Quality supervisor vs quality assurance specialist

The differences between quality supervisors 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 supervisor, becoming a quality assurance specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a quality assurance specialist has an average salary of $63,443, which is higher than the $60,486 average annual salary of a quality supervisor.

The top three skills for a quality supervisor include continuous improvement, ISO and corrective action. The most important skills for a quality assurance specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.

Quality supervisor vs quality assurance specialist overview

	Quality Supervisor	Quality Assurance Specialist
Yearly salary	$60,486	$63,443
Hourly rate	$29.08	$30.50
Growth rate	3%	6%
Number of jobs	61,400	83,505
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	48	44
Years of experience	6	4

What does a quality supervisor do?

A quality supervisor is an individual who manages and implements the quality assurance and control systems of a company to ensure the proper execution of products and customer satisfaction. Quality supervisors oversee a team of quality control analysts and train them on the latest product standards. They must make sure that customers are pleased with the finished product by communicating with them and setting realistic expectations. Quality supervisors must also provide reports on quality metrics to the other members of the management team.

What does a quality assurance specialist do?

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 supervisor vs quality assurance specialist salary

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

	Quality Supervisor	Quality Assurance Specialist
Average salary	$60,486	$63,443
Salary range	Between $43,000 And $84,000	Between $41,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	Richmond, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Hawaii	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Intuitive Surgical	Apple
Best paying industry	Automotive	Pharmaceutical

Differences between quality supervisor and quality assurance specialist education

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

	Quality Supervisor	Quality Assurance Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Quality supervisor vs quality assurance specialist demographics

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

	Quality Supervisor	Quality Assurance Specialist
Average age	48	44
Gender ratio	Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4%	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, 69.3% 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%

Differences between quality supervisor and quality assurance specialist duties and responsibilities

Quality supervisor example responsibilities.

Lead the TS16949 implementation team.
Research and involve respective departments to achieve immediate corrective/preventative action response to pertinent customer and internal CAPA's, as required.
Maintain effective work instructions and operating procedures for inspection, operations and supplier quality assurance per ISO requirements.
Develop KPIs for suppliers and document progress.
Participate in hosting customer, governmental, third party certifying body plant visits and perform all GMP internal audits.
Prepare documentation and training for ISO re-certification audits.

Quality assurance specialist example responsibilities.

Manage all NDT relate gauges to ensure calibrations requirements are meet.
Provide employee training and manage all NDT certification records per ASNT SNT-TC-1A.
Lead the HACCP team to ensure full compliance with regulatory and industrial food safety standards.
Manage product and environmental sampling for chemical and microbial analysis to meet HACCP requirements.
Lead cross functional project team to build user-friendly windows base customer support applications which interface with the OmniPlan/OmniPlus mainframe application.
Execute quality processes in tissue banking and medical device, FDA requirements 21 CFR 1271 and 21 CFR 820.

Quality supervisor vs quality assurance specialist skills

Common quality supervisor skills

Continuous Improvement, 7%
ISO, 6%
Corrective Action, 5%
Quality Standards, 5%
Food Safety, 4%
Product Quality, 3%

Common quality assurance specialist skills

GMP, 6%
Patients, 5%
FDA, 5%
CAPA, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
CFR, 4%

Quality Supervisor vs. similar jobs

Quality Supervisor related careers

Quality Supervisor related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Quality Supervisor
Quality Supervisor vs Quality Assurance Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs