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Manavta
19 October, 2024
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Have you ever travelled on a train and bought a water bottle when thirsty? You might be thinking, What a silly question it is. Of course, everybody buys water bottles when thirsty. Then, did you ever wonder, Why don’t you just go down the train to drink tap water? After all, it would save you money as well. It’s because you can’t compromise with the quality of water. Tap water is not hygienic and might harm your body or spread infections.
Similarly, you buy Amul or any famous milk product brand because they ensure quality. Even buying packaged food is another example of quality assurance. Therefore, even in our daily lives, we don’t compromise with the quality of the product. Then, how could large-scale industrialists trade off their products’ qualities? And here’s when the role of quality engineers comes into action.
Quality engineers ensure the quality of the products manufactured within an organisation. Every business does a final quality check before bringing their products into the market. It improves the customer experience and positive feedback towards their product. According to Zippia (2024), the job growth rate for quality engineers is estimated to be 10% from 2018 to 2028.
Therefore, the need for quality engineers, especially for esteemed brands, will increase in the coming days. For instance, Google and Apple are two famous and recognised brands worldwide. Nowadays, millions of people use Gmail for work purposes, even when there are numerous mail applications. What if the quality of Gmail drops? You wouldn’t want to use it anymore because you would lose trust. The same goes for Apple and other famous brands such as Toyota, Sun Pharma, and Samsung.
Thus, in a nutshell, quality engineers are the requirements of every industry. Therefore, pursuing a quality engineering career can bring many career growth opportunities. This blog shall discuss the education, skills, and quality engineering career path. Moreover, you shall learn about the top recruiters, job outlook, and salary packages. Sounds intriguing, right? So, without wasting more time, let’s dive into it.
Also Read: Become a Big Data Engineer in 2024: Here’s A Complete Guide
Quality engineers oversee existing processes, but they are not manufacturing engineers. So, how do they increase a product’s quality? They discover potential opportunities to enhance the products’ efficiency and reduce costs.
When needed, they identify the key causes of different issues associated with the product. Their other chief role is developing and implementing relevant and preventative measures to improve products’ efficiency.
Quality engineers are needed throughout the production process. They ensure that the product processes go smoothly and effectively and check the safety of finalised products. In short, quality engineers monitor the quality check process of products. Essentially, they discover potential solutions for problems that might occur during the process.
Being a quality engineer is like being an Iron Man. Remember how Iron Man finalises his high-tech devices and suits before using them? Similarly, quality engineers are the Iron Man of their industry. It’s like having authority in your hands. Sounds interesting, right? However, that’s not the end. There are numerous other fascinating benefits of a quality engineering career. Here are a few:
Great demand across different industries, including aerospace, software, and manufacturing.
Opportunity to lead innovation while enhancing processes and products.
Abundant earning potential, especially with certifications like Six Sigma.
Diverse career with roles in tech, automotive, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Provides your job satisfaction by ensuring the reliability and safety of products.
Continuously emerging career with numerous skill development opportunities.
Plenty of career advancement opportunities in different specialised fields.
Opportunity to work with multiple cross-functional teams, enhancing teamwork and communication skills.
Practical involvement in decision-making and problem-solving processes.
Global career opportunities due to standard quality practices worldwide.
You must follow a prescribed career path to become a quality engineer. This step-by-step guide discusses a quality engineer roadmap. Follow the given steps to become a quality engineer:
To the least, you need to get an engineering degree in your desired domain. You shall be equipped with essential skills and fundamental knowledge during your graduation. Also, institutions nowadays intend to provide hands-on learning experiences. It could be your significant benefit. So, please don’t forget to look for a college offering practical knowledge.
After graduation, acquiring experience is a must. You might get internships during your final years as part of the curriculum. However, you can seek internships if your course doesn’t help you. Internship programmes allow you to apply your knowledge as a fresher and learn to grow in your career.
Acquiring certifications could be your plus. It showcases your practical experience and your industry orientation. Most of the time, certifications work as a letter of recommendation (LOR). It increases your chance for career advancement. Moreover, you could earn certifications like Six Sigma or CQE to improve your knowledge in a quality engineering career.
Congratulations on securing your job! Happy?
Once you get certified and have hands-on quality check experience, it’s time for you to get placed. You could secure a job in two ways. You could get a job through campus placement or seek employment outside the country. It’s easy to obtain a job through campus placement. But you don’t need to be sad if you don’t get placed. With practical experience and the proper education, employers outside your campus also offer jobs to quality engineers in bulk.
Also Read: Best MBA Specialisations for Engineers (BTech, BE, MTech) 2024
“Your skill is your capital; it is an unlimited resource.” – Lailah Gifty Akita
Skills often have more involvement than education in making your career shine. Do you know that employers value skilled candidates more? However, it’s equally important to leverage those skills for the best results effectively. Here are several essential quality engineer career skills that you would require.
Proficiency in Mathematics
Advanced Computer Knowledge
Expert Communication Skills
Keen Eye for Attention to Detail
Critical and Strategic Thinking to Solve Complex Problems
Ability to Work in a Team or Teamwork Skills
Time Management Skills for Convenience
Great Knowledge of Statistics
Comprehensive Knowledge of Quality Standards
Automation Understanding for Quality Control
Problem-Solving Skills
A quality engineer’s career path facilitates an authentic career journey. To become a quality engineer, you must follow this journey from scratch. Here are the eligibility criteria for a quality engineering career.
Study mathematics as one of the subjects in your intermediate education (12th).
Get a bachelor’s degree in engineering, whether manufacturing, mechanical, industrial, or electrical.
Get a grip on skills through practical experience via internships, workshops, or part-time jobs.
Earn certificates to improve your domain knowledge and working experience.
Work on soft skills and acquire hard skills to understand technicalities.
Focus on teamwork, time management, and statistical areas.
If you think you possess all of these qualities, the quality engineering career is yours. These are some essential requirements to be perfect for this career.
Designing and administering quality control systems.
Overseeing the manufacturing process and ensuring that the products’ quality meets standards.
Scrutinising the manufacturing processes.
Performing frequent audits in manufacturing processes.
Modifying quality control systems to resolve potential issues.
Maintaining up-to-date and authentic quality check reports regularly.
Documenting products’ test results and quality-associated records.
Collaborating with multiple departments to address quality issues.
Mentoring other teammates involved in products’ lifecycle.
Educating colleagues on quality control standards and processes.
Identifying the root causes that are reducing the product efficiency.
Resolving the issues to enhance the efficiency of the product as much as possible.
Ensuring design, material, manufacturing, and final products’ quality.
Put effort into improving quality at minimum costs.
Predicting post-production issues and resolving them throughout the process.
One of the most exciting parts of a career’s prospects is its pay scale. However, the pay scale depends on the job outlook of the career. As per the US BLS report (2024), the job outlook for QA or quality engineers is projected to grow by 17% between 2023-2033. This showcases a significant rapid increase in the outlook for quality engineering careers.
Moreover, according to Indeed, the average salary of quality engineers in the US is $83,352. However, as per AmbitionBox, quality engineers can earn between ₹ 3.6 ₹ 12.6 LPA in India. Furthermore, the salary range differs depending on skills, experience, department, and location. Quality engineer is an emerging career with the potential for career advancement.
Here are a few types of quality engineers and their average salary:
| Quality Engineers | Average Salary |
| Quality Assurance Engineer | INR 2 – 11.5 LPA |
| NPD Quality Engineer | INR 2 – 5.3 LPA |
| R&D Quality Engineer | INR 7.6 – 15 LPA |
Source: Ambition Box
The quality engineer career path is filled with versatile career opportunities. Numerous recruiters worldwide recruit these professionals to fulfil their job positions. The following are the popular quality engineer recruiters.
| Top Recruiters | Top Recruiters |
| Amazon | Capgemini |
| Concentrix | Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) |
| Infosys | Tata Motors |
| Accenture | Adobe |
| Wipro | |
| IBM | Oracle Teleperformance |
| Johnsons & Johnsons | Tech Mahindra |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions | ABC |
Below is a list of the top engineering colleges in India. They offer a variety of engineering degrees and courses. You can select your desired field to become a quality engineer. Here are these:
IIT Delhi.
IIT Madras
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS)
NIT Tiruchirapalli
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore (VIT)
Delhi Technological University (DTU)
IIT Roorkee
PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore
Anna University, Chennai
College of Engineering, Pune
IIT Kanpur
Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal
Jadavpur University, Kolkata
NIT Warangal
Related: Top 10 Engineering University in India
Do you remember when ISRO launched its Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013? Have you ever thought that it wasn’t only about reaching Mars? But doing it with precision and efficiency. Quality engineers were the backbone of this mission, ensuring the quality of the spacecraft. Also, it was beautifully portrayed in the 2015 movie Mission Mangal.
Akshay Kumar was the head of the mission, but the role of other actors like Vidya Balan or Tapsee Pannu as quality engineers can’t be denied. Vidya Balan’s character (Tara Shinde) lowered the costs and improved the quality of the spacecraft. Similarly, other characters performed quality checks for fuel, material, shape, size, etc.
If you have watched this movie, you can understand that being a quality engineer, you have the potential to reach Mars from Earth. The mission inspired the future of aerospace engineering, the youth, and the nation. Today, India wouldn’t be so proud of its Managlyaan Mission without quality engineers. A quality engineer career path could be an opportunity for your big dreams to come true.
Moving ahead, how to become a quality engineer might not be your confusion anymore. A quality engineering career is filled with great opportunities. With this qualification, you can reach Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. This career has great potential, whether salary, opportunities, or versatility. You must focus on skills like problem-solving, strategic thinking, and teamwork. However, don’t forget that your education and college play an important role too. So, are you ready to discover the best engineering college and give wings to your dreams? Then, gear up now!
