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The differences between quality engineers and reliability 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 engineer and a reliability engineer. Additionally, a reliability engineer has an average salary of $105,551, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a quality engineer include corrective action, continuous improvement and ISO. The most important skills for a reliability engineer are java, troubleshoot, and ruby.
| Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $79,672 | $105,551 |
| Hourly rate | $38.30 | $50.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 96,838 | 44,471 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A reliability engineer is in charge of determining and managing the asset reliability risks of businesses. Reliability engineers are professionals who solve problems related to engineering. They are equipped with a better understanding of the principles of performance evaluation and prediction for product safety. The job requires knowledge of the field of engineering, strong communication, interpersonal skills, management skills, attention to detail, and reliability. They are also expected to become experts in engineering systems.
Quality engineers and reliability engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Average salary | $79,672 | $105,551 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $103,000 | Between $76,000 And $144,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a quality engineer and a reliability engineer in terms of educational background:
| Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between quality engineers' and reliability engineers' demographics:
| Quality Engineer | Reliability Engineer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% | Male, 87.5% Female, 12.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 4.4% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 14.3% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 4% |