Inspector vs quality assurance inspector

The differences between inspectors and quality assurance inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an inspector has an average salary of $38,757, which is higher than the $36,842 average annual salary of a quality assurance inspector.

The top three skills for an inspector include sketch, good communication and magnetic particle. The most important skills for a quality assurance inspector are calipers, micrometers, and corrective action.

Inspector vs quality assurance inspector overview

	Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Yearly salary	$38,757	$36,842
Hourly rate	$18.63	$17.71
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	17,670	74,410
Job satisfaction	4	3
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

What does an inspector do?

An inspector is responsible for overseeing the overall condition of the site, ensuring that it complies with the safety standards and regulations. Inspectors' duties include monitoring the quality of the materials used, inspecting any defects and discrepancies that might compromise the operations, generating reports to assess the product costing if it meets the budget goals, and utilizing available resources in the market for the highest quality project. An inspector must have excellent decision-making and critical-thinking skills to perform comprehensive actions on risk management and service delivery.

What does a quality assurance inspector do?

Quality Assurance Auditors are employees who ensure the adherence of other employees to company processes and guidelines. They are expected to be experts on quality assurance processes and procedures. They also have in-depth knowledge of the expected outcomes of such processes to ensure that the company only provides quality products and services. Quality assurance auditors are also familiar with regulatory laws and policies of governing bodies that oversee companies in their particular industry. They ensure that their companies are compliant and may conduct random quality checks every now and then.

Inspector vs quality assurance inspector salary

Inspectors and quality assurance inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Average salary	$38,757	$36,842
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $54,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Vancouver, WA	Renton, WA
Highest paying state	Louisiana	Washington
Best paying company	Los Alamos National Laboratory	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	Automotive	Government

Differences between inspector and quality assurance inspector education

There are a few differences between an inspector and a quality assurance inspector in terms of educational background:

	Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Inspector vs quality assurance inspector demographics

Here are the differences between inspectors' and quality assurance inspectors' demographics:

	Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3%	Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 8.1% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 9.1% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between inspector and quality assurance inspector duties and responsibilities

Inspector example responsibilities.

Follow all regulations including OSHA, safety, PPE, JSA and ISO.
Deliver thorough QA testing reports that determine product quality and release readiness.
Operate and maintain laboratory testing equipment; micrometers, calipers and air gauges to analyze material for conformance to product specifications.
Utilize maps and GPS and markers when need
Require knowledge of all safety measures and JSA's.
Shovel inspector for two 2300 MKII's and 7495 CAT/Bucyrus shovels.

Quality assurance inspector example responsibilities.

Coordinate joint surveys with SATORP inspectors and manage clearance of all issue active LBE and NCR.
Work with IPC and ISO regulations.
Examine parts for damage or excessive wear using micrometers and gauges and other specialize test equipment.
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as rulers, calipers or micrometers.
Inspect and measure surgical steel medical devices for critical dimensions, checking tolerance using micrometers and calipers reading from blueprint designs.
Qualify coating systems and painters to ASTM standards.

Inspector vs quality assurance inspector skills

Common inspector skills

Sketch, 7%
Good Communication, 7%
Magnetic Particle, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Calipers, 6%
Safety Standards, 5%

Common quality assurance inspector skills

Calipers, 7%
Micrometers, 6%
Corrective Action, 5%
Safety Standards, 5%
Inspection Reports, 4%
Quality Standards, 4%

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Inspector vs Quality Assurance Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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