Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between quality assurance specialists and quality engineers 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 specialist and a quality engineer. Additionally, a quality engineer has an average salary of $79,672, 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 engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $63,443 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $30.50 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 83,505 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A quality engineer's responsibilities include ensuring that the manufacturing processes are efficient and accurate, documenting findings that would raise concerns, conducting quality tests while observing parameters, and implementing changes as necessary to meet the highest quality standards. Quality engineers need to have excellent problem-solving and observation skills to detect any irregularities and possible malfunctions. They also must be able to communicate effectively with the clients for feedbacks and corrective adjustments, address complaints, and immediately resolve any inconsistencies made.
Quality assurance specialists and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $63,443 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $97,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance specialist and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance specialists' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| 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, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 13.9% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 4% |