Quality assurance specialist vs technician

The differences between quality assurance specialists and technicians 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 technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a quality assurance specialist has an average salary of $63,443, which is higher than the $38,045 average annual salary of a technician.

The top three skills for a quality assurance specialist include GMP, patients and FDA. The most important skills for a technician are patients, customer service, and patient care.

Quality assurance specialist vs technician overview

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Technician
Yearly salary	$63,443	$38,045
Hourly rate	$30.50	$18.29
Growth rate	6%	1%
Number of jobs	83,505	596,842
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Average age	44	40
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 technician do?

Technicians are skilled professionals who primarily work with technology in different industries. They are knowledgeable about the technical aspects of the various items they work with. They are usually working with electricity or with technological advancements. Technicians may be assigned to do the construction of equipment or materials related to their field of study. They may also be assigned to conduct diagnostics and other maintenance activities to ensure that the equipment works properly. Technicians may also be required to conduct basic repairs in case of problems. It is important that technicians have good analytical skills and decision-making skills.

Quality assurance specialist vs technician salary

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

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Technician
Average salary	$63,443	$38,045
Salary range	Between $41,000 And $97,000	Between $24,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Jose, CA
Highest paying state	Rhode Island	Hawaii
Best paying company	Apple	Microsoft
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Telecommunication

Differences between quality assurance specialist and technician education

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

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 58%	Bachelor's Degree, 32%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	-

Quality assurance specialist vs technician demographics

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

	Quality Assurance Specialist	Technician
Average age	44	40
Gender ratio	Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2%	Male, 75.2% Female, 24.8%
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, 9.4% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 4.9% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	2%

Differences between quality assurance specialist and technician 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.

Technician example responsibilities.

Achieve multiple ASE certifications within first year of employment.
Implement and manage UHF radio base stations, repeaters, and command network, effectively linking all regional headquarters.
Manage telecommunications installation and repair for hospital Nortel network.
Maintain numerous automate scripts to assist in managing Linux systems.
Manage, troubleshot and repair multiple wireless technologies including fiber optic transmission switches.
Install peripherals including printers, fax machines, scanners, and smartphones.

Quality assurance specialist vs technician skills

Common quality assurance specialist skills

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

Common technician skills

Patients, 16%
Customer Service, 14%
Patient Care, 8%
Hand Tools, 6%
Diagnosis, 5%
Preventative Maintenance, 4%

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Quality Assurance Specialist
Quality Assurance Specialist vs Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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