As a quality assurance advisor, you may determine whether or not a finished product is of high enough quality. You may deal with making sure that no defects are in the product. In this case, you not only look for defects, but also develop methods to make sure that they occur much less often, if ever. Your job, no matter what area you work in, is to make sure that the best product possible is developed as close to perfection as possible.
As quality assurance advisor or manager, you may test products at various stages of production. You may determine what water products’ chemical, electrical, or mechanical characteristics should be and then develop procedures to make sure certain standards are met. You may also set up tests for products along the way so that you can test and then document what those product results were. Oftentimes, this information is taken down and recorded, then interpreted by a statistician in an easy-to-read form like a chart or graph.
Once products have been tested and data has been interpreted, a US quality assurance advisor will evaluate the data and show how the products can be improved, if there are improvements to be made. You may also look for ways to make product manufacturing more efficient, with less waste.
As a quality assurance manager or advisor, you may work in inventory assurance, research and development, purchasing, or product design. If your company is particularly small, you may be involved in all of these areas at once.
Becoming a Quality Assurance Advisor
If you would like to be a quality assurance advisor, be aware that you are going to need a very strong attention to detail with a definite bent towards perfection. Of course, things can’t be perfect, but one of the best ways to use this particular skill or propensity is to work your way up in quality assurance and eventually step into managerial shoes. Quality assurance advisors have to want to strive for products that are as close to perfect as possible, and this comprises the bulk of their work.
In addition, you will need to be very good at communicating ideas to others in simple, basic terms, since you will be dealing with people at varying levels of technical expertise. In other words, you are going to need to be able to talk with everyone from an assembly-line worker to those in top managerial positions, and everyone in between.
One usually begins a career as a quality assurance advisor by first becoming an engineer or statistician, often first working in research and development. As you advance, you move into quality assurance. To get this type of position, you will first need a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field specific to the type of quality assurance you want to do. If you’re testing products that are very specialized, such as pharmaceutical products, you may need a particular medical or scientific degree, depending on the position. Some universities and colleges offer bachelor’s and/or master’s programs specifically in reliability or quality technology. You also will likely need to have some background in statistics.
Getting a Job
When you begin your career, your school can help you get an initial job in quality assurance, usually in research and development. You can also apply directly to private companies for these types of positions such as pharmaceuticals or electronics. State and private employment agencies also have this information, as do online job sites, professional journals, and newspaper classifieds. However, because quality control occurs in every sector of the economy, the sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to getting a job in this area; choose the sector you have experience in, and you should be able to get into quality control if you have the necessary skills as discussed above.
Compensation and Outlook
Those who want to become quality assurance advisors are going to have the best opportunities for advancement into these positions if they have advanced degrees, including a master’s and/or doctorate. Some quality control managers become independent consultants and work for themselves in their particular areas of expertise. First, of course, this necessitates that you have several years’ experience on the job as a quality control advisor working for an employer before you start business for yourself.
In general, quality control advisors made a salary of about $72,000 in 2006. In some sectors of the economy, such as the automotive industry, the need for quality control managers is dropping. However, in other industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, the demand is growing. Biotechnology is another area that is experiencing growth currently and appears to be for the near future, as well.
