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The differences between quality leads and quality consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a quality lead has an average salary of $90,301, which is higher than the $79,541 average annual salary of a quality consultant.
The top three skills for a quality lead include continuous improvement, product quality and quality standards. The most important skills for a quality consultant are healthcare, data collection, and project management.
| Quality Lead | Quality Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $90,301 | $79,541 |
| Hourly rate | $43.41 | $38.24 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 62,018 | 88,944 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
A quality assurance (QA) lead is responsible for organizing and managing the testing of products prior to its release. Your duties will include defining testing standards and strategies, establishing formal QA processes, and overseeing all aspects of QA, such as using best practices and establishing metrics. Additionally, you are responsible for supervising and mentoring QA team members, and developing and implementing scripts, test cases, and procedures. You are also responsible for managing off quality products and developing and institutionalizing ISO complaints.
A quality consultant specializes in developing and recommending strategies to optimize a company's production and quality assurance operations. Their responsibilities typically revolve around understanding the company's project goals and requirements, performing extensive research and analysis, gathering and analyzing product data, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control procedures, and studying the clients' feedback. Through their research findings, a consultant draws and presents conclusions, along with recommendations and solutions against vulnerable areas. Moreover, a quality consultant may enhance policies and regulations, suggesting new ones when necessary.
Quality leads and quality consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Lead | Quality Consultant | |
| Average salary | $90,301 | $79,541 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $127,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Aetna | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality lead and a quality consultant in terms of educational background:
| Quality Lead | Quality Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between quality leads' and quality consultants' demographics:
| Quality Lead | Quality Consultant | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3% | Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |