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The differences between quality assurance managers and quality assurance consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a quality assurance manager, becoming a quality assurance consultant takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a quality assurance manager has an average salary of $99,894, which is higher than the $86,486 average annual salary of a quality assurance consultant.
The top three skills for a quality assurance manager include continuous improvement, product quality and corrective action. The most important skills for a quality assurance consultant are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Manager | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $99,894 | $86,486 |
| Hourly rate | $48.03 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 62,293 | 91,395 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A Quality Assurance Manager's responsibility varies on the organization or industry where one is assigned. Most of the time, the duties will revolve around quality control, such as overseeing a company's manufacturing operations, ensuring that the process followed all of the necessary protocols, and the products met all of the standards in adherence to the company's policies and regulations. Furthermore, one must be able to detect and identify mistakes, conduct constant inspections, coordinate with various staff and supervisors, develop the workforce's quality by training employees, and come up with strategies that will help the company attain financial gains.
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 managers and quality assurance consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Manager | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average salary | $99,894 | $86,486 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $140,000 | Between $67,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Meta | Southern California Edison |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance manager and a quality assurance consultant in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Manager | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance managers' and quality assurance consultants' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Manager | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.5% 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 | 8% | 11% |