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The differences between product quality engineers 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 product quality engineer and a production engineer. Additionally, a product quality engineer has an average salary of $94,173, which is higher than the $89,727 average annual salary of a production engineer.
The top three skills for a product quality engineer include product quality, continuous improvement and sigma. The most important skills for a production engineer are java, continuous improvement, and lean manufacturing.
| Product Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,173 | $89,727 |
| Hourly rate | $45.28 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 152,621 | 94,789 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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 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.
Product quality engineers and production engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average salary | $94,173 | $89,727 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $124,000 | Between $64,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Cheniere Energy |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product quality engineer and a production engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between product quality engineers' and production engineers' demographics:
| Product Quality Engineer | Production Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2% | Male, 86.7% Female, 13.3% |
| 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, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.5% Asian, 15.4% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |