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The differences between compliance 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 a compliance engineer and a quality engineer. Additionally, a compliance engineer has an average salary of $97,578, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a compliance engineer include regulatory compliance, ISO and project management. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Compliance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $97,578 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $46.91 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 43,447 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A compliance engineer specializes in developing systems and strategies to ensure that all products adhere to the company's safety and quality standards. Their responsibilities include coordinating with departments and staff to gather and analyze data, developing test procedures and guidelines, analyzing existing compliance procedures to identify areas needing improvement, implementing solutions, and maintaining records of all procedures and test results. Furthermore, a compliance engineer must prepare and submit compliance reports and analysis, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Compliance engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Compliance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $97,578 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $138,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a compliance engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Compliance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between compliance engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Compliance Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.7% Asian, 13.1% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 4% | 4% |