Quality assurance assistant vs quality associate

The differences between quality assurance assistants and quality associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a quality associate has an average salary of $50,300, which is higher than the $45,911 average annual salary of a quality assurance assistant.

The top three skills for a quality assurance assistant include data entry, food safety and GMP. The most important skills for a quality associate are patients, QA, and quality system.

Quality assurance assistant vs quality associate overview

	Quality Assurance Assistant	Quality Associate
Yearly salary	$45,911	$50,300
Hourly rate	$22.07	$24.18
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	67,706	60,168
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	44	38
Years of experience	4	-

What does a quality assurance assistant do?

A quality assurance assistant works to ensure that products and procedures adhere to an organization's quality standards and regulations. In the manufacturing industry, a quality assurance assistant conducts regular inspections and assessments, reviews documentation, coordinates with staff and managers, and develops comprehensive reports. They may also perform various support tasks such as handling calls and correspondence, preparing and processing documents, and liaising with clients to answer inquiries and resolve issues. Moreover, as a quality assurance assistant, it is essential to maintain an active communication line with team members for a safe and efficient workflow.

What does a quality associate do?

A quality associate is responsible for ensuring that a new product meets standards for usage and operating. You will perform various tasks that include assisting in identifying quality problems and improving operational processes, writing, disseminating, and maintaining quality documentation and manuals, and verifying logs and databases to monitor and flag quality issues and improvements. In addition, you are responsible for supporting document control and quality audits, reviewing reports and validation protocols, and investigating and diagnosing quality complaints.

Quality assurance assistant vs quality associate salary

Quality assurance assistants and quality associates have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Quality Assurance Assistant	Quality Associate
Average salary	$45,911	$50,300
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $85,000	Between $31,000 And $80,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Connecticut
Best paying company	Citi	JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between quality assurance assistant and quality associate education

There are a few differences between a quality assurance assistant and a quality associate in terms of educational background:

	Quality Assurance Assistant	Quality Associate
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 54%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Biology
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Quality assurance assistant vs quality associate demographics

Here are the differences between quality assurance assistants' and quality associates' demographics:

	Quality Assurance Assistant	Quality Associate
Average age	44	38
Gender ratio	Male, 31.4% Female, 68.6%	Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 11.6% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	11%	8%

Differences between quality assurance assistant and quality associate duties and responsibilities

Quality assurance assistant example responsibilities.

Coordinate, oversee and manage the repetitive patient documentation and medical necessity process for all patients meeting the repetitive patient description.
Coordinate shift QA in daily functions and assist in decision making concerning quality issues.
Follow GMP and HACCP to ensure compliance with all appropriate corporate, local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines.
Ensure compliance to API Q1/8C and ISO 9001 certifications, through specification interpretation, writing procedures, and maintaining the QMS.
Gain familiarity with GMP quality system regulations for medical devices.
Review quality management system periodically to assess suitability and areas of possible improvement to maintain FDA approval.

Quality associate example responsibilities.

Manage document control including initiating and revising procedures, QA approval and implementation of documents.
Participate in all regulatory, corporate and internal audit activities to include FDA, DEA, OSHA and ISO.
Create slideshow for meeting with PowerPoint.
Maintain all quality documents including PPAP, FMEA, etc.
Provide management with update PowerPoint graphs monthly, quarterly and yearly.
Chart review for compliance for local policies, TJC and CMS.

Quality assurance assistant vs quality associate skills

Common quality assurance assistant skills

Data Entry, 10%
Food Safety, 7%
GMP, 5%
ISO, 5%
Quality Standards, 5%
Product Quality, 4%

Common quality associate skills

Patients, 10%
QA, 5%
Quality System, 5%
Quality Specifications, 5%
Product Quality, 4%
Customer Service, 4%

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Quality Assurance Assistant vs Quality Associate

Updated January 8, 2025

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