Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between quality program managers and quality engineers 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 program manager, becoming a quality engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a quality program manager has an average salary of $103,840, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a quality program manager include data analysis, oversight and project management. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Quality Program Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $103,840 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $49.92 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 146,559 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Quality control inspectors are employees assigned to check the company's production processes and finished products to ensure that company standards are followed. They fit if the workers on the production floor follow protocols and guidelines in doing their assigned roles. They also check if workers follow occupational safety and health standards during work hours. Aside from those tasks, they also contain finished products to look for possible defects or deviations from company standards. Any deviation will be logged and reported to ensure stricter protocols next time.
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.
Quality program managers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Program Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $103,840 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $143,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality program manager and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Quality Program Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between quality program managers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Quality Program Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.6% Female, 34.4% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.3% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 4% |