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The differences between quality management specialists and quality assurance specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a quality management specialist, becoming a quality assurance specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a quality management specialist has an average salary of $70,819, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.
The top three skills for a quality management specialist include healthcare, quality improvement and patients. The most important skills for a quality assurance specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.
| Quality Management Specialist | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $70,819 | $63,443 |
| Hourly rate | $34.05 | $30.50 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 128,494 | 83,505 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
In the manufacturing industry, a quality management specialist is in charge of implementing and overseeing quality management procedures, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities typically include gathering and analyzing data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current operations, developing new strategies to optimize procedures, creating new quality assurance methods, maintaining records of transactions, and coordinating the workforce. Furthermore, as a quality management specialist, it is essential to implement solutions while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
A quality assurance specialist is an individual who is responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and proposing measures to correct and improve a company's product. Quality assurance specialists need to outline quality assurance policies and procedures, making sure that quality standards are assured. It is important that a quality assurance specialist should have strong attention to detail and is excellent in data collection. This work may require a minimum of bachelor's degree and certification to get certified.
Quality management specialists and quality assurance specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Management Specialist | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average salary | $70,819 | $63,443 |
| Salary range | Between $48,000 And $103,000 | Between $41,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | SAP | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a quality management specialist and a quality assurance specialist in terms of educational background:
| Quality Management Specialist | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality management specialists' and quality assurance specialists' demographics:
| Quality Management Specialist | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.9% Female, 63.1% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 11% |