Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior quality specialists and quality assurance managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior quality specialists, becoming a quality assurance manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a quality assurance manager has an average salary of $99,894, which is higher than the $90,969 average annual salary of a senior quality specialists.
The top three skills for a senior quality specialists include continuous improvement, quality standards and data collection. The most important skills for a quality assurance manager are continuous improvement, product quality, and corrective action.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $90,969 | $99,894 |
| Hourly rate | $43.74 | $48.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 58,771 | 62,293 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Senior quality specialists are in charge of overseeing and optimizing quality control procedures, ensuring smooth workflow and efficiency. They typically perform research and analysis to identify the best manufacturing practices, identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, providing solutions on vulnerable areas, and coordinating different teams to optimize operations. Furthermore, as senior quality specialists, it is essential to lead and serve as a mentor to junior specialists, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its vision and mission.
A Quality Assurance Manager's responsibility varies on the organization or industry where one is assigned. Most of the time, the duties will revolve around quality control, such as overseeing a company's manufacturing operations, ensuring that the process followed all of the necessary protocols, and the products met all of the standards in adherence to the company's policies and regulations. Furthermore, one must be able to detect and identify mistakes, conduct constant inspections, coordinate with various staff and supervisors, develop the workforce's quality by training employees, and come up with strategies that will help the company attain financial gains.
Senior quality specialists and quality assurance managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Manager | |
| Average salary | $90,969 | $99,894 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $117,000 | Between $70,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | SAP | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior quality specialists and a quality assurance manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior quality specialists' and quality assurance managers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 67.1% Female, 32.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.6% Asian, 10.0% White, 69.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 8% |