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The differences between industrial process 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 industrial process engineer and a quality engineer. Additionally, a quality engineer has an average salary of $79,672, which is higher than the $73,891 average annual salary of an industrial process engineer.
The top three skills for an industrial process engineer include process design, sigma and autocad. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $73,891 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $35.52 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 59,144 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An industrial process Engineer develops, installs, and monitors the processes and pieces of equipment that transform raw materials into finished products. Besides researching and developing new equipment, industrial process engineers also monitor, test, and maintain equipment pieces in their working states. They complete documentation to indicate and ensure everything runs as per the highlighted protocols and regulations. These professionals ensure high productivity rates at all times by supervising industrial processes and working. Also, they update the industrial management and senior colleagues with data and reports.
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.
Industrial process engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Industrial Process Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $73,891 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $94,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | NVIDIA | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between an industrial process engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Industrial Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between industrial process engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Industrial Process Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 13.8% White, 66.8% 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% |