Quality assurance specialist vs quality assurance supervisor

The differences between quality assurance specialists and quality assurance supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a quality assurance specialist, becoming a quality assurance supervisor takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a quality assurance supervisor has an average salary of $66,145, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.

The top three skills for a quality assurance specialist include GMP, patients and FDA. The most important skills for a quality assurance supervisor are food safety, product quality, and corrective action.

Quality assurance specialist vs quality assurance supervisor overview

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Yearly salary	$63,443	$66,145
Hourly rate	$30.50	$31.80
Growth rate	6%	3%
Number of jobs	83,505	82,301
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	44	46
Years of experience	4	2

What does a quality assurance specialist do?

A quality assurance specialist is an individual who is responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and proposing measures to correct and improve a company's product. Quality assurance specialists need to outline quality assurance policies and procedures, making sure that quality standards are assured. It is important that a quality assurance specialist should have strong attention to detail and is excellent in data collection. This work may require a minimum of bachelor's degree and certification to get certified.

What does a quality assurance supervisor do?

A quality assurance supervisor oversees and leads the quality control operations within a manufacturing plant or similar establishment. They are primarily responsible for crafting and implementing policies that prioritize the efficiency of products or services, supervising and evaluating the performances of the workforce, and setting standards and procedures that align not just with the goals of the company, but the national and international level of production standards. Furthermore, as a supervisor in the field, it is crucial to encourage and shape quality assurance workers into valuable members of the company.

Quality assurance specialist vs quality assurance supervisor salary

Quality assurance specialists and quality assurance supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Average salary	$63,443	$66,145
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $97,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Wyoming
Best paying company	Apple	Bristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Health Care

Differences between quality assurance specialist and quality assurance supervisor education

There are a few differences between a quality assurance specialist and a quality assurance supervisor in terms of educational background:

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Quality assurance specialist vs quality assurance supervisor demographics

Here are the differences between quality assurance specialists' and quality assurance supervisors' demographics:

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Average age	44	46
Gender ratio	Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2%	Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5%
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, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 4.6% White, 58.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	11%	6%

Differences between quality assurance specialist and quality assurance supervisor duties and responsibilities

Quality assurance specialist example responsibilities.

Manage all NDT relate gauges to ensure calibrations requirements are meet.
Provide employee training and manage all NDT certification records per ASNT SNT-TC-1A.
Lead the HACCP team to ensure full compliance with regulatory and industrial food safety standards.
Manage product and environmental sampling for chemical and microbial analysis to meet HACCP requirements.
Lead cross functional project team to build user-friendly windows base customer support applications which interface with the OmniPlan/OmniPlus mainframe application.
Execute quality processes in tissue banking and medical device, FDA requirements 21 CFR 1271 and 21 CFR 820.

Quality assurance supervisor example responsibilities.

Assist in achieving ISO certification/training.
Manage GMP regulate quality assurance department to ensure all raw materials and finish products meet quality standards.
Lead product development team to successfully develop components at improve PPAP approval time by implementing better project planning
Conduct and report internal quality system and vendor/supplier audits in accordance with ISO and company quality assurance requirements.
Use of refractometer, micrometer, lab scales, and calipers.
Monitor pre-clinical GLP studies at CRO and intra-departmental sites to ensure protocol/regulatory compliance (Covance).

Quality assurance specialist vs quality assurance supervisor skills

Common quality assurance specialist skills

GMP, 6%
Patients, 5%
FDA, 5%
CAPA, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
CFR, 4%

Common quality assurance supervisor skills

Food Safety, 8%
Product Quality, 7%
Corrective Action, 6%
GMP, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

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Quality Assurance Specialist vs Quality Assurance Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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