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Quality Engineer
​Have you ever purchased a brand new item that you discovered was defective or just completely did not work when you got home?  When it happened, did you wonder how broken or defective items ever made it to stores' shelves?  Furthermore, are you the proactive type that takes it upon yourself to rectify and learn from the problems you incur?  If so and if you are a lover of Science and Math and have a particular fondness to fractions, decimals, measurements, statistics, and Science projects, then you probably would enjoy a career as a Quality Engineer.

Quality Engineers monitor and audit the quality of all manufactured goods in a variety of industries (automobile, textile, clothing, food, etc.) and work to find defects, to find the cause of the defect, and to develop a solution.  Across all types of industries, Quality Engineers are at work monitoring, testing, and inspecting products to make certain they meet specified standards.  They test products to determine how long they will last, what part may break down first, and how to improve product durability, and they inspect product materials, mechanics, and electrical systems.

Using tools such as micrometers, calipers, gauges, volt meters, ammeters and ohmmeters, and electronic inspection equipment, QEs perform very exact tests and duplicate real-world conditions.  They also design systems by which production quality can be checked in an ongoing process, and they typically work with the production team to implement any new testing criteria or assembly methods they may have developed.

Duties include but are not limited to:  determining quality-improvement parameters by identifying statistical methods relevant to manufacturing processes; establishing statistical confidence by identifying sample size and acceptable error; determining levels of confidence; analyzing data by completing hypothesis, normal distribution, and process-capability analysis tests; preparing reports by collecting, analyzing, and summarizing data and making recommendations; reviewing professional publications; and benchmarking state-of-the-art practices.

Students interested in studying Quality Engineering should take high school courses in Mathematics, such as Algebra, Trigonometry, and Calculus; Computer Science; and Sciences such as Chemistry and Physics.  Few universities, if any, offer Quality Engineering as a major, but Industrial and Systems Engineering encompasses the theoretical branch of Quality Control.  A Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Engineering takes 4 to 5 years, depending on the program and coop experience.  Licensure is required for those who wish to establish their own Quality Engineering consulting firms and to provide services directly to the public.

It is the Quality Engineer's responsibility to inspect incoming parts (from suppliers) for defects, as it is the suppliers' Quality Engineers' job to test and inspect the parts before they leave their shipping docks.  And much like their suppliers, manufacturing facilities' Quality Engineers have the responsibility of testing and inspecting their products before they are shipped off to the customer.

Materials Quality Engineers verify product dimensions and strength and locate imperfections.  Mechanical Quality Engineers verify that parts move correctly and test the proper fit of components.  Electrical Quality Engineers check the flow of electricity and ensure the proper operation of equipment and machinery.

Due to increasing industry competitiveness and technological advances that drive companies to improve product design and optimize the manufacturing process, Quality Engineers will always be needed.  As the manufacturing sector rebounds and continues to grow and as more manufacturing companies learn about the many benefits of Quality Engineering, expect demand for this field to spike.
Job Description
Median Salary & Range
​Median Salary:  $65,040

Salary Range:  ~$41,750 - $108,680+
College Majors & Attainment Routes
​The normal routes to becoming a Quality Engineer have been to major in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mathematics, or Applied Mathematics.  

Few, if any, universities offer Quality Engineering as a major, and there is no Quality Engineering Professional Engineer's license.  Industrial Engineering is the closest discipline, due to its in-depth coverage of Statistics and because most IE programs require Quality Engineering classes as part of their curriculum.  QEs typically chose either Industrial Engineering or Mechanical Engineering PE exams, depending on work experience and/or area of study.
Colleges That Provide Above Majors
​Colleges and universities that have Industrial Engineering and related majors are:  North Carolina A&T State University (Greensboro, North Carolina); Morgan State University (Baltimore, Maryland); Tennessee State University (Nashville, Tennessee); Virginia State University (Petersburg, Virginia); Alabama A&M University (Normal, Alabama); Howard University (Washington, DC); Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, Texas); Tuskegee University (Tuskegee, Alabama); Southern University (Baton Rouge, Louisiana); Florida A&M University (Tallahassee, Florida); Savannah State University (Savannah, Georgia); Benedict College (Columbia, South Carolina); Wilberforce University (Wilberforce, Ohio); Central State University (Wilberforce, Ohio); Oakwood University (Huntsville, Alabama); Spelman College (Atlanta, Georgia); and Florida Memorial University (Miami Gardens, Florida).
Available Scholarships