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The differences between senior quality 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 senior quality manager, becoming a quality engineer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior quality manager has an average salary of $127,285, which is higher than the $79,672 average annual salary of a quality engineer.
The top three skills for a senior quality manager include continuous improvement, oversight and project management. The most important skills for a quality engineer are corrective action, continuous improvement, and ISO.
| Senior Quality Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $127,285 | $79,672 |
| Hourly rate | $61.19 | $38.30 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 62,683 | 96,838 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A senior quality manager is in charge of designing and developing quality control measures to ensure that a company's products are according to standards. They typically coordinate with analysts and other experts to identify the market and clients' needs, evaluate existing quality control methods, and create strategies to improve production procedures. Aside from optimizing quality control, a senior quality manager must also monitor the workflow and the workforce's performance to ensure efficiency and their adherence to the company's standards and regulations.
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.
Senior quality managers and quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $127,285 | $79,672 |
| Salary range | Between $90,000 And $178,000 | Between $61,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Upstart Network | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior quality manager and a quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between senior quality managers' and quality engineers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Manager | Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 48 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% | Male, 78.2% Female, 21.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.4% Asian, 9.3% White, 69.1% 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% |