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The differences between quality assurance engineers and quality assurance consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a quality assurance engineer and a quality assurance consultant. Additionally, a quality assurance consultant has an average salary of $86,486, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a quality assurance engineer include java, python and regression. The most important skills for a quality assurance consultant are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $82,215 | $86,486 |
| Hourly rate | $39.53 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 243,536 | 91,395 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Engineer must also ensure that the product adheres to the government regulations and market guidelines.
A quality assurance consultant specializes in recommending and optimizing quality-control procedures ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically conduct research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control operations, implement solutions on problem areas, review policies and regulations, and coordinate with other staff to gather necessary data, analyzing them to find new opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, as a quality assurance consultant, it is essential to recommend solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Quality assurance engineers and quality assurance consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average salary | $82,215 | $86,486 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $109,000 | Between $67,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Southern California Edison |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance engineer and a quality assurance consultant in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance engineers' and quality assurance consultants' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |