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The differences between lead quality engineers and quality managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a lead quality engineer, becoming a quality manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a lead quality engineer has an average salary of $104,296, which is higher than the $91,357 average annual salary of a quality manager.
The top three skills for a lead quality engineer include java, corrective action and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a quality manager are continuous improvement, corrective action, and quality standards.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Quality Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $104,296 | $91,357 |
| Hourly rate | $50.14 | $43.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 81,952 | 63,422 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Lead quality engineers are engineering professionals who manage a team of quality assurance professionals that ensure the overall quality of manufactured products. These engineers must create comprehensive test plans and test cases to ensure that the finished products have met the client requirements. They have to develop and implement quality standards and procedures while developing internal corrective actions after performing the internal processes audits. Lead quality engineers must also provide new product quality training to members of the quality control and production team.
A quality manager is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that the level of quality of the company's product outputs is met for customers. Quality managers monitor and evaluate the internal production process so that they can produce statistical reports on the standard of quality and communicate them to upper management. To ensure health and safety standards, quality managers must create and maintain up-to-date product or process specifications. They also train employees on quality assurance standards and processes.
Lead quality engineers and quality managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Quality Manager | |
| Average salary | $104,296 | $91,357 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $135,000 | Between $64,000 And $128,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Technology |
There are a few differences between a lead quality engineer and a quality manager in terms of educational background:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Quality Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead quality engineers' and quality managers' demographics:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Quality Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.6% Female, 23.4% | Male, 72.1% Female, 27.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 15.2% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 8% |