I Dont Want to Continue to Be a Quality Engineer

Quality Engineer (by Violet)

What Do People Think You Do?

When I tell people who don't work in the manufacturing field I'm a Quality Engineer, I mostly get blank stares. I don't think many people have a misconception of quality engineering because they haven't given it a thought. In recent years I think the most common misconception about my work as a quality engineer has been that it is working with software. There are also Software Quality Engineers, but I deal with manufactured parts and assemblies.

What Do You Really Do?

As a Quality Engineer I try to make sure that the products my company produces meet the requirements that the Design Engineer specifies. I'm not involved hands-on in making the products, but I support the people who do by making sure that they have the proper tools to measure the products, and training on how to use the measurement tools.

Another function of my job is making sure that procedures are being followed, and the paperwork required is complete. This can be a big part of the job depending on what industry you work in. If you work in either the aerospace field, or for a medical device manufacturer ensuring tests are performed, reviewed and documented is very important.

The third part of my job is working with various people in the company to determine what went wrong when something fails. We look for the "root cause" of the failure or problem, and try to come up with things we can do to keep it from happening again.

A Day In The Life

My days vary quite a bit. Usually there is at least one day in a week that I come to work to find that there has been a problem with a part that was purchased by my company that doesn't seem right. I will measure the part with the proper measurement tools, and once I find the problem get a group of people together to determine what to do about it. Whether the part can be used as it is, needs to be fixed in some way, if we can return it to the supplier for a replacement, or if it is garbage. I may have to interact with the supplier to let them know what we found, and what they will do about the problem to fix it for us.

I also work with customers who have problems with their products. When they complain, I investigate the problem to find out where it occurred. If we created the problem, I work with a team of people to find out how it happened, and try to brainstorm ideas to keep the problem from happening again. Whenever possible we make a permanent fix to eliminate the problem.

I spend much of my day working on communication between people in the company. I work with the designers, production workers, schedulers, purchasing people, and management every day. I attend several formal meetings per week, and spend quite a bit of time composing and reading emails.

When working with external suppliers and customers I'm often taking pictures of problems, or making presentations and documents to explain the issue and/or the fix.

Weekly I scan inspection records and store them electronically. As I do I review them for completeness, and note whether we are having problems producing good parts in any areas.

I also create charts monthly to show how we are doing, and what the trends are.

What's The Average Income?

$75,000/year

What Education If Any Is Needed?

The educational requirements vary. In general the quickest way to get into the field as a quality engineer is to get an engineering degree, preferably Mechanical, Electrical, or Manufacturing Engineering. Many of the quality engineers I have worked with over the years got there by working their way up through the quality ranks. Many started by working on the production side, then transferring into the quality department as an inspector. After a few years experience as an inspector, you can take on higher level work and become a Quality Technician. Again, with experience and aptitude you can be promoted to Quality Engineer.

Quality Engineers need to have a good understanding of math and statistics to be successful in their jobs. Any field that is strong in math and statistics can be another entry point into the role of Quality Engineer.

Something Important To Know

Quality Engineering requires a wide variety of skills, but I think the most important thing to know about the job is that you really have to work with other people to solve problems.

The quality engineer does not have responsibility for the design of the product, but has to work with the designers to optimize the design so the parts are easier to make, and can be more reliable.

The quality engineer does not have responsibility of physically making the parts, but has to work with manufacturing to improve their processes for making the parts.

It can be challenging to balance the cost to implement quality improvements against the benefits of having a higher quality product, and at the end of the day the quality department rarely gets to make the final decision on what improvements are put in place. It is their job to help the company make the decision by providing data and analysis to the decision makers.

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Source: https://whatforwork.com/jobs/quality-engineer-2-of-2/