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The differences between associate quality assurance engineers and quality engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an associate quality assurance engineer and a quality engineer. Additionally, a quality engineer has an average salary of $79,672, which is higher than the $70,931 average annual salary of an associate quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for an associate quality assurance engineer include QA, quality standards and java. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Associate Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $70,931 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $34.10 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 159,146 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An associate quality assurance engineer is a crucial part of any company or business that provides products and services to customers. All company products are tested and evaluated through quality assurance to test if it meets market standards and can be useful for people. The associate quality assurance engineer is someone who helps with the QA lead in managing all department tasks. Other included tasks are regularly updating reports, writing assessments, and offering a new management solution to resolve an issue.
A quality engineer's responsibilities include ensuring that the manufacturing processes are efficient and accurate, documenting findings that would raise concerns, conducting quality tests while observing parameters, and implementing changes as necessary to meet the highest quality standards. Quality engineers need to have excellent problem-solving and observation skills to detect any irregularities and possible malfunctions. They also must be able to communicate effectively with the clients for feedbacks and corrective adjustments, address complaints, and immediately resolve any inconsistencies made.
Associate quality assurance engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $70,931 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $90,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Belk | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between an associate quality assurance engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Associate Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between associate quality assurance engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Associate Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.8% Female, 27.2% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 13.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 4% |