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The differences between senior quality specialists and quality assurance specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior quality specialists and a quality assurance specialist. Additionally, a senior quality specialists has an average salary of $90,969, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.
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 specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $90,969 | $63,443 |
| Hourly rate | $43.74 | $30.50 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 58,771 | 83,505 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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 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.
Senior quality specialists and quality assurance specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average salary | $90,969 | $63,443 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $117,000 | Between $41,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | SAP | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a senior quality specialists and a quality assurance specialist in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior quality specialists' and quality assurance specialists' demographics:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| 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, 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 | 4% | 11% |