Quality assurance inspector vs lead inspector

The differences between quality assurance inspectors and lead inspectors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead inspector has an average salary of $51,148, which is higher than the $36,842 average annual salary of a quality assurance inspector.

The top three skills for a quality assurance inspector include calipers, micrometers and corrective action. The most important skills for a lead inspector are NDT, API, and NDE.

Quality assurance inspector vs lead inspector overview

	Quality Assurance Inspector	Lead Inspector
Yearly salary	$36,842	$51,148
Hourly rate	$17.71	$24.59
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	74,410	17,734
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	-	-

Quality assurance inspector vs lead inspector salary

Quality assurance inspectors and lead inspectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Quality Assurance Inspector	Lead Inspector
Average salary	$36,842	$51,148
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $49,000	Between $35,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Renton, WA	West Hartford, CT
Highest paying state	Washington	Connecticut
Best paying company	Los Alamos National Laboratory	Parsons
Best paying industry	Government	Energy

Differences between quality assurance inspector and lead inspector education

There are a few differences between a quality assurance inspector and a lead inspector in terms of educational background:

	Quality Assurance Inspector	Lead Inspector
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 34%	Bachelor's Degree, 30%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Quality assurance inspector vs lead inspector demographics

Here are the differences between quality assurance inspectors' and lead inspectors' demographics:

	Quality Assurance Inspector	Lead Inspector
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%	Male, 76.9% Female, 23.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 9.1% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 7.6% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between quality assurance inspector and lead inspector duties and responsibilities

Quality assurance inspector example responsibilities.

Coordinate joint surveys with SATORP inspectors and manage clearance of all issue active LBE and NCR.
Work with IPC and ISO regulations.
Examine parts for damage or excessive wear using micrometers and gauges and other specialize test equipment.
Measure dimensions of products to verify conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as rulers, calipers or micrometers.
Inspect and measure surgical steel medical devices for critical dimensions, checking tolerance using micrometers and calipers reading from blueprint designs.
Qualify coating systems and painters to ASTM standards.

Lead inspector example responsibilities.

Manage survey crews on prelim route survey, and HDD core sample crews.
Coordinate joint surveys with SATORP inspectors and manage clearance of all issue active LBE and NCR.
Authore numerous new corporate NDT procedures, update procedures and administer all NDE corporate activities.
Comply with all AS9100 and NADCAP requirements.
Inspect articles to correct design, tooling and jigs.
Total of 7 HDD crossings and 2 major highway crossings.

Quality assurance inspector vs lead inspector skills

Common quality assurance inspector skills

Calipers, 7%
Micrometers, 6%
Corrective Action, 5%
Safety Standards, 5%
Inspection Reports, 4%
Quality Standards, 4%

Common lead inspector skills

NDT, 7%
API, 6%
NDE, 5%
Inspection Reports, 5%
III, 5%
Corrective Action, 4%

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Quality Assurance Inspector
Quality Assurance Inspector vs Lead Inspector

Updated January 8, 2025

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