Quality assurance technician vs quality assurance supervisor

The differences between quality assurance technicians 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 technician, 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 $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 quality assurance supervisor are food safety, product quality, and corrective action.

Quality assurance technician vs quality assurance supervisor overview

	Quality Assurance Technician	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Yearly salary	$40,027	$66,145
Hourly rate	$19.24	$31.80
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	81,534	82,301
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Average age	45	46
Years of experience	4	2

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 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 technician vs quality assurance supervisor salary

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Average salary	$40,027	$66,145
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $60,000	Between $46,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Wyoming
Best paying company	SMTC	Bristol-Myers Squibb
Best paying industry	Technology	Health Care

Differences between quality assurance technician and quality assurance supervisor education

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 59%
Most common major	Biology	Business
Most common college	Purdue University	Stanford University

Quality assurance technician vs quality assurance supervisor demographics

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

	Quality Assurance Technician	Quality Assurance Supervisor
Average age	45	46
Gender ratio	Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4%	Male, 62.5% Female, 37.5%
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, 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	6%	6%

Differences between quality assurance technician and quality assurance supervisor 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.

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 technician vs quality assurance supervisor skills

Common quality assurance technician skills

Food Safety, 9%
GMP, 7%
Lab Equipment, 5%
Quality Products, 4%
Quality Standards, 4%
HACCP, 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 Technician vs Quality Assurance Supervisor

Updated January 8, 2025

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