The following article discusses the career path of Quality Assurance Manager. Learn about how to become one, education requirements, job duties, traits and qualities, national salary outlook as well as top national employers of Quality Assurance Managers.
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Job Duties
A quality assurance manager has responsibility for making sure that standards are met for the quality of the company’s products or services. What these standards are vary tremendously depending on the industry and business itself, which means these managers usually have a wide range of knowledge and skills. Overall, they are responsible for making sure performance, reliability, and accessibility is of acceptable standard at least.
No matter where they work, quality assurance managers make sure that their organization is profitable and efficient by reducing levels of wastage. They ensure that the documentation processes are maintained and hold responsibility for collecting and maintaining data in relation to this. Often, accredited quality standards exist, and it is the quality assurance manager’s role to ensure that those standards are met. This means that they also hold responsibility for audits.
Being managers, they also provide supervision to quality control staff. Typically, they have a number of inspectors as part of their team who are responsible for certain elements of the development stages of a product. Additionally, they often hold HR responsibility over their team members.
Other duties of a quality assurance manager are:
- To develop quality measurements across the business and ensure improvements are made
- To Develop and maintain activities relating to quality improvement
- To create and maintain the relevant standards and processes related to quality assurance
Where We Work
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 520,700 quality control inspectors, a profession closely related to that of quality assurance manager, in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals are:
- Manufacturing 64%
- Professional, scientific, and technical services 9%
- Administrative and support services 9%
- Wholesale trade 6%
Also according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 170,600 industrial production managers, a profession closely related to that of quality assurance manager, in 2016. The largest employers of these professionals are:
- Transportation equipment manufacturing 11%
- Fabricated metal product manufacturing 10%
- Chemical manufacturing 8%
- Machinery manufacturing 7%
- Food manufacturing 7%
How to Become
Typically, quality assurance managers have a non-physical job that focuses heavily on data and communication. They work as part of a team and usually have line management responsibility. This is why a bachelor’s degree is generally accepted, and quality assurance certifications are appreciated. Additionally, extensive industry-related work experience is also required.
Education Requirements
Typically, a quality assurance manager holds a bachelor’s degree at the very least. The subject is often not relevant, although many have an industrial engineering or business administration degree. It is also possible for those working within the organization to complete management and quality assurance courses and thereby grow into the role. In some larger organizations, it is now expected that quality assurance managers have a master’s degree, particularly the master of business administration (MBA).
Relevant professional experience is also very important. In fact, it is so important that many quality assurance managers are sponsored by their employer to obtain a relevant bachelor or master’s degree, as well as quality assurance courses.
Traits & Qualities
The most effective quality assurance managers have the following traits to some degree or other:
– Excellent interpersonal skills
– Great leadership skills
– Problem solving skills
– A keen eye for detail
– Time management skills
– Strong communication skills
Minimum Education
Bachelor’s Degree
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$21,000
$156,000
The following section lists Quality Assurance Manager salaries in each state around the country. The figures are based on the total number of job postings through Indeed.com. For example, Massachusetts had the largest quoted salary of $98,201 while Hawaii had the smallest quoted salary of $38,860.
According to Indeed.com, the following states had employers looking to hire a Quality Assurance Manager. The quoted salary figure represents the average salary from all job postings by this employer.
| Employer Name | Location | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle Quality Assurance Manager | California | $156,266 |
| Park Hudson International Quality Assurance Manager | New York | $150,020 |
| Abacustech.Ca Quality Assurance Manager | Maryland | $150,000 |
| Joseph Harry Ltd Quality Assurance Manager | New Jersey | $147,089 |
| Twenty Recruitment Quality Assurance Manager | New York | $145,207 |
| Huxley Banking & Financial Services Quality Assurance Manager | New York | $142,937 |
| Lending Club Quality Assurance Manager | California | $140,241 |
| Mustang Technical Consultants Quality Assurance Manager | Virginia | $140,000 |
| Benvia LLC Quality Assurance Manager | Pennsylvania | $130,000 |
| Company Confidiential Quality Assurance Manager | New York | $125,000 |
| Piper Enterprise Solutions Quality Assurance Manager | DC | $124,900 |
| Amazon.com Quality Assurance Manager | Washington | $124,478 |
| Momentum LLC Quality Assurance Manager | Indiana | $123,975 |
| At-Tech Quality Assurance Manager | California | $123,388 |
| Shain Associates Quality Assurance Manager | New Jersey | $122,471 |
| CMC Limited Quality Assurance Manager | California | $122,210 |
| Providence Partners Quality Assurance Manager | Texas | $122,030 |
| Universal Software Quality Assurance Manager | Massachusetts | $121,324 |
| AIG Quality Assurance Manager | New Jersey | $120,933 |
Learn More
- Quality Assurance Manager (QAM) | IllinoisJobLink.com
- Quality Control Inspectors : Occupational Outlook Handbook …
- Quality Assurance Manager | IllinoisJobLink.com
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|---|---|
| Real Estate Manager | $76,119 |
| IT Analyst | $75,617 |
| Business Development Manager | $75,226 |
| Benefits Manager | $74,059 |
| Information Technology Specialist | $73,668 |
| Systems Analyst | $72,715 |
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