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The differences between quality technician engineers and quality leads 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 quality lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a quality lead has an average salary of $90,301, 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 quality lead are continuous improvement, product quality, and quality standards.
| Quality Technician Engineer | Quality Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $86,726 | $90,301 |
| Hourly rate | $41.70 | $43.41 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 70,504 | 62,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 45 | 48 |
| 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 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.
Quality technician engineers and quality leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Technician Engineer | Quality Lead | |
| Average salary | $86,726 | $90,301 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $118,000 | Between $63,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a quality technician engineer and a quality lead in terms of educational background:
| Quality Technician Engineer | Quality Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Purdue University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality technician engineers' and quality leads' demographics:
| Quality Technician Engineer | Quality Lead | |
| Average age | 45 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 76.8% Female, 23.2% | Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 8% |