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The differences between product quality engineers and product 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 product engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product quality engineer has an average salary of $94,173, which is higher than the $89,645 average annual salary of a product engineer.
The top three skills for a product quality engineer include product quality, continuous improvement and sigma. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Product Quality Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,173 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $45.28 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 152,621 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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.
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Product quality engineers and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Quality Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,173 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $124,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, 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 product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Quality Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between product quality engineers' and product engineers' demographics:
| Product Quality Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| 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, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 5% |