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The differences between quality technician engineers and product engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a quality technician engineer, becoming a product engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product engineer has an average salary of $89,645, which is higher than the $86,726 average annual salary of a quality technician engineer.
The top three skills for a quality technician engineer include product quality, ISO and corrective action. The most important skills for a product engineer are CAD, product design, and project management.
| Quality Technician Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $86,726 | $89,645 |
| Hourly rate | $41.70 | $43.10 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 70,504 | 157,888 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Quality specialists are quality assurance professionals who make sure that the organization's standards are constantly maintained in their products. They are employed in various industries, like technology and manufacturing. Their duties include planning quality standards, directing audits, providing recommendations to management on improving operations, as well as evaluating employee performance. It is their responsibility to ensure the current product quality specifications meet the client's requirements. Additionally, they identify product defects, conduct product tests and assessments, together with recording and reporting the issues.
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
Quality technician engineers and product engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Technician Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average salary | $86,726 | $89,645 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $118,000 | Between $68,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality technician engineer and a product engineer in terms of educational background:
| Quality Technician Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between quality technician engineers' and product engineers' demographics:
| Quality Technician Engineer | Product Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2% | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 5% |