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The differences between managers, quality engineer and production 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 manager, quality engineer and a production engineer. Additionally, a manager, quality engineer has an average salary of $121,191, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a manager, quality engineer include quality engineering, continuous improvement and corrective action. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Manager, Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $121,191 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $58.26 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 90,218 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A quality engineer manager is in charge of designing and developing quality control procedures, ensuring all products and operations meet the company's standards. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify business needs, assessing existing quality control methods to identify areas needing improvements, and providing solutions on issues and concerns. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A production engineer is responsible for monitoring the production operations, ensuring everyone's adherence to safety protocols, and evaluating the staff's performance, strategizing on maximizing productivity to deliver efficient results that would drive revenues and increase profitability. Production engineers inspect the reliability of production equipment and machinery, conducting preventive maintenance, and repair inconsistencies to prevent production delays. They also identify areas of improvement with the manufacturing processes and escalate best practices for improvement. A production engineer must be knowledgeable about technological advancements and incorporate ideas to minimize costs without sacrificing the quality of services.
Managers, quality engineer and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manager, Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $121,191 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $163,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Credit Karma | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manager, quality engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manager, Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between managers, quality engineer' and production engineers' demographics:
| Manager, Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.4% Female, 13.6% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.8% Asian, 11.1% White, 68.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |