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The differences between quality assurance associates and quality consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a quality consultant has an average salary of $79,541, which is higher than the $61,473 average annual salary of a quality assurance associate.
The top three skills for a quality assurance associate include excellent interpersonal, customer service and GMP. The most important skills for a quality consultant are healthcare, data collection, and project management.
| Quality Assurance Associate | Quality Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $61,473 | $79,541 |
| Hourly rate | $29.55 | $38.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 62,324 | 88,944 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A quality assurance associate's role is to oversee the production operations in a manufacturing plant or a similar setting, ensuring quality standards throughout the entire process. Most of the time, a quality assurance associate must perform workforce assessments, provide training to new employees, produce or approve documentation and progress reports, and collaborate with colleagues to ensure that everything is running smoothly and complies with the company's policies and regulations. Furthermore, there are instances when one must address issues and concerns, providing them with the necessary corrective measures.
A quality consultant specializes in developing and recommending strategies to optimize a company's production and quality assurance operations. Their responsibilities typically revolve around understanding the company's project goals and requirements, performing extensive research and analysis, gathering and analyzing product data, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control procedures, and studying the clients' feedback. Through their research findings, a consultant draws and presents conclusions, along with recommendations and solutions against vulnerable areas. Moreover, a quality consultant may enhance policies and regulations, suggesting new ones when necessary.
Quality assurance associates and quality consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Associate | Quality Consultant | |
| Average salary | $61,473 | $79,541 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $84,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Citi | Aetna |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance associate and a quality consultant in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Associate | Quality Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance associates' and quality consultants' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Associate | Quality Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.3% Female, 51.7% | Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2% |
| 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |