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The differences between lead quality engineers and reliability 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 lead quality engineer and a reliability engineer. Additionally, a reliability engineer has an average salary of $105,551, which is higher than the $104,296 average annual salary of a lead quality engineer.
The top three skills for a lead quality engineer include java, corrective action and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a reliability engineer are java, troubleshoot, and ruby.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $104,296 | $105,551 |
| Hourly rate | $50.14 | $50.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 81,952 | 44,471 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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 reliability engineer is in charge of determining and managing the asset reliability risks of businesses. Reliability engineers are professionals who solve problems related to engineering. They are equipped with a better understanding of the principles of performance evaluation and prediction for product safety. The job requires knowledge of the field of engineering, strong communication, interpersonal skills, management skills, attention to detail, and reliability. They are also expected to become experts in engineering systems.
Lead quality engineers and reliability engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Average salary | $104,296 | $105,551 |
| Salary range | Between $80,000 And $135,000 | Between $76,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a lead quality engineer and a reliability engineer in terms of educational background:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between lead quality engineers' and reliability engineers' demographics:
| Lead Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.6% Female, 23.4% | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% |
| 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, 4.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.3% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |