Quality assurance technician vs laboratory technician

The differences between quality assurance technicians and laboratory 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 technician, becoming a laboratory technician takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a laboratory technician has an average salary of $40,038, which is higher than the $40,027 average annual salary of a quality assurance technician.

The top three skills for a quality assurance technician include food safety, GMP and lab equipment. The most important skills for a laboratory technician are patients, lab equipment, and customer service.

Quality assurance technician vs laboratory technician overview

	Quality Assurance Technician	Laboratory Technician
Yearly salary	$40,027	$40,038
Hourly rate	$19.24	$19.25
Growth rate	3%	4%
Number of jobs	81,534	84,357
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	45	44
Years of experience	4	12

What does a quality assurance technician do?

Quality assurance is an essential part of a company that offers products and services. It is critical that the company's output remains consistent and up to par with community standards. It is the assistant quality assurance manager's role to inspect, monitor, and evaluate the quality of every product. The goal is to establish customer satisfaction and trust. The assistant quality assurance manager works with the head manager and helps generate reports of daily activities for executive evaluations.

What does a laboratory technician do?

Laboratory technicians are medical professionals who work in the laboratory. They are responsible for the equipment in the laboratory, making sure tools are properly sanitized and sterilized after every use. They also ensure that laboratory equipment works well. Laboratory technicians may also be responsible for collecting and testing samples from patients. They prepare solutions and other chemicals that may be needed for testing. They also provide an analysis of the samples that they tested. Laboratory technicians ensure that all items in the laboratory are properly labeled and organized.

Quality assurance technician vs laboratory technician salary

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Laboratory Technician
Average salary	$40,027	$40,038
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $60,000	Between $27,000 And $58,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Alaska
Best paying company	SMTC	Tenaska
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between quality assurance technician and laboratory technician education

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Laboratory Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Biology	Biology
Most common college	Purdue University	New York University

Quality assurance technician vs laboratory technician demographics

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Laboratory Technician
Average age	45	44
Gender ratio	Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4%	Male, 53.3% Female, 46.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 8.2% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 12.0% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	8%

Differences between quality assurance technician and laboratory technician duties and responsibilities

Quality assurance technician example responsibilities.

Track and manage CAPA's.
Train test personnel and manage QC test technicians in a fast pace environment.
Train newly hire technicians and used strong math and computing skill for data entry and records.
Approve NCR investigations and CAPA records.
Assist math, reading and other product teams with testing and reporting of any issues find during new product development.
Perform quality control experiments such as HPLC favor testing for the company's main ingredient produce within their leading product.

Laboratory technician example responsibilities.

Lead aerobic, anaerobic and UV light testing, chemical residue testing and centrifuge to separate chemicals from water.
Manage patient, and corporate information with compassion and confidentiality.
Analyze and paid attention to detail as well as demonstrated excellent organization skills, manual dexterity and good eyesight.
Monitor patients' blood pressure and heart rate with EKG equipment and notify physician is something appears to be wrong.
Monitor several color formulations being manufacture in the production department to ensure manufacturing procedures are follow per ISO and GMP.
Perform age appropriate phlebotomy while working with critically or terminally ill patients, with careful respect for individual and/or cultural concerns.

Quality assurance technician vs laboratory technician skills

Common quality assurance technician skills

Food Safety, 9%
GMP, 7%
Lab Equipment, 5%
Quality Products, 4%
Quality Standards, 4%
HACCP, 4%

Common laboratory technician skills

Patients, 17%
Lab Equipment, 8%
Customer Service, 6%
Basic Math, 4%
Test Results, 4%
Math, 4%

Quality Assurance Technician vs. similar jobs

Quality Assurance Technician related careers

Quality Assurance Technician related jobs

Quality Assurance Technician jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Architecture and Engineering Industry
Quality Assurance Technician
Quality Assurance Technician vs Laboratory Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse architecture and engineering jobs