Plant inspector vs quality assurance inspector

The differences between plant inspectors and quality assurance inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a plant inspector has an average salary of $39,967, which is higher than the $36,842 average annual salary of a quality assurance inspector.

The top three skills for a plant inspector include asphalt, inspection reports and OSP. The most important skills for a quality assurance inspector are calipers, micrometers, and corrective action.

Plant inspector vs quality assurance inspector overview

	Plant Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Yearly salary	$39,967	$36,842
Hourly rate	$19.21	$17.71
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	25,192	74,410
Job satisfaction	-	3
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Plant inspector vs quality assurance inspector salary

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

	Plant Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Average salary	$39,967	$36,842
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $58,000	Between $27,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	-	Renton, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Los Alamos National Laboratory
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between plant inspector and quality assurance inspector education

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

	Plant Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 41%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Plant inspector vs quality assurance inspector demographics

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

	Plant Inspector	Quality Assurance Inspector
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8%	Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 9.0% White, 55.0% 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 plant inspector and quality assurance inspector duties and responsibilities

Plant inspector example responsibilities.

Interpret results of external, internal and NDE inspection data.
Supervise and coordinate tasks of airframe and power plant troubleshooting.
Log unsafe problems or any other problems with the car into BMW's control network.
Perform regularly schedule packaging line audits to assure that product is being manufacture according to packaging specifications and GMP requirements.
Perform annual termite inspections of residential and commercial termite contract customers (average 80 per month )

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.

Plant inspector vs quality assurance inspector skills

Common plant inspector skills

Asphalt, 66%
Inspection Reports, 7%
OSP, 4%
API, 4%
NDE, 3%
Plant Inspection, 3%

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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Plant Inspector vs Quality Assurance Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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