manage large scale automation platform to perform regression and functional verification.
Manage initial USDA regulatory visits, working collaboratively with USDA inspectors leading audit preparation and follow-up activities and reports.
Authore SVMP and SMF for MHRA (EU) certification.
Train company on QSR, cGMP, and ISO regulations.

Laboratory manager example responsibilities.

Lead laboratory investigations, OOS, deviations, change controls and CAPA.
Manage daily personnel challenges, assist with marketing and maintain appropriate standards and regulations per JCAHO, DNV.
Manage staff and oversee FDA guidelines and regulations for pharmaceutical research
Initiate and manage successful in-house design and implementation of network base LIMS database.
Manage curriculum development, authore and publish lab manuals in physiology and ecology.
Manage daily laboratory operations including personnel, client consulting, analyses and adherence to GLP protocols.

Associate director, quality assurance vs laboratory manager skills

Common associate director, quality assurance skills

Qa Management, 8%
FDA, 6%
GMP, 6%
GCP, 5%
ICH, 4%
CAPA, 4%

Common laboratory manager skills

Lab Equipment, 12%
Patients, 9%
Customer Service, 7%
Chemistry, 6%
Clinical Laboratory, 5%
Lab Safety, 5%

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Associate Director, Quality Assurance
Associate Director, Quality Assurance vs Laboratory Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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