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The differences between product quality engineers and manufacturing engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a product quality engineer, becoming a manufacturing engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a product quality engineer has an average salary of $94,173, which is higher than the $78,522 average annual salary of a manufacturing engineer.
The top three skills for a product quality engineer include product quality, continuous improvement and sigma. The most important skills for a manufacturing engineer are lean manufacturing, CAD, and solidworks.
| Product Quality Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,173 | $78,522 |
| Hourly rate | $45.28 | $37.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 152,621 | 115,384 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
A product quality engineer is responsible for conducting quality check procedures for outputs and manufacturing processes to ensure high-quality deliverables according to business requirements and client specifications. Product quality engineers implement quality assessment criteria with strict adherence to internal guidelines and regulatory policies. They inspect the tools and equipment used for the production and solve inconsistencies, recommending and writing process reports to prevent fault reoccurrence that may affect product standards and market quality and cause distribution delays.
Manufacturing Engineers are responsible for handling and developing an efficient manufacturing system or procedure that will help a company produce up to standard products while in adherence to the policies, regulations, and expected cost and schedule. Furthermore, Manufacturing Engineers must also monitor quality control, identify or detect errors, provide and suggest improvements, oversee the procurement of materials involved in the production, and coordinate with various teams or departments within the company to ensure the effectiveness of innovations or new developments.
Product quality engineers and manufacturing engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Quality Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,173 | $78,522 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $124,000 | Between $60,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Palo Alto, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product quality engineer and a manufacturing engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Quality Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between product quality engineers' and manufacturing engineers' demographics:
| Product Quality Engineer | Manufacturing Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 88.8% Female, 11.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.1% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 17.0% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |