Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between manufacturing controls 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 a manufacturing controls engineer and a quality engineer. Additionally, a manufacturing controls engineer has an average salary of $96,327, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a manufacturing controls engineer include PLC, CNC and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Manufacturing Controls Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,327 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $46.31 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 51,699 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A manufacturing controls engineer ensures the manufacturing process of a plant is run efficiently and complies with all safety standards. Their role is to develop equipment to monitor and control efficiency of engineering systems and machinery, implement processes that will help manufacturers increase productivity, conduct research, test and analyze designs, and monitor the strategies implemented to ensure functionality. This position requires an engineering degree.
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.
Manufacturing controls engineers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Manufacturing Controls Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $96,327 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $125,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Oakland, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | JUUL | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a manufacturing controls engineer and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Manufacturing Controls Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between manufacturing controls engineers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Manufacturing Controls Engineer | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 10.1% White, 69.1% 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% |