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The differences between senior quality specialists and quality 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 manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a quality manager has an average salary of $91,357, 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 manager are continuous improvement, corrective action, and quality standards.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $90,969 | $91,357 |
| Hourly rate | $43.74 | $43.92 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 58,771 | 63,422 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| 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 manager is an individual who is responsible for ensuring that the level of quality of the company's product outputs is met for customers. Quality managers monitor and evaluate the internal production process so that they can produce statistical reports on the standard of quality and communicate them to upper management. To ensure health and safety standards, quality managers must create and maintain up-to-date product or process specifications. They also train employees on quality assurance standards and processes.
Senior quality specialists and quality managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Manager | |
| Average salary | $90,969 | $91,357 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $117,000 | Between $64,000 And $128,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | SAP | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior quality specialists and a quality manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 61% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | New York University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior quality specialists' and quality managers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Specialists | Quality Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 72.1% Female, 27.9% |
| 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.2% Asian, 9.2% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 4% | 8% |