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The differences between quality assurance technicians and production 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 production technician takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a quality assurance technician has an average salary of $40,027, which is higher than the $37,550 average annual salary of a production technician.
The top three skills for a quality assurance technician include food safety, GMP and lab equipment. The most important skills for a production technician are hand tools, preventative maintenance, and quality checks.
| Quality Assurance Technician | Production Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $40,027 | $37,550 |
| Hourly rate | $19.24 | $18.05 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 81,534 | 135,266 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 2 |
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.
A production technician is an individual who is responsible for assembling and testing manufactured goods before they are marketed to the general public. Production technicians usually work with manufacturing and quality assurance personnel to ensure that high-quality work standards are implemented by workers. By maintaining high-quality work, production technicians must implement up-to-date, efficient methods of production as well as production equipment maintenance procedures. They also schedule training for workers and educate them regularly on health and safety regulations.
Quality assurance technicians and production technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Technician | Production Technician | |
| Average salary | $40,027 | $37,550 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $60,000 | Between $28,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Baltimore, MD | Frederick, MD |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Maryland |
| Best paying company | SMTC | Cornerstone Research |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance technician and a production technician in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Technician | Production Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 34% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance technicians' and production technicians' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Technician | Production Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4% | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% |
| 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, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.5% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |