2016 The Complete Report

P
Putting Best Practices to Work www.qualityprogress.com | December 2016
QUALITY PR
Clear
Signs
Your guide to improved
earnings via the 2016
salary survey results p. 14
CONTENTS
Part 1. Regular Employee Results
Section 1
Follow
Salary by Job Title p. 9
Section 2
Salary by ASQ and Exemplar Global Certification p. 14
Section 3
Salary by Six Sigma Training p. 21
Section 4
Salary by Years of Experience in Quality p. 25
Section 5
Salary by Highest Level of Education p. 31
Section 6
Salary by Industry p. 34
Section 7
Salary by Education and Years in Quality p. 46
Section 8
Salary by Number of Employees Overseen p. 51
Section 9
Salary by Number of Work Hours p. 55
Section 10
Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status p. 59
Section 11
Salary by Division Size and Organization Size p. 63
Section 12
Salary by Organization’s Quality Infrastructure p. 69
Section 13
Salary by Extent of Quality Responsibilities p. 72
Section 14
Salary by Geographic Location—
U.S. and Canadian Areas p. 76
Section 15
Salary by Gender and Age p. 103
Section 16
Raises and Additional Annual Payments p. 107
Part 2. Self-Employed Consultant Results

Section 17
Consultant Overview p. 111
Section 18
Base Earnings by Years of Experience p. 113
Section 19
Base Earnings by Education and Training p. 117
Section 20
Base Earnings and Rates by
Age, Gender and Geography p.120
Part 3. International Results

Section 21
Introduction to International Results
p.123
Section 22
China Results
p. 126
Section 23
India Results p. 130
Section 24
Mexico Results p. 135
Section 25
Other International Results p. 139
Part 4. Culture of Quality

Section 26
Culture of Quality—Expanded Results p. 145
Appendixes
Appendix A
Statistical Terms p. 151
Appendix B
Job Titles p. 151
Appendix C
Two Tiers of Titles p. 153
Appendix D
Industry Descriptions p. 153
Appendix E
Questions Asked for Culture of Quality section p. 155
QP
2016
the Signs
SALARY
SURVEY
Choosing the right path to career success
Headline Goes
by Max Christian Hansen
In This Area
CLOSING OUT A calendar year often sig-
nals to many the opportunity to step back and assess
where they stand in their careers. The milestone
makes many pause to consider changes they may
full-time respondents rose by a mere $780, an in-
crease of 0.86%.
Figure 1 (p. 4) compares the growth trajecto-
ries of the United States and Canada, home to the
Deck goes here

need to make to move their careers to the next level:
adding education, achieving professional certifica-
second-largest group of survey respondents. The
average salary for quality professionals in Canada
tions, changing employers or perhaps relocating to is more volatile from year to year than in the United
by Author Name
another region. States—probably due to the smaller number of
The annual QP Salary Survey—now in its 30th respondents.
year—has become a solid resource for quality pro-
fessionals to use to examine the state of the profes- Historical average salaries
sion and how they fit in it, ponder career possibilities of U.S. employees / TABLE 1
FIRST THREE WORDS
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retreat as seen in 2012 and 2014, but the increase Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,
was barely visible. The average salary for all U.S. Canadian employees, International employees
2 QP • www.qualityprogress.com December 2016 • QP 3

Because survey respondents hold a variety of job ple match between keywords in the certification name
titles and come with highly diverse salaries, the dis- and the holder’s job title.
tribution of salaries does not follow a normal curve. This year is no different. For example, 10.8% more
When the number of vice presidents in Canada who re- pay is earned by U.S. professionals with the job title of
spond to the survey varies even a little, this may cause auditor who are also ASQ-certified quality auditors, as
a swing in average salary. Still, in both countries, the shown in Table 2. Not all of the high-yield title certifica-
gradual trend has been upward—with little or no loss tion matches are keyword matches, however. Table 2
of pay even in the global economy’s lean years. also shows a hefty 20.7% premium for quality engineers
who’ve achieved the manager of quality/organizational
Is now the time? excellence certification.
The salary survey questionnaire has been fairly con- Table 2 is only a sample from this year’s results. Sec-
sistent since its inception in 1986. Starting five years tion 2 dives deeper into ASQ and Exemplar Global cer-
ago, however, the report added special analysis aimed tifications, showing several more title and certification
at helping readers navigate their career paths. If you’re combinations that prove to be worthwhile.
poised to make a big step forward in your career, it Education—The 2012 report provided an overview
may be time to review the analysis provided in the last of the career choices that do the most to maximize an
five surveys (past salary survey reports are available at individual’s salary and a simple framework for thinking
http://tinyurl.com/qp-salary-survey-archive). Here are about how to maximize your value to an employer. Es-
some highlights: sentially, it comes down to two questions:
ASQ certifications—Every year, it’s apparent from 1. What variables correlate with high salaries?
analyzing the survey results that ASQ certifications in- 2. How much control can any professional exert over
crease the paychecks of those who hold them. In 2011, those variables?
the report included a close look at this relationship and Each salary survey report answers the first ques-
added extra statistical rigor to the analysis. tion about variables pretty consistently: education,
The major takeaway was that certifications provide certification, management responsibility and experi-
the most benefit when they are closely aligned with the ence lead the way. Of course, certain job titles consis-
work the certification holder does. This is often a sim- tently draw higher salaries than others, but the high-
paying positions are usually attained through those
four factors.
Historic average of full-time In 2012, the value of formal education was afforded
salaries—U.S. and Canada / FIGURE 1 added attention. It turns out that the value of each ad-
ditional degree held by a professional is at its greatest
$95,000
90,878 91,659 in the middle years of a career.
88,606 88,423
$90,000 87,086 86,734 As Table 3 shows, the salary premium accruing to
85,383 89,291
83,442 holders of bachelor’s degrees, as opposed to two-year
Average salary
$85,000 81,480
86,923
80,207 84,715 84,458 programs, is $17,716 for professionals between 26 and
$80,000 77,049 82,543
80,611 35 years of age, but leaps to more than $25,000 a year
$75,000 72,318 76,408 for workers between 36 and 46, and remains high for
75,057
69,704 73,968
72,144 the next two age brackets. Overall, it seems education
$70,000 71,584
will continue to be one of the strongest correlations of
$65,000 66,807
sizable paychecks among quality professionals.
64,235
$60,000 Education isn’t everything, however, and the take-
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 away from the 2012 analysis is that the key to career
Year planning is to know what levers affect salary, and how
U.S. Canada much each of those levers is in your control.
Hiring managers’ perspective—In 2013, QP
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time
employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, added a set of questions aimed at hiring managers.
International employees In addition to laying out their near and medium-term
4 QP • www.qualityprogress.com
QP
2016
Sample of differences in salary for ASQ SALARY
certification / TABLE 2 SURVEY
Average Average Salary
Percentage
Job title Certification without with premium,
premium
certification certfication US$
Manager of quality/ $93,353 $102,172 $8,819 9.4%
Manager
organizational excellence
Quality engineer Quality auditor 81,226 89,334 8,108 10
Manager Six Sigma Black Belt 94,048 106,641 12,593 13.4
Auditor Quality auditor 71,555 79,264 7,709 10.8
Manager of quality/ 81,603 98,461 16,859
Quality engineer 20.7
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

Canadian employees, International employees
staffing plans, many wrote detailed mini-essays ex- ditional analysis has not been duplicated in subsequent
plaining what they looked for in job candidates. years, but plenty of information and insight on hiring
These answers were manually coded and the re- managers’ preferences can still be gleaned from the
sponses categorized. relatively recent report.
One of the results is duplicated in Table 4 (p. 6). The Cultures of quality—In 2014, respondents were
upside of this table is that a candidate’s experience asked about their organizations’ cultures. We were es-
seems to be king. Together, the sum of all the rows pecially interested in those cultures as they touch on
mentioning experience shows an overwhelming pref- quality.
erence on the part of hiring managers for candidates The most important result from that survey was
who’ve done a lot of work and learned from it. the fact that an organization that pays attention to
After experience, what these managers most quality seems likelier to have happy employees. One
value is a suite of what’s often referred to as soft of the exhibits from the 2014 report was similar to Ta-
skills and traits that are difficult to quantify: charac- ble 5 (p. 6), which has been updated using this year’s
ter, adaptability, communications skills and general survey data. The first column of numbers shows the
intelligence. Although many managers mentioned
leadership, that trait may be a subset of several of
the other factors just listed.
The 2013 survey is well worth exploring. That ad- Salary premiums for higher levels
of education by age / TABLE 3
26 to 35 36 to 45 46 to 55 56 to 65
JOB TITLES AND Two-year degree or less $53,507 $62,433 $71,097 $77,537
DATA ANALYSIS Bachelor’s degree 71,224 87,796 97,328 103,294
Salary difference +17,716 +25,362 +26,231 +25,756
In previous years, a section of the survey report
Master’s degree 82,481 101,830 115,989 117,721
contained explanations on how data were gath-
ered and some definitions of key concepts, such Salary difference +11,257 +14,034 +18,661 +14,427
as job titles and statistical terms. In this year’s Doctorate 99,868 103,172 123,254 124,146
report, those notes appear in Appendixes A and B Salary difference +17,387 +1,342 +7,265 +6,426
posted online at www.qualityprogress.com/
salarysurvey. Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,
x U.S. employees, Canadian employees, International employees
December 2016 • QP 5
percentages of respondents who said they “agree” respondents at organizations in which top manage-
or “strongly agree” with the statement “I am satis- ment actively supports quality (the last row). Con-
fied with my salary.” The second column of numbers versely, satisfaction is low and dissatisfaction high
shows those who said they “disagree” or “strongly at organizations that don’t pay for training or certi-
disagree.” The percentages in a row do not add to fication courses, or compensate workers for holding
100% because those respondents who were noncom- certifications. Also making poor showings are orga-
mittal are not included. nizations without any identifiable quality system or
The table shows respondents in organizations that method.
invest in quality (rows highlighted in blue) are more The 2014 report also looked at respondents’ sat-
likely to be satisfied and less likely to be dissatisfied isfaction by the industry they worked in. Table 6 is a
than the aggregate of all respondents. sampling of the data from a larger table in the body of
Note the especially high percentage of satisfied this year’s report. The full table can be found in section
(continued on p. 8)
Attributes named by code with Likelihood of satisfaction

number of responses / TABLE 4 with salary based on
Number of
indicators of organization’s
Attribute named by hiring manager
responses quality culture / TABLE 5
Experience, type not specified 656
Satisfied Dissatisfied
Attitude and character, not otherwise specified 560 with salary with salary
Domain experience (industry or specific product or 367 All respondents. 53.9% 26.5%
process)
Employer pays costs of 56.8 24
Personality, not otherwise specified 306 quality-related training.
Fit with existing team or general ability to be a team 246 41.3 37.7
Employer does not pay for
player
training.
Adaptability, problem-solving skills, ability to apply 218
Employer pays costs of 57 24.3
theoretical knowledge
ASQ certifications.
Experience in the quality profession 217
Employer does not pay 46.3 32.2
Communications skills 177 costs of ASQ certifications.
Ability (general) 170 Organization values and 57.8 23
Standard credentials, such as degrees or 159 pays for holding ASQ
certifications certifications.
Track record of achievement 80 Organization does not pay 44.6 35.6

for holding ASQ
General intelligence—ability to learn 69 certifications.
Leadership skills and ability 52 Organization uses Baldrige 66.4 19.5
Analytical skill 47 criteria.
Not easily classified 41 Organization uses Six 59.2 22.2
Sigma.
Detail orientation 35
Organization does not use 46.1 36
Autonomy, ability to be self-directed 35
any quality system or
Understanding of quality and quality mindset 15 method.
Total attributes named 3,450 Organization’s top 61.6 20
management actively
Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time employees, supports quality.
x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
x International employees
Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
This table contains data from 2013. These questions have not been x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,
repeated on any questionnaire since 2013. x Canadian employees, x International employees
QP
2016
Likelihood of satisfaction with job and SALARY
salary by sample of industries / TABLE 6 SURVEY
Satisfied Satisfied
with job with salary
Manufacturing sector: all manufacturing industries 63.2% 53.3%
Most likely to be Medical instruments and supplies 67.5 58.9

satisfied with job Defense 66.7 56.9
Nonelectric measuring, analyzing 57.1 35
Least likely to be and controlling instruments
satisfied with job
Rubber and plastic products 56.4 40
Service sector: all service industries 68 54.9
Most likely to be Nuclear 76.2 61.9

satisfied with job Educational services 74.5 55.6
Least likely to be Wholesale services 58.6 34.5

satisfied with job Oil and gas extraction and refining 57.6 45.6
Table 6 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees,

x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, x International employees
Effect on satisfaction of degrees and

certifications held and required / TABLE 7
Satisfied Satisfied Count of
with job with salary responses
Hiring requirement: doctorate 87.7% 78.4% 73
Hiring requirement: ASQ manager of quality/organizational 85.1 83.3 48
excellence certification
Hiring requirement: ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt certification 84.7 78.3 60
Hiring requirement: ASQ auditor certification 84.7 69.1 177
Hiring requirement: ASQ quality engineer certification 77.5 65.9 215
Hiring requirement: master’s degree 77.1 66.2 523
Highest education: doctorate 76.7 64.8 195
Highest education: two-year program 76.4 54 886
Hiring requirement: bachelor’s degree 74.8 62.7 3,990
All respondents 74.7 59.4 6,131
Highest education: master’s degree 74.4 63.7 1,990
Highest education: bachelor’s degree 73.9 59 2,685
Hiring requirement: two-year degree or certificate 72.7 50.1 363
Certification held: ASQ quality engineer certification 68.5 66.3 1,313
Certification held: ASQ quality auditor certification 66.3 63.6 1,434
Certification held: ASQ manager of quality/organizational 66.2 70.8 799
excellence certification
Certification held: ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt certification 63.9 66 534
Table 7 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,

x U.S. employees, Canadian employees, International employee
SHIELDING PERSONAL DATA
Each QP Salary Survey report is the Giving away personally identifiable of the only two people in the category.
result of very fine data slicing and dicing. information in this way obviously isn’t If the count is one, the minimum and
In reviewing recent years’ surveys, we desirable, so there’s been a slight adjust- maximum are both the salary of that
realized some individual salaries were ment in how limited data like this are one person. Either way, a person can be
presented in ways that could be associ- presented. We still want to deeply dissect matched to a salary. On the other hand,
ated with individual respondents, at least the data because those tables that break if there are at least three in a category,
by someone who knew a respondent out salaries by many variables contain although the minimum and maximum
and other information about that person. many nuggets of value. This year and in are the salaries of two individuals, they
For example, let’s say that in a small the future, we will continue to publish are part of an aggregate in which it’s
orgnanization in New Brunswick, Canada, most of the same tables, but hide any difficult to match a person to a salary. So
a few people talk in the break room and individual salaries. There are three ways we shield the data in a row represent-
all say they’re going to take the QP salary to do this: ing only one or two respondents, and
survey. The survey results don’t usually 1. n = 1: Many of the tables provide display “n < 3.” In all other rows, we
contain a lot of responses from New an average salary and the number of display the data.
Brunswick. So when that year’s results respondents in that cell. If the latter 3. Row removal: In some cases, all
are revealed, the geography section number is one, of course the salary is the cells in a row may be shielded. In
of the report might contain a cell that that one person’s exact salary. In these these cases, the entire row is removed
shows only one respondent from that cases, we shield the data by replacing it from the table, and the metadata box for
province with the title of auditor and with the notation “n = 1.” that table will note that some rows have
gives the average salary for New Bruns- 2. n < 3: We provide some tables that been removed for this reason. Likewise,
wick auditors of $79,230. Of course, that give minimum and maximum salaries for in the minimum-maximum type tables,
average is the exact salary of the one a category, as well as the count of re- if all the rows in a larger aggregation
auditor. Now, there may be a calibration spondents and other statistics. In these are shielded, the entire aggregation is
technician from that same company who cases, if the count is two, the minimum removed, and the metadata box will note
knows his boss’s salary. and the maximum are the exact salaries that. —M.C.H.
(continued from p. 6)
26 online at www.qualityprogress.com/salarysurvey. (see Table 7, p. 7, containing 2015 data for U.S. respon-
How qualifications affect satisfaction—Last dents). This is a fitting corollary to the finding related
year, the culture and satisfaction analysis was again to certifications mentioned earlier: The payoff for any
conducted. In fact, this analysis has become a regular qualification is best if it fits the work actually being
feature of the annual survey, appearing in section 30 of done. The overqualified are somewhat less likely to be
this year’s report. happy in their work lives than those whose jobs make
This year, the data have been beefed up. Realizing the most use of their skills and education. QP
the questions about satisfaction had been optional in
2014, many respondents didn’t provide answers. In
2015, those questions were made integral to the survey,
giving us a larger, more robust data set.
Although the analysis performed in 2015 was simi- MAX CHRISTIAN HANSEN is a management consul-
tant based in Sacramento, CA. He has helped auto
lar to that from the prior year, one new discovery was parts manufacturers with their first implementa-
salient in the opening analysis: Holders of advanced tions of statistical process control and has lectured
on data quality at the Massachusetts Institute of
degrees and some certifications were likelier to be Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. Hansen has an MBA
from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.
happy if they were in positions where those degrees
or certifications were formal requirements of their job
QP
2016
Section 1. Overview and Salary by Job Title
SALARY
An Overview of Earnings SURVEY
O
One of the survey’s first questions addresses a respon- half of that list are similar to those in most years, with
dent’s employment status. As shown in Table 2 (p. 10), only one or two titles near the middle moving—from
92.5% work as regular, full-time employees of an organi- year to year—between the top half and bottom half.
zation. Although we received responses from retired and The picture looks different in Canada (Figure 2, p. 13).
unemployed professionals (these were technically use- With a smaller set of responses and such a large number
able if they included the last salary earned), they were of job titles, the sequence moves around a bit each year.
not used in computing average salaries presented in this While it’s common for vice president/executives to lead
report. the earnings race in Canada, this year that group ranked
Table 3 (p. 10) shows the average earnings (salary third in salary. A small shift in the mix of job titles report-
and self-employment earnings) for survey respondents ing (or a different mix of salaries within a job title) can
from the United States and Canada. To create this table, make a noticeable difference in these overall results for
we broke the self-employed respondents who also holds Canadian respondents.
positions in organizations into two groups, depending on This may help explain why the overall average salary
the number of hours they work weekly in this regular for Canada gives the appearance of having shrunk since
employment. We give similar tables for other countries last year ($86,594 for a full-time employee this year vs.
in this report’s section of international results (see in $89,140 last year). By comparison, the larger response
part three of the salary survey report). set from the United States makes for a more consistent
picture from year to year—a picture probably more rep-
Salary by job title resentative of the real underlying distribution of salaries
In the United States, vice presidents/executives earn each year.
an average of $169,350, as Figure 1 (p. 13) shows. Each Tables 4 (p. 11) and 5 (p. 12) provide more detail on
year, the survey results are largely consistent with the the salaries by job title for the United States and Canada.
ordering shown in that bar graph, in which job titles are Note that in all further analysis of salaries, employees
sorted from highest to lowest paid. The titles in the top are included in the analysis even if they also work as self-
employed consultants. This is why the average shown
SURVEY’S GLOBAL REACH for full-time U.S. employees in Table 3 ($91,563), which
excludes the self-employed, differs from that shown in
Each year, ASQ expands its worldwide reach, making itself truly the
Table 4 ($91,659), which includes the self-employed.
global voice of quality. ASQ’s member foothold remains in North
America, however, and explains why the vast majority of responses to
the annual QP Salary Survey come from the United States and Canada.
Most survey
Beginning in 2014, the salary survey expanded its global reach by
developing subset versions of the survey questionnaire. Since then,
these targeted surveys have been distributed to ASQ members living
in China, India and Mexico. Table 1 (p. 10) breaks down how many sur- respondents work
vey invitations of each type were sent, and the number of responses
received.
Note that ASQ members outside of North America, China, India and
as regular, full-time
Mexico received the full survey. In other words, many of the interna-
tional respondents filled out the full, long-form questionnaire. Not all
employees without
responses were usable because some did not include an earnings
figure or contained one that was implausible. There also were a few
any outside
duplicate responses. We identified these and used the response with
the most complete and credible information. self-employment
activities.
Most of this report’s sections focus on the United States and
Canada, where the bulk of responses come from. —M.C.H.
Responses to email invitations to take
part in survey / TABLE 1
China India Mexico
Full survey
questionnaire questionnaire questionnaire
(English)
(Chinese) (English) (Spanish)
Emails sent 53,087 379 983 878
Total raw responses 7,239 111 93 208
Unusable responses 209 14 35 43
Usable responses 7,030 97 58 165
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees and consultants,

x Part‑time employees and consultants, x Unemployed and retired persons,
x All countries, all questionnaire types
Employment status of respondents / TABLE 2
Count Percentage
Regular, full-time employee 6,802 92.5%
Regular, part-time employee 74 1.0
Regular employee who is also a self-employed consultant 77 1.0
Self-employed consultant 160 2.2
Unemployed, retired or laid off for more than six months 126 1.7
Unemployed, retired or laid off within the last six months 111 1.5
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees and consultants, x Part‑time employees and
consultants, x Unemployed and retired persons, x All countries, all questionnaire types
Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Salary by employment status / TABLE 3
Average salary Average base revenue

Percentage earned as an earned as a self-
employee employed consultant
United States
Full-time employee 97.23% $91,563 —
Part-time employee 0.60 41,306 —
Full-time employee and 0.44 113,981 $75,085
self-employed consultant
Part-time employee and 0.07 62,500 36,625
Self-employed consultant only 1.67 — 152,111
Canada
Full-time employee 94.24% $86,594 —
Part-time employee 1.25 64,937 —
Full-time employee and 1.00 118,399 $361,893
Part-time employee and 0.50 49,231 35,446
Self-employed consultant only 3.01 — 165,907
Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

x Canadian employees, International employees
Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
Salary by job title for U.S. respondents / TABLE 4
Standard
Minimum Maximum Count Mean Median
deviation
Full-time employees
All full-time employees $20,000 $572,000 $38,881 5,399 $91,659 $85,000
Analyst 35,000 149,000 22,682 171 69,986 68,000
Associate 21,000 130,000 18,752 70 58,693 58,000
Auditor 30,000 177,000 27,606 202 76,979 72,000
Black Belt 30,000 170,000 24,120 109 98,445 100,000
Calibration technician 20,160 106,000 16,970 29 52,921 50,000
Champion 70,000 130,000 20,168 9 91,333 86,000
Consultant 27,000 250,000 41,390 103 118,118 110,000
Coordinator 27,000 131,000 19,029 139 58,287 52,000
Director 52,000 300,000 36,433 497 130,902 130,000
Educator/instructor 37,000 216,734 46,443 31 101,319 95,000
Green Belt 20,000 127,000 28,086 39 79,749 76,500
Inspector 24,048 95,000 16,753 106 48,672 45,000
Manager 28,080 572,000 31,193 1,523 96,609 93,500
Master Black Belt 62,620 200,000 23,879 57 125,093 123,000
Other 24,000 195,000 32,869 82 77,847 74,000
Process/manufacturing/project engineer 33,000 175,000 22,191 142 85,798 83,500
Quality engineer 36,000 340,000 25,523 914 83,991 80,000
Reliability/safety engineer 49,500 170,000 24,299 67 112,058 112,000
Software quality engineer 45,000 170,300 24,869 53 105,701 106,066
Specialist 29,000 180,000 23,506 320 70,143 67,000
Statistician 27,000 240,000 52,000 32 132,468 122,500
Supervisor 30,000 133,000 21,362 178 71,193 66,450
Supplier quality engineer/professional 37,000 180,000 22,310 144 91,219 88,500
Technician 25,854 148,000 15,518 220 48,994 45,000
Vice president/executive 50,000 569,959 65,971 162 169,350 160,000
Part-time employees
All part-time employees $8,000 $120,000 $28,487 39 $42,515 $36,500
Analyst n<3
Associate n<3
Auditor 35,000 65,000 15,275 3 48,333 45,000
Consultant n<3
Coordinator 8,500 36,500 14,356 3 20,667 17,000
Director n<3
Manager 39,000 90,000 26,839 3 59,667 50,000
Master Black Belt n<3
Other 8,000 47,544 12,144 7 26,292 25,000
Process/manufacturing/project engineer n<3
Quality engineer n<3
Reliability/safety engineer n<3
Specialist 22,620 40,000 9,215 3 29,540 26,000
Supervisor n<3
Supplier quality engineer/professional n<3
Technician 10,000 53,537 21,172 4 32,884 34,000
Vice president/executive n<3
Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, Canadian employees,
International employees
n < 3 indicates fewer than three respondents. Data are shielded to protect personally identifiable information.
Salary by job title for Canadian respondents / TABLE 5
Standard
ceviation
Full-time employees
All full-time employees $24,615 $246,152 $33,730 381 $86,923 $81,723
Analyst 39,384 94,522 18,950 12 68,430 70,400
Associate 28,357 64,984 13,840 7 47,655 47,261
Auditor 29,538 164,922 36,015 16 76,400 72,369
Black Belt 45,292 123,076 29,805 5 96,544 103,384
Calibration technician n<3
Consultant 74,830 113,230 13,415 6 94,913 95,201
Coordinator 34,461 93,538 17,329 24 62,621 62,769
Director 59,077 157,537 26,212 34 119,477 119,630
Educator/instructor n<3
Green Belt 42,338 71,442 14,401 4 57,983 59,077
Inspector 33,477 88,615 16,340 10 56,919 58,353
Manager 47,364 169,353 22,837 118 96,038 93,538
Other 49,230 134,891 28,000 9 88,834 101,415
Specialist 54,154 216,614 30,575 38 82,313 74,815
Statistician n<3
Supervisor 49,230 101,135 15,923 13 65,025 61,046
Technician 24,615 75,815 16,038 18 47,590 46,277
Part-time employees
All part-time employees $13,785 $147,455 $43,026 7* $60,449 $59,077
Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
*No job title is shown held by more than one part-time respondent in Canada. Data have been shielded.
Sign of the Times

What trends are you witnessing in quality: for yourself, your company or both?
“ Quality is always evolving. The medical manufacturing sector is

heavily scrutinized. At my company, we review and make any necessary
changes almost daily to maintain or exceed all applicable industry
standards.
” Valerie Horak
quality assurance lab technician
Cook Biotech Inc.
West Lafayette, IN.
Salary by job title for U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1
Job title (percentage of respondents)
Vice president/executive (3.0%) 169,350
Statistician (0.6%) 132,468
Director (9.2%) 130,926
Master Black Belt (1.1%) 125,093
Consultant (1.9%) 118,541
Reliability/safety engineer (1.2%) 112,058
Software quality engineer (1.0%) 105,701
Educator/instructor (0.6%) 101,319
Black Belt (2.0%) 98,445
Manager (28.2%) 96,585
Champion (0.2%) 91,333
Supplier quality engineer/professional (2.7%) 90,843
Process/manufacturing/project engineer (2.6%) 85,798
Quality engineer (16.9%) 84,007
Green Belt (0.7%) 79,749
Other (1.5%) 77,847 Figure 1 includes results for:

Auditor (3.7%) 76,979 x Full-time employees,
Supervisor (3.3%) 71,324 Part‑time employees,
x U.S. employees,
Specialist (5.9%) 70,143
Canadian employees,
Analyst (3.2%) 69,986 International employees
Associate (1.3%) 59,036
Coordinator (2.6%) 58,287
Calibration technician (0.5%) 52,921
Technician (4.1%) 49,053
Inspector (2.0%) 48,672
0 $30,000 $60,000 $90,000 $120,000 $150,000

Average salary
Salary by job title for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 2

Statistician (0.3%) 132,922
Director (8.9%) 119,477
Black Belt (1.3%) 96,544
Manager (30.8%) 96,135
Other (2.4%) 88,834
Auditor (4.2%) 76,400
Analyst (3.2%) 68,430 Figure 2 includes results for:
Supervisor (3.4%) 65,025 x Full-time employees,
Part‑time employees,
U.S. employees,
Coordinator (6.3%) 62,621 x Canadian employees,
Green Belt (1.1%) 57,983 International employees
Inspector (2.6%) 56,919 Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
Associate (1.8%) 47,655
0 $40,000 $80,000 $120,000 $160,000 $200,000

Average salary
Section 2. Salary by ASQ and Exemplar Global Certification
Serious About Certifications
A
ASQ certifications are popular in the United States and tions. So, the average salary for managers shown on
Canada—and for good reason. In the United States, Fig- the first line is for all managers without the CMQ/OE
ure 1 shows more than half of the full-time respondents certification, even if they do hold other certifications.
report that they hold at least one ASQ certification. The A quick look into this year’s data shows that a man-
same graphic shows how they benefit in salary by hav- ager in the United States and Canada—not holding any
ing achieved those certifications. Holding a single ASQ ASQ certification earns an average salary of $91,011.
certification increases the average full-timer’s annual This means that the premium shown for each individ-
salary survey from $87,942 to $91,800. Any quantity of ual certification is even larger than it appears because
certifications over one brings in even more. it’s being compared to others with the same job title
The biggest bang for your certification buck comes who have the benefit of other certifications.
when your certification is a good match for your work. Tables 2 (United States, p. 16) and 3 (Canada, p. 18)
Holders of certain job titles get larger than average show average salaries by job title and ASQ certifica-
premiums for holding certain certifications. As Table tion. You’ll notice in these tables, as throughout the
1 shows, a respondent with the title of manager who is survey report, we have shielded data in cells in which
also an ASQ-certified manager of quality/organizational the number of respondents is so small that showing a
excellence (CMQ/OE) brings home an average annual salary might give away information about an individu-
salary of $102,172, a bump of $8,819 over the salary of al. Here, the limit is one—that is, the data were shield-
managers without that certification. Managers who are ed if the sample size turned out to be one. This is noted
ASQ-certified Six Sigma Black Belts show an even big- by “n = 1.” A certification does not appear if there was
ger premium, with average salaries of $106,641. no cell in its column with data from any respondents.
At this point, a note regarding on Table 1 is neces- In addition to ASQ certifications, a considerable
sary. The column showing “average without certifica- number of respondents worldwide hold Exemplar
tion” shows the average salary of all persons with that Global certifications. These certifications originated in
job title, not holding the certification named in that Australia, and have a longer track record outside North
row. That group may include holders of other certifica- American than in the United States and Canada. Still,
several are held by our North Ameri-
can respondents, and they are worth
Salary by number of ASQ certifications mentioning. A full list of Exemplar
held by U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1 Global certifications and the number

of respondents holding them through-
$120,000 108,850 110,828 out the world appears in section 21 of
97,991 98,623 97,334
$100,000 87,941
91,800 this report.
Average salary
Tables 4 (United States respon-

$80,000
dents, p. 19) and 5 (Canadian respon-
$60,000
dents, p. 20) show average salaries
$40,000 by job title for holders of Exemplar
$20,000 Global certifications. As in Tables 2
and 3, a certification appears if more
0
None One Two Three Four Five Six or more than one respondent reported holding
(46.2%) (30.6%) (13.4%) (5.6%) (2.6%) (1%) (0.6%)
it. Because dividing the data among 25
Number of ASQ certifications job titles makes for a lot of n = 1 cells,
(percentage of respondents)
quite a few certifications are missing
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, from these tables.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
A professional with the title of manager,
who is also an ASQ-certified
manager of quality/organizational
excellence, brings home an average
of $102,172 a year, a bump of $8,819
over the salary of managers without
that certification.
Differences in salary for ASQ certification / TABLE 1
Average Average Salary

Number of Percentage
Job title Certification without with premium,
respondents premium
certification certification US $
Certified manager of quality/ 305 $93,353 $102,172 $8,819 9.4%
Manager
Quality engineer Certified quality auditor 229 81,226 89,334 8,108 10.0
Manager Certified Six Sigma Black Belt 123 94,048 106,641 12,593 13.4
Auditor Certified quality auditor 116 71,555 79,264 7,709 10.8
Certified manager of quality/ 89 81,603 98,461 16,859 20.7
Quality engineer
Specialist Certified quality auditor 87 66,628 78,205 11,577 17.4
Supplier quality engineer/ 63 84,467 97,123 12,656 15.0
Certified quality auditor
professional
Quality engineer Certified Six Sigma Black Belt 61 82,511 93,005 10,494 12.7
Director Certified Six Sigma Black Belt 51 127,205 139,908 12,703 10.0
Reliability/safety engineer Certified reliability engineer 37 105,678 115,851 10,173 9.6
Manager Certified biomedical auditor 33 94,718 108,360 13,642 14.4
Supervisor Certified quality auditor 33 68,526 75,687 7,161 10.4
Software quality engineer Certified software quality engineer 33 98,631 106,938 8,307 8.4
Process/manufacturing/ 30 83,351 90,856 7,505 9.0
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt
project engineer

x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
Note: Because U.S. and Canadian salaries are being viewed together, Canadian salaries have been converted to U.S. dollars using the
exchange rate in effect July 1, 2016.
Salary by ASQ certification and job title for U.S.
respondents / TABLE 2
Certified man- Certified Certified
Certified Certified Certified Certified Certified Certified
ager of quality/ pharmaceu- quality
biomedical calibration HACCP quality quality quality
organizational tical GMP improvement
auditor technician auditor auditor engineer inspector
excellence professional associate
All respondents $103,26293 $73,49964 $105,13452 $111,933678 $102,66929 $96,8451,213 $100,6281,078 $73,361238 $70,573188
Analyst 81,7002
— — 83,626 5
n=1 69,953 28
84,680 14
66,414 12
n=1
Associate — — — n=1 — 66,09914 83,4264 49,0808 —
Auditor 88,1005
— 83,550 4
96,283 12
n=1 80,276 109
93,300 8
73,431 13
73,5004
Black Belt — n=1 n=1 107,49013 — 93,5318 103,25420 92,5002 104,3333
Calibration — 53,021 14
— — — — — — n=1
technician
Champion — — — n=1 — — n=1 — —
Consultant n=1 — 125,000 2
134,318 17
n=1 114,088 16
114,835 7
110,667 3
—
Coordinator n=1 42,1873 n=1 81,7504 — 59,66922 82,1302 59,66317 41,6673
Director 125,1059 112,0003 137,12112 131,051115 125,3007 128,286122 136,01869 123,46716 119,2508
Educator/ n=1 — — 121,6673 n=1 110,6373 91,4449 90,5002 —
instructor
Green Belt n=1 — — n=1 — n=1 n=1 n=1 —
Inspector — — — — — 59,417 6
60,800 5
45,875 8
46,20935
Manager 110,98731 81,30212 88,58122 103,757287 107,1448 99,220388 106,120307 84,31448 86,59447
Master — — — 130,536 14
— 125,909 8
127,467 15
— —
Black Belt
Other n=1 112,5002 n=1 118,3333 n=1 93,54510 109,3315 61,0667 65,6673
Process/ n=1 89,5002 — 96,8138 — 92,80715 92,61832 81,5008 96,6673
manufacturing/
project engineer
Quality 95,10625 74,63513 n=1 98,72888 107,7502 90,178222 89,141390 72,30941 74,57236
engineer
Reliability/ 136,5002 — — 128,1679 — 121,4449 115,40724 — —
safety engineer
Software quality — — — 112,7824 — 111,24811 107,3187 n=1 n=1
engineer
Specialist 88,2836 n=1 71,6673 95,17015 84,0005 79,45781 92,58922 59,12119 70,0004
Statistician — — — 112,000 3
— 115,600 5
133,043 9
n=1 81,0003
Supervisor 76,3753 91,0003 n=1 92,22119 87,0002 79,81229 88,59521 59,7168 59,2119
Supplier quality 115,9893 — — 99,80223 — 99,19360 93,00470 69,0002 79,0002
engineer/
professional
Technician — 56,1349 n=1 n=1 — 51,15816 56,83110 45,76418 46,41424
Vice president/ n=1 n=1 190,000 3
178,624 32
— 174,733 30
154,542 26
127,667 3
n=1
executive
n = 1 indicates that data in a cell are from a single respondent and were suppressed to shield personally identifiable information.
All rows for which no cell had data from more than one respondent have been suppressed to shield personally identifiable information.
Superscript numbers denote the number of respondents.
GMP = good manufacturing practice
HACCP = hazard analysis and critical control point
Salary by ASQ certification and job title for U.S.
respondents / TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
Certified Certified Certified Certified
Certified Certified Certified Certified
quality Six Sigma Six Sigma software
quality reliability Six Sigma Six Sigma None
process Master Yellow quality
technician engineer Black Belt Green Belt
analyst Black Belt Belt engineer
All respondents $72,86895 $73,982346 $120,824117 $136,43219 $109,932408 $90,193311 $73,12728 $116,334108 $87,9412,496
Analyst 55,545 9
64,153 4
— — 80,776 5
63,593 7
— 102,333 3
68,492101
Associate 59,1602 60,0002 — — — n=1 49,5712 — 57,23643
Auditor 70,811 5
74,600 5
— — n=1 63,000 2
— n=1 70,92782
Black Belt n=1 104,0002 102,0003 112,5002 100,62660 94,9519 — 121,5003 97,67836
Calibration — 52,000 3
— — — — — — 53,03612
technician
Champion — — — — n=1 — n=1 — 96,3336
Consultant 92,5634 n=1 n=1 — 107,00514 133,6005 — 119,8005 116,87751
Coordinator 71,229 2
62,371 7
— — 75,000 1
49,357 3
n=1 — 58,10991
Director 96,0003 125,37516 151,59612 170,1105 144,62047 122,27818 107,5002 154,3339 130,784242
Educator/ — 88,0002 — n=1 93,6673 n=1 — — 105,57716
instructor
Green Belt n=1 77,0002 — — n=1 76,25520 — — 85,38216
Inspector n=1 58,667 12
— — — 57,000 2
— — 48,36359
Manager 81,95526 89,47684 128,39020 121,5004 108,496113 94,72786 82,0007 114,83116 92,349717
Master Black — n=1 120,500 2
142,6673
123,830 25
n=1 — n=1 125,36521
Belt
Other — 62,8235 — — 89,7172 98,1676 — — 73,59650
Process/ n=1 79,7616 98,4005 — 91,91828 84,18923 114,5002 105,7504 80,21754
manufacturing/
project
engineer
Quality 66,16417 70,44885 101,86620 — 95,39856 83,88270 57,0457 108,03919 80,143339
engineer
Reliability/ — 102,7502 117,04335 — 112,5006 89,5002 — 115,7506 101,61119
safety engineer
Software — — 99,9002 — n=1 97,4333 — 108,68932 103,25816
quality
engineer
Specialist 67,77015 63,89715 121,4453 — 80,2224 76,7569 67,3754 107,3132 65,019172
Statistician — n=1 129,860 5
n=1 126,421 4
n=1 — n=1 135,02917
Supervisor n=1 69,57611 n=1 — 60,7533 68,07610 58,3002 97,6882 66,791100
Supplier quality n=1 80,067 9
99,600 5
110,5003
105,979 14
89,518 17
— — 84,42642
engineer/
professional
Technician 60,5004 49,04367 — — 50,0002 54,1887 — n=1 48,913112
Vice president/ 142,500 2
124,500 4
213,000 3
— 158,059 17
163,000 8
— 192,000 3
170,44382
executive
Salary by ASQ certification and job title for Canadian
Certified
Certified
Certified Certified manager of Certified Certified Certified Certified Certified Certified Certified
quality im-
calibration HACCP quality/orga- quality quality quality quality reliability Six Sigma Six Sigma
provement
technician auditor nizational auditor engineer inspector technician engineer Black Belt Green Belt
associate
excellence
All $66,9228 $59,8156 $104,76048 $86,45671 $86,38090 $79,68419 $72,6819 $71,21438 $116,7698 $108,97437 $85,08940
respondents
Analyst — — n=1 — n=1 — — n=1 — — 68,5296
Auditor n=1 — 109,7842 82,2857 79,5074 — n=1 n=1 — n=1 —
Black Belt — — — n=1 73,977 2
— — — — 89,911 4
—
Champion — — — — — — — — — — —
Consultant — — — 97,1483 n=1 n=1 — n=1 — n=1 102,0932
Coordinator n=1 53,1692 91,0772 73,2555 75,0772 57,9613 77,7842 59,1755 n=1 80,7382 77,1283
Director — — 116,865 13
121,107 4
113,722 4
126,030 2
— n=1 — 109,538 4
111,5893
Green Belt — — — — — n=1 — — — — 53,4973
Inspector — — — — — — 63,1882 57,1073 — — —
Manager 90,092 2
n=1 99,627 18
96,629 25
92,377 29
92,025 5
79,262 2
93,341 5
— 111,015 10
92,36513
Other — — — n=1 78,7692 68,9232 — n=1 — 102,4002 —
Process/ — — — — 87,958 3
— — n=1 — 98,461 2
79,2612
manufacturing/
project
engineer
Quality — — n=1 81,0697 77,17220 84,6772 n=1 65,6413 156,9252 85,7795 98,0533
engineer
Specialist — n=1 110,5238 79,4266 74,7737 — — 80,0224 — n=1 n=1
Supervisor — n=1 — 59,310 4
53,169 2
n=1 — 58,0804 — n=1 n=1
Supplier n=1 — 71,385 2
72,205 3
81,969 6
— — 68,923 2
68,9232
n=1 —
quality
engineer/
professional
Technician 44,3082 n=1 — 37,1692 49,3953 n=1 n=1 48,1646 — — 44,8001
Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote number of respondents.
For managers, holding ASQ’s Six Sigma

Black Belt certification brings a generous
premium, raising the average salary of its
holders from $94,048 to $106,641.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Sign of the Times

What external factors do you foresee having the biggest impact on
quality?
“ We always need to make sure that our vendors follow quality

standards and that they have similar certifications or use
similar ISO guidelines or standards for quality within each
facility.
” Sheila Cash
compliance auditor
ITG Brands
Greensboro, NC.
Salary by Exemplar Global certifications

for U.S. respondents / TABLE 4 (CONTINUED ON P. 20)
AS9100
AS9100 Exemplar
aerospace Environmental Environmental
aerospace AS9100 AS9110 Global IPC
industry system system lead
experience auditor auditor QMS lead
experienced auditor auditor
auditor auditor
auditor
Auditor n=1 n=1 $68,2652 — $79,5103 $72,8433 $74,8333
Consultant n=1 — n=1 — — n=1 150,0002
Director — $127,5002 123,5004 — — n=1 201,4833
Inspector — — 49,500 4
n=1 — — —
Manager $116,6673 97,5002 93,03914 $125,0002 — 100,5008 101,26216
Quality engineer n=1 n=1 86,6005 — — 71,1673 79,5002
Supplier quality n=1 — 81,1673 — — — 87,0002
engineer/professional
Vice president/executive — — — — — 140,0002 139,0003
Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, Canadian employees,
IPC = integrated process control
QMS = quality management system
Superscript numbers denote number of respondents.
Salary by Exemplar Global certifications
for U.S. respondents / TABLE 4 (CONTINUED)
Management QMS QMS
Internal ISO 50001 QMS QMS lead
system certification associate principal
auditor auditor auditor auditor
body lead auditor auditor auditor
Analyst $69,2502 — n=1 n=1 $58,0002 $64,9003 $74,5002
Auditor 92,0886 n=1 $100,0002 — 73,6334 84,01512 —
Black Belt n=1 — — — — 88,049 2
—
Consultant — — — — n=1 175,000 2
—
Coordinator 51,6673 — n=1 — — n=1 —
Director 191,498 2
— n=1 $106,4822
115,000 3
140,916 12
—
Inspector 49,3333 $28,0002 n=1 — n=1 46,0002 n=1
Manager 87,20424 89,3333 103,7928 70,7502 92,28614 95,23853 73,7504
Process/manufacturing/ 58,7502 — — — 84,0002 55,8333 —
project engineer
Quality engineer 74,5228 n=1 n=1 80,1252 80,6966 82,65324 82,0892
Specialist n=1 — — — — 72,583 6
—
Supervisor — — — — 75,8333 n=1 —
Supplier quality 74,0502 — — — 113,0003 101,7676 n=1
Technician 52,7983 — — — 49,0002 61,1882 —
Salary by Exemplar Global

certifications for Canadian
Management
system QMS
Internal QMS QMS lead
certification provisional
auditor auditor auditor
body lead auditor
auditor
Director — — — $110,7692 n=1
Manager $103,3844 $80,5182 $125,0455 110,6049 $115,6922
Specialist n=1 n=1 — 118,5143 —
Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time

employees, U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
n = 1 indicates that data in a cell are from a single respondent and were
suppressed to shield personally identifiable information. All rows for which no cell
had data from more than one respondent have been suppressed to shield
personally identifiable information.
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote number of
respondents.
QP
2016
Section 3. Salary by Highest Level of Six Sigma Training
SALARY
SURVEY
Six Sigma Solid
I
If you want to turbo-charge your quality career, it
seems you can hardly do better than to take some
Salary by Six Sigma training / FIGURE 1
Six Sigma training. Every year, the salary survey
$110,000
report focuses on what quality professionals can 100,361
do to increase their earnings, and every year, Six $100,000 94,234
Sigma training comes up as a very viable option. $90,000

83,004 81,759
Figure 1 shows U.S. respondents who’ve com-
$80,000
pleted any level of Six Sigma training earned
$70,000
$17,357 more on average than those without Six
Sigma training. For Canadian respondents, that $60,000 Has no Six Sigma training
difference is $12,475. $50,000

Figure 2 (United States, p. 22) and Figure 3 Has completed one
$40,000 or more Six Sigma
(Canada, p. 23) show a three-year history of av- training programs
erage salaries by the highest level of Six Sigma $30,000
training attained. In the United States, there’s a $20,000
clear stair-step pattern of ascending earnings for
$10,000
respondents who have completed higher levels
of Six Sigma training—all the way through to 0
U.S. Canadian
Master Black Belt (MBB) training. After that— respondents respondents
when the sample sizes of respondents become
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,
smaller—it becomes less clear. The stair-step x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
pattern is less clear in Canada, where the num- Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
bers are relatively small at all levels.
In the United States, there’s a hefty salary
boost for those who take the MBB-level of train-
ing. The premium for MBBs over those with Black
Belts (BB) is $25,904 ($130,878 vs. $104,974).
The BB itself is a high-value investment, add-
ing $21,970 for those U.S. respondents with that
level of training versus U.S. respondents with-
Sign of the Times
out Six Sigma training ($104,974 vs. $83,004). In
What external factors do you foresee having
Canada, the largest premium comes for those the biggest impact on quality?
“
with BB training—who earn $17,894 more than
those with Green Belt training ($104,710 vs.
Not enough young professionals entering
$86,816). These salary premiums are shown in
Table 1 (p. 23). the quality arena and learning to incorporate
Table 2 (p. 24) breaks down salaries by Six quality in their everyday lives. Poor decisions
”
Sigma training and job title for full-time profes- will be made.
sionals in the United States and Canada. Along
with the average salary in each box, the super- Mary L. Alber, quality assurance manager
scripted number tells how many respondents fit Offshore Commissioning Solutions Inc., Houston.
into that category.
In the United States, the premium for
Master Black Belts over Black Belts
is $25,904 ($130,878 vs. $104,974). In
Canada, the largest premium comes
with the Black Belt, whose holders earn
$17,894 more than Green Belts.
Salary by highest level of Six Sigma training

for U.S. respondents / FIGURE 2
80,553
None (48.3%) 82,238

83,004
Yellow Belt (5.9%) 85,539

83,179
89,377
Green Belt (22.4%) 91,889

93,558
100,580
Black Belt (18.3%) 103,923

104,974
126,311
Master Black Belt (4%) 128,983

130,878
118,393
Champion (0.7%) 150,516

129,860
127,520 Figure 2 includes results for:

Executive (0.5%) 143,819 x Full-time employees,
155,143 Part‑time employees,
x U.S. employees,
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000 $160,000 Canadian employees,
Average salary International employees
2014 2015 2016
QP
2016
for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 3
SALARY
SURVEY
84,781
None (56.9%) 85,543

81,759

85,396
88,126
Green Belt (19.6%) 90,502

86,816
98,930
Black Belt (16.9%) 98,682

104,710
103,667

99,610
110,500 Figure 3 includes results for:

Champion (0.3%) 92,500 x Full-time employees,
88,615 Part‑time employees,
U.S. employees,
64,000 x Canadian employees,
Executive (0.3%) International employees
93,538 Salaries are noted in Canadian
dollars.
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000 $160,000
Note: In 2015, no executives
Average salary with any Six Sigma training
responded to the survey.
2014 2015 2016
Salary increases with successive levels

of Six Sigma training / TABLE 1
Level (percentage of
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
respondents)
Executive (0.5%) ($1,469) $12,897 $9,127 ($6,696) $25,283
Champion (0.7%) 8,869 (366) (7,918) 21,533 (1,019)
Master Black Belt (4.0%) 20,846 25,583 25,730 25,060 25,904
United
Black Belt (18.3%) 12,116 9,406 11,203 12,034 11,416
States
Green Belt (22.4%) 7,115 9,303 8,823 6,350 10,379
Yellow Belt (5.9%) — — — 3,301 175
None (48.3%) — — — — —
Executive (0.3%) ($54,071) $11,667 ($46,500) — $4,923
Champion (0.3%) 36,400 15,875 6,833 ($15,743) (10,995)
Master Black Belt (1.6%) 42,062 16,114 4,736 9,561 (5,101)
Canada Black Belt (16.9%) 1,727 13,205 10,804 8,179 17,894
Green Belt (19.6%) — — — (6,623) 1,419
Yellow Belt (4.4%) 10,300 (2,316) 3,345 11,582 3,637
None (56.9%) — — — — —

Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Numbers in parentheses following the training levels
indicate the percentage of respondents. Salary decreases are shown in parentheses.
Salary by Six Sigma training for job titles / TABLE 2
Master Black
None Yellow Belt Green Belt Black Belt Champion Executive
Belt
United States
All respondents $83,0042,496 $83,179305 $93,5581,159 $104,974944 $130,878205 $129,86037 $155,14326
Analyst 66,23099 64,86214 70,82929 83,56621 103,6333 — —
Associate 59,05343 53,1169 61,8987 90,0003 — n=1 —
Auditor 73,932135 75,32715 83,04427 89,51010 n=1 n=1 —
Black Belt — — 102,0001 96,15691 115,27812 n=1 —
Calibration technician 52,98423 56,9972 44,0002 — — — —
Champion 91,0002 — 89,2504 106,5002 — — —
Consultant 117,23443 96,0002 118,48721 115,78128 158,8356 — —
Coordinator 54,70491 43,2502 63,18026 83,52510 — n=1 —
Director 125,439189 123,24129 130,42892 132,745119 144,71042 207,0006 133,4336
Educator/instructor 88,95010 88,4552 97,3333 90,1676 133,4977 n=1 n=1
Green Belt n=1 — 81,12031 89,3754 — — —
Inspector 47,46481 59,5097 64,1598 — — — n=1
Manager 89,022653 94,99878 100,017356 104,812317 113,29643 104,36315 114,6506
Master Black Belt — — — 115,5206 127,28147 n=1 —
Other 71,88245 71,2638 86,15714 88,8048 154,5002 n=1 —
Process/manufacturing/project 82,10432 75,04511 85,00345 90,54145 103,7504 — —
engineer
Quality engineer 79,936396 75,87149 85,432263 91,385157 146,05010 n=1 n=1
Reliability/safety engineer 109,98634 n=1 107,20413 114,16712 130,2504 — —
Software quality engineer 101,60228 115,4333 106,65414 117,6004 — — —
Specialist 66,093194 67,85829 83,04357 82,46818 95,0002 — —
Statistician 145,24316 — 93,8754 133,8837 138,6044 — —
Supervisor 72,110110 61,70912 69,97336 83,43812 n=1 — —
Supplier quality engineer/professional 86,97539 82,20010 87,70855 102,51229 114,6254 95,5003 —
Technician 47,689158 54,21118 52,91028 54,0005 — n=1 n=1
Vice president/executive 161,22174 192,5004 164,38723 162,76730 169,47713 238,0004 224,82110
Canada
All respondents $81,759209 $85,39616 $86,81672 $104,71062 $99,6106 n=1 n=1
Analyst 74,1215 n=1 68,5296 — — — —
Associate 51,3575 — n=1 — — — —
Auditor 73,44311 n=1 n=1 97,4772 — — —
Black Belt — — — 96,5445 — — —
Consultant 87,1382 — n=1 n=1 n=1 — —
Coordinator 58,72514 n=1 60,1805 69,1853 — — —
Director 118,14921 — 126,4764 121,6697 111,7532 — —
Green Belt n=1 — 53,4973 — — — —
Inspector 57,7749 — — — — — —
Manager 92,68258 107,4136 94,63830 106,66618 n=1 n=1 n=1
Other 87,2618 — — n=1 — — —
Process/manufacturing/project 96,2462 — 79,2612 88,6154 — — —
engineer
Quality engineer 70,42416 n=1 74,2402 88,11011 n=1 — —
Reliability/safety engineer n=1 — 123,0772 — — — —
Software quality engineer 69,9082 — n=1 — — — —
Specialist 84,84324 66,4964 81,1808 n=1 — — —
Supervisor 59,9178 n=1 n=1 74,7373 — — —
Supplier quality engineer/professional 68,4113 n=1 78,5232 n=1 — — —
Technician 48,87015 — n=1 n=1 — — —
Vice president/executive 154,0912 — n=1 199,2193 — — —
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
For Canada’s results, rows for which all cells required shielding have been removed entirely.
Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote the number of respondents.
QP
2016
Section 4. Salary by Years of Experience in Quality
SALARY
Sticking With Quality SURVEY
C
Call it “tenure,” a word that comes in handy when replacing These findings have been fairly consistent for some
the ungainly phrase “number of years with the same job years. For that reason, we’re paying less attention this year
title in the same organization.” to the time people stay in a job and focusing on other fac-
If you’ve stayed in the quality field for several years, tors that have bigger and more positive effects on salary.
there’s a good chance you’ve been rewarded for that expe- One other factor that jumps out each year—and again
rience. If you’ve stayed in the same exact position for many this year as shown in Figure 2—is experience in quality. As
years, however, the picture appears less rosy. that chart shows for U.S. respondents, the average quality
As Figure 1 (p. 26) shows for U.S. respondents, there’s professional who’s been in the profession for more than
some reward for staying in a position more than three three years and up to six years earns $73,543, an increase
years: Average salaries increase from $87,411 for those of $7,734 over those with one to three years’ experience,
professionals with tenure of one to three years to $91,808 who bring home $65,809.
for professionals in the next tier, whose tenure is three to So why does it appear to be an unwise choice to stay in
six years. After that jump, however, salary increases barely the same position much beyond three years? One possible
keep pace with the cost of living—if that. explanation is that the quality field has many job titles, and
By comparison, the rewards for staying in the quality these line up in various career tracks in which a profes-
profession are generous, as Figures 2 (p. 26) and 3 (p. 27) sional can ascend by graduating from one title to another.
show—with one exception. Examining salaries by tenure The different shades of brown in Figure 4 (p. 27) show
within job titles (Table 1, p. 26) uncovered only three job the titles with the most respondents having more than 20
titles for which every tenure tier shows a higher average sal- years of quality experience are also among the highest paid
ary than the previous tier. Those job titles are quality engi- (the darker brown in the left-most bars are for the highest
neer, supplier quality engineer/professional and technician. salaries and the lightest brown for the lowest). The respon-
The consistent increases also appear for the job title of dents in those positions seem to have moved their way up
associate. The numbers of respondents in some of the tiers the career ladder by changing titles (and possibly employ-
were small for that title, however, so the stair-step effect ers) a number of times.
may have been a fluke. Table 1 omits that and other job Table 2 (p. 28) breaks down salaries by years of quality ex-
titles in which there are tenure tiers populated by fewer perience within job titles for U.S. respondents. Table 3 (p. 30)
than 17 respondents. The red cells in that table highlight all shows the same breakdown for Canadian respondents. Be-
tenure tiers in which professionals make less, on average, cause of the sparsity of respondents in many combinations of
than professionals with the same title who have stayed in a job title and experience tiers in Table 3, many rows populated
position for a shorter period of time. by fewer than three respondents have been eliminated.
Sign of the Times

What external factors do you foresee having the biggest impact on quality?
“ ustomers are becoming more specific and wanting better quality

C
products, continual improvement requirements, monitoring of
Cpk values, and more requirements for making changes or
improvements
”
Kim A. Howarter
director of quality
Revcor Inc.
Carpentersville, IL.
Salary by time in current position for
U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1
Number of years in
More than 20 years (6.9%)

current position
97,777
(percentage of
respondents)
10.1-20 years (14.8%) 96,000
6.1-10 years (13.8%) 93,902
3.1-6 years (21.8%) 91,808
1-3 years (27.4%) 87,411
Less than 1 year (15.3%) 90,434
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

x U.S. employees, Canadian employees, International employees Salary increases
Salary by years in quality that come with
for U.S. respondents / FIGURE 2 years in the
same position
Years of quality experience
More than 20 years (31.4%) 108,384
10.1-20 years (29.2%) 96,029
6.1-10 years (15.3%) 83,417 barely keep

up with the
3.1-6 years (13.1%) 73,543
1-3 years (8.6%) 65,809
Less than 1 year (2.1%)

cost of living
65,752
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary
increases.
Salary by time in certain positions, U.S. / TABLE 1
1 to 3 years 3.1 to 6 years 6.1 to 10 years 10.1 to 20 years

Auditor $77,626 $78,127 $73,756 $79,653
Coordinator 59,653 52,974 57,172 54,606
Director 129,596 131,913 128,130 128,574
Manager 93,661 95,860 95,124 98,360
Quality engineer 80,583 83,944 87,060 89,828
Reliability/safety 107,638 110,421 110,136 124,715
engineer
Specialist 66,334 68,415 66,588 82,027
Supervisor 68,883 69,949 67,492 83,001
Supplier quality 87,599 88,584 91,238 98,883
Technician 45,907 47,754 49,125 52,932
Vice president/executive 170,386 173,908 175,611 166,148

Yellow cells highlight all tenure tiers in which professionals make less, on average, than professionals with the
same title who have stayed in a position for a shorter period of time.
QP
2016
Salary by years in quality SALARY
for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 3 SURVEY
More than 20 years (28.8%) 106,300
Years of quality experience
10.1-20 years (33.1%) 94,938
6.1-10 years (18.3%) 83,801
3.1-6 years (10.1%) 73,032
1-3 years (7.7%) 64,961
Less than 1 year (1.9%) 61,447
None (0.3%) 85,113
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary
Figure 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time

employees, U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
Years of experience in quality by job title,

U.S. and Canada / FIGURE 4
Job title (average salary)
Statistician ($132,468) 31.3 15.6 53.1
Vice president/executive ($169,159) 14.9 36 49.1
Master Black Belt ($125,184) 12.5 39.3 48.2
Reliability/safety engineer ($112,264) 32.3 20 47.7
Educator/instructor ($102,796) 33.3 20 46.7
Director ($130,807) 19.7 33.7 46.7
Supplier quality engineer/professional ($90,878) 35 24.5 40.6
Consultant ($118,570) 35.3 24.5 40.2
Manager ($96,328) 28 34.6 37.4
Quality engineer ($83,967) 44 25.1 30.9
Other ($77,847) 54.9 15.9 29.3
Software quality engineer ($105,701) 22.6 49.1 28.3
Auditor ($77,277) 41.9 36.9 21.2
Specialist ($70,199) 54.8 25.2 20
Supervisor ($71,204) 53.7 26.6 19.8
Black Belt ($98,662) 50 30.6 19.4
Technician ($49,017) 58.7 22.5 18.8
Inspector ($49,308) 57.8 23.5 18.6
Calibration technician ($52,921) 44.8 37.9 17.2
Process/manufacturing/project engineer ($86,571) 51.8 32.1 16.1
Analyst ($69,636) 68.7 16.9 14.5
Champion ($91,333) 44.4 44.4 11.1
Coordinator ($58,379) 65.2 23.7 11.1
Green Belt ($80,479) 73.7 15.8 10.5
Associate ($59,522) 82.4 11.8 5.9
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

10 or fewer years 10.1 to 20 years More than 20 years
Figure 4 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
Data are sorted by the percentage of respondents with more than 20 years’ experience in quality, in descending order. In the brown
column, darker brown highlights the highest salaries, lighter brown the lowest. Salaries are shown in U.S. dollar equivalents. Canadian
salaries were converted using the exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
Salary by job title and years in quality for
U.S. respondents / TABLE 2
Standard
Minimum Maximum Count Average Median
deviation
10 or fewer years $35,000 $131,000 $19,036 114 $63,752 $60,000
Analyst 10.1 to 20 years 43,500 118,000 18,271 28 73,447 71,153
More than 20 years 45,760 149,000 28,476 24 93,142 84,000
10 or fewer years 28,000 100,000 15,785 56 58,149 59,000
Associate 10.1 to 20 years 32,000 87,000 21,694 8 62,518 65,071
More than 20 years 46,000 130,000 39,033 4 72,750 57,500
10 or fewer years 30,000 160,000 25,838 83 66,213 62,000
Auditor 10.1 to 20 years 37,598 143,250 22,535 73 79,301 78,000
More than 20 years 45,000 177,000 29,482 42 95,623 91,500
10 or fewer years 30,000 165,000 23,554 54 95,382 98,650
Black Belt 10.1 to 20 years 61,000 150,000 22,230 33 103,314 100,000
More than 20 years 47,000 170,000 28,050 21 99,787 100,000
10 or fewer years 20,160 106,000 21,419 13 51,478 45,000
Calibration
10.1 to 20 years 33,176 76,000 14,509 11 52,773 50,000
technician
More than 20 years 48,500 70,000 9,253 5 57,000 54,000
10 or fewer years 70,000 130,000 25,377 4 99,000 98,000
Champion 10.1 to 20 years 72,000 110,000 17,301 4 85,000 79,000
More than 20 years n=1
10 or fewer years 27,000 180,000 29,447 36 99,653 100,000
Consultant 10.1 to 20 years 51,840 240,000 41,500 25 111,747 115,000
More than 20 years 63,000 250,000 41,586 41 139,341 125,000
10 or fewer years 27,000 110,000 18,131 88 56,149 50,377
Coordinator 10.1 to 20 years 36,000 131,000 19,060 32 62,102 57,500
More than 20 years 38,000 109,200 24,001 15 63,520 65,000
10 or fewer years 60,000 300,000 38,076 97 115,736 112,000
Director 10.1 to 20 years 52,000 225,000 35,424 166 133,198 128,500
More than 20 years 60,000 300,000 35,040 230 135,437 134,000
10 or fewer years 37,000 130,000 29,671 10 76,741 74,955
Educator/ instructor 10.1 to 20 years 47,000 200,000 53,849 6 95,833 84,000
More than 20 years 65,000 216,734 45,274 14 124,391 110,500
10 or fewer years 20,000 127,000 28,454 28 75,472 74,250
Green Belt 10.1 to 20 years 65,000 120,000 25,119 6 95,167 99,500
More than 20 years 75,000 120,000 22,338 4 93,500 89,500
10 or fewer years 26,000 90,000 15,731 59 45,801 42,000
Inspector 10.1 to 20 years 24,048 77,500 16,127 24 50,941 52,000
More than 20 years 28,000 95,000 17,812 19 58,136 55,000
10 or fewer years $28,080 $200,000 $26,793 421 $85,475 $82,500
Manager 10.1 to 20 years 39,500 222,000 27,023 519 98,158 95,000
More than 20 years 36,000 249,000 29,189 562 102,769 99,750
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by job title and years in quality for
U.S. respondents / TABLE 2 (CONTINUED)
Standard
deviation
10 or fewer years $90,000 $150,000 $19,501 7 $115,571 $112,000
Master Black Belt 10.1 to 20 years 62,620 170,000 23,529 22 119,870 119,500
More than 20 years 90,000 200,000 24,395 27 132,006 135,000
10 or fewer years 24,000 190,000 30,237 45 71,472 65,500
Other 10.1 to 20 years 40,000 195,000 42,329 13 85,633 84,000
More than 20 years 32,160 145,000 30,738 24 85,580 80,000
Process/ 10 or fewer years 33,000 125,000 19,619 71 81,688 82,000

manufacturing/ 10.1 to 20 years 47,500 155,000 21,297 44 88,493 87,500
project engineer More than 20 years 55,000 175,000 26,777 22 98,491 97,750
10 or fewer years 36,000 150,000 18,925 396 74,828 73,000
Quality engineer 10.1 to 20 years 40,000 150,000 20,344 226 84,953 83,250
More than 20 years 40,000 340,000 31,705 278 96,185 90,000
10 or fewer years 49,500 148,000 22,766 21 94,710 92,900
Reliability/safety
10.1 to 20 years 80,000 170,000 23,440 13 115,558 111,100
engineer
More than 20 years 88,000 170,000 19,371 31 122,775 123,000
10 or fewer years 50,000 144,000 32,652 12 102,888 110,000
Software quality
10.1 to 20 years 65,000 170,300 22,460 26 105,854 102,000
engineer
More than 20 years 45,000 134,000 23,398 15 107,687 110,000
10 or fewer years 29,000 123,000 19,011 170 61,759 60,000
Specialist 10.1 to 20 years 30,000 180,000 24,364 78 76,947 72,500
More than 20 years 38,000 150,000 24,879 62 84,851 86,026
10 or fewer years 65,000 185,000 33,780 10 102,600 87,750
Statistician 10.1 to 20 years 48,000 200,000 63,148 5 147,420 160,684
More than 20 years 27,000 240,000 52,805 17 145,640 156,000
10 or fewer years 30,000 120,000 17,484 95 65,024 63,000
Supervisor 10.1 to 20 years 40,000 133,000 23,414 47 74,702 70,000
More than 20 years 45,000 123,022 22,688 35 83,282 85,000
Supplier quality 10 or fewer years 37,000 125,000 18,763 50 79,641 82,375

engineer/ 10.1 to 20 years 62,400 160,000 19,430 35 92,559 91,800
professional More than 20 years 60,000 180,000 22,131 58 99,551 97,450
10 or fewer years 25,854 115,000 14,065 128 46,588 44,250
Technician 10.1 to 20 years 28,000 83,238 11,180 49 48,615 45,000
More than 20 years 27,000 148,000 21,298 41 57,080 54,000
10 or fewer years 54,000 408,000 72,901 24 147,781 127,625
Vice president/
10.1 to 20 years 50,000 569,959 71,621 58 156,761 147,500
executive
More than 20 years 86,000 350,000 56,162 79 184,756 185,000
Salary by years in quality and job title for
Canadian respondents / TABLE 3
Standard
deviation
Analyst 10 or fewer years $39,384 $94,522 $19,048 10 $65,083 $68,431
Associate 10 or fewer years 28,357 64,984 13,967 6 49,690 49,723
10 or fewer years 29,538 79,753 18,961 8 53,661 53,662
Auditor 10.1 to 20 years 78,769 164,922 40,265 4 105,230 88,615
More than 20 years 64,984 135,876 34,188 4 93,046 85,661
Black Belt 10 or fewer years 45,292 123,076 40,441 3 90,584 103,384
10 or fewer years 39,384 93,538 18,090 11 61,126 61,046
Coordinator 10.1 to 20 years 34,461 93,538 19,889 9 66,406 66,953
More than 20 years 46,277 65,969 8,919 4 58,215 60,308
10 or fewer years 59,077 155,476 33,662 7 115,327 121,107
Director 10.1 to 20 years 94,522 128,797 11,507 10 112,424 108,307
More than 20 years 63,015 157,537 29,027 17 125,335 125,045
Green Belt 10 or fewer years 42,338 71,442 14,401 4 57,983 59,077
Inspector 10 or fewer years 33,477 68,923 14,060 7 53,719 57,452
10 or fewer years 49,230 141,784 20,222 27 88,546 84,676
Manager 10.1 to 20 years 70,892 157,537 20,168 48 100,621 98,461
More than 20 years 47,364 169,353 26,159 43 95,626 91,569
10 or fewer years 49,230 134,891 34,732 5 89,993 101,415
Other
10.1 to 20 years 56,123 103,384 24,178 3 82,707 88,615
Process/ 10 or fewer years 64,000 68,923 2,842 3 65,641 64,000
manufacturing/
project engineer More than 20 years 88,615 96,492 4,099 3 93,210 94,522
10 or fewer years 46,277 97,236 15,609 12 69,091 67,446

Quality engineer 10.1 to 20 years 27,569 216,614 49,823 11 81,597 73,846
More than 20 years 75,815 124,061 19,650 9 90,136 80,443
10 or fewer years 54,154 80,738 9,325 13 67,144 68,923
Specialist 10.1 to 20 years 54,154 143,851 26,381 18 83,653 75,323
More than 20 years 75,784 216,614 49,009 7 107,037 88,615
10 or fewer years 51,077 72,861 12,542 3 58,379 51,200
Supervisor 10.1 to 20 years 61,046 88,615 12,428 4 71,877 68,923
More than 20 years 49,230 101,135 19,672 6 63,781 57,083
Supplier quality 10 or fewer years 62,523 99,446 15,143 4 79,739 78,494
engineer/
professional 10.1 to 20 years 64,000 78,769 7,520 3 72,205 73,846
Technician 10 or fewer years 24,615 75,815 16,688 16 46,461 45,046

Vice president/ 140,799 246,152 47,862 4 189,537 185,599
More than 20 years
executive
QP
2016
Section 5. Salary by Highest Level of Education SALARY
SURVEY
Winning by Degrees
I
If you work in the United States and hold an advanced de- spondents and earned a generous $102,356 average salary.
gree, it’s likely your employer sets your salary at more than Table 1 (p. 32) cross-tabulates highest education levels
$100,000 a year. Specifically, holders of master’s degrees in with job titles. There, it’s easy to see that in some of the
the United States average $107,619, $17,526 more than the high-paying positions, such as Black Belt, consultant and
$90,093 for those with only a bachelor’s degree. Master Black Belt (MBB), more than 50% of professionals
As Figure 1 shows, the numbers of respondents in those hold a post-graduate degree. Also in that group of high-pay-
two groups make up more than 75% of U.S. respondents, ing titles are reliability/safety engineer, statistician and vice
meaning the statistical significance of this difference is ex- president/executive.
tremely high. That jump in salary for post-graduate degrees is sizeable
Year after year, the QP Salary Survey results show in most of the job titles on this list, as shown in Table 2,
that—especially in the United States—employers are will- which breaks out average salaries by title and education
ing to pay more to professionals who have obtained more for U.S. and Canadian respondents. Exceptions are MBB
advanced degrees. With the smaller numbers of respon- and statistician. For MBBs (in which we have a large sam-
dents in Canada, the pattern is less clear, as Figure 2 (p. 32) ple size), perhaps other factors overshadow formal educa-
shows. It seems certain, however, that Canadian employ- tion in setting salaries. Statistician responders (a job title
ers value the specialized education that comes with voca- recently added to the survey) are few. Because there are
tional/technical degrees. This year, holders of such degrees only two holding less than a master’s degree, the average
made up 10.2% of Canadian respondents and were paid an salary for that group should be viewed cautiously.
average of $89,512 annually, nearly as much as the 23.6% of Section 7 also addresses the education factor and ex-
respondents holding masters’ degrees. In 2015, the results amines education along with experience as determinants
were similar: Holders of these degrees made up 8.2% of re- of salary.
Salary by highest level of education

Less than high school (0.1%) 109,095

Highest level of education
High school diploma (6.8%) 65,512
Vocational/technical certificate (4.5%) 67,962
Vocational/technical degree (1.2%) 72,703
Associate degree (8.3%) 69,793
Bachelor's degree (44.8%) 90,093
Master's degree (31.5%) 107,619
Doctorate (2.8%) 122,714
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000

Average salary
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

Salary by highest level of education
Less than high school (0.3%) 118,153

High school diploma (2.9%) 79,487
Vocational/technical certificate (12.1%) 79,938
Vocational/technical degree (10.2%) 89,512
Associate degree (5.1%) 78,618
Bachelor's degree (41.8%) 87,061
Master's degree (23.6%) 91,489
Doctorate (4.0%) 98,238
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary
Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, U.S. employees,

Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Highest level of education by job title / TABLE 1
Less than High school Vocational/ Vocational/ Associate Bachelor’s Master’s

technical technical Doctorate
high school diploma degree degree degree
certificate degree
All respondents 0.1% 6.6% 5.0% 1.8% 8.1% 44.6% 31.0% 2.9%
Analyst — 6.7 2.2 — 9.6 47.2 31.5 2.8
Associate 1.4 4.3 5.7 1.4 10 45.7 27.1 4.3
Auditor — 10.2 2.9 3.9 11.2 51 19.9 1
Black Belt — 1.8 2.7 0.9 0.9 36 54.1 3.6
Calibration technician — 25.0 14.3 10.7 28.6 21.4 — —
Champion — — — — — 33.3 66.7 —
Consultant — 1 — — 1.9 45.7 41 10.5
Coordinator — 7.1 9.7 1.9 16.8 43.2 20.6 0.6
Director — 2.7 2.3 1.4 4.8 39.1 45.8 3.9
Educator/instructor — 3.1 3.1 — 6.3 3.1 31.3 53.1
Green Belt — 2.4 — 4.8 9.5 52.4 28.6 2.4
Inspector 0.9 34.3 21.3 2.8 18.5 18.5 2.8 0.9
Manager 0.1 5.9 4.9 2.4 7.6 46.9 30.3 1.8
Master Black Belt — 3.6 — — — 29.1 61.8 5.5
Other — 10.2 9.1 — 9.1 43.2 22.7 5.7
Process/manufacturing/ — 2.8 0.7 0.7 4.8 44.8 41.4 4.8
project engineer
Quality engineer 0.1 4.7 4.1 0.9 6.1 54 28.6 1.5
Reliability/safety engineer — — 1.5 — — 38.8 55.2 4.5
Software quality engineer — 1.9 1.9 — 3.7 46.3 38.9 7.4
Specialist 0.3 6.5 6.5 2.1 10.1 50.6 22.2 1.8
Statistician — — — — 3.1 6.3 53.1 37.5
Supervisor — 10.8 7 2.2 13 43.8 22.7 0.5
Supplier quality engineer/ — 2.7 1.4 — 6.1 48 41.2 0.7
professional
Technician — 23.4 17.7 5.2 21.6 26.8 4.8 0.4
Vice president/executive — 1.8 1.8 0.6 1.2 35.8 52.7 6.1
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
Percentage may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Salary by highest level of education and job title / TABLE 2
Vocational/ Vocational/
High school Associate Bachelor’s Master’s
technical technical Doctorate
diploma degree degree degree
certificate degree
United States
Analyst $49,89312 $64,3333 — $63,80016 $71,71283 $73,00049 $81,0003
Associate 48,3333 47,0004 n=1 54,4717 60,74729 66,60516 75,0003
Auditor 62,79521 73,4135 $76,5836 61,53120 80,168101 86,79535 70,7002
Black Belt 65,4902 79,0002 n=1 n=1 93,29538 102,71158 114,6254
Calibration technician 49,1617 48,8333 76,8333 46,7098 54,3036 — —
Champion — — — — 95,3333 89,3336 —
Consultant n=1 — — 92,5002 107,39845 136,11541 109,86411
Coordinator 53,4229 50,21712 49,0002 53,22826 56,73856 73,22126 —
Director 104,12414 117,8899 101,6673 105,14923 125,575190 138,653224 146,93020
Educator/instructor n=1 n=1 — 51,4552 — 87,85010 121,96716
Green Belt n=1 — n=1 84,2504 77,46219 83,87012 n=1
Inspector 45,19936 48,13219 65,0002 52,08120 53,00018 62,7803 —
Manager 80,20692 77,12166 78,43424 79,882114 95,681693 107,605466 113,53927
Master Black Belt 119,0002 — — — 125,74616 127,04233 124,3333
Other 67,1119 48,1296 — 57,6028 88,58534 80,65819 91,8113
Process/manufacturing/
69,5004 n=1 n=1 69,5007 84,72961 88,68057 105,5946
project engineer
Quality engineer 69,37943 78,08633 72,7585 75,44556 82,050478 92,250256 103,40813
Reliability/safety engineer — n=1 — — 103,18025 119,10835 105,9673
Software quality engineer n=1 n=1 — 72,0002 106,50624 107,96620 117,1673
Specialist 57,12719 58,51916 62,9003 61,98531 72,613158 76,28268 79,4005
Statistician — — — n=1 158,3422 119,24017 161,38311
Supervisor 58,43120 61,81811 — 62,09624 75,39278 79,16638 n=1
Supplier quality engineer/
85,0004 77,5002 — 96,1119 87,70167 94,99757 n=1
professional
Technician 45,951 53
45,748 38
51,745 9
49,984 48
52,810 55
50,387 10
n=1
Vice president/executive 144,5002 213,6673 n=1 182,5002 157,12656 173,40086 205,5849
Canada
Analyst — n=1 — n=1 n=1 $75,3937 $61,3422
Associate — — — — $52,8413 46,5393 —
Auditor — n=1 $56,6152 $62,6873 91,4464 78,6056 —
Black Belt — n=1 — — 76,8002 103,0232 —
Calibration technician — n=1 — — — — —
Consultant — — — — 95,8353 97,1702 —
Coordinator $86,1542 $68,9233 n=1 — 55,56811 59,6676 n=1
Director — 123,7323 140,5534 108,3072 125,94812 107,75513 —
Green Belt — — n=1 — 53,4973 — —
Inspector n=1 70,1324 n=1 — 50,7082 — n=1
Manager 81,7223 87,18813 102,96415 92,7388 96,92757 95,90218 95,0152
Other — 96,0002 — — 98,9534 n=1 75,3232
— — — — 72,8614 104,5333 n=1
project engineer
Quality engineer — 70,144 5
74,502 3
— 74,96717
101,743 6
n=1
Reliability/safety engineer — — — — n=1 88,6152 —
Specialist 73,3033 74,4376 94,5154 67,8043 80,89713 98,6267 n=1
Supervisor — 62,9912 64,7384 — 50,5023 77,2224 —
— — — — 91,3084 70,8924 —
professional
Technician n=1 59,733 3
46,113 3
52,185 2
41,635 7
n=1 —
Vice president/executive n=1 — — — 149,6603 n=1 n=1
Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote number of respondents.
Section 6. Salary by Industry
Service Is Sweet
I
If you’re in one of the better-paying industries, you Tables 2 (p. 36) and 3 (p. 41) show industry aver-
probably know it. If not, perhaps this section will ages for specific job titles for U.S. respondents. Table 2
prompt you to look at possible opportunities to in- is devoted to manufacturing industries and Table 3 to
crease your earnings. service industries. The same information for Canadian
The first fact that jumps out in Table 1: While manu- respondents is provided in Tables 4 (p. 42) and 5 (p.
facturing provides the bulk of the survey’s respon- 45).
dents, quality professionals in service industries tend Because breaking down data by 30 industries and
to bring home heftier paychecks. 25 job titles creates some sparsely populated rows,
In the United States, 73.4% of respondents report there were many rows in Tables 2 through 5 with fewer
they work in manufacturing at an average salary of than three respondents. In all these cases, the row has
$89,105. The 26.6% who work in services earn nearly been removed entirely to shield personally identifiable
$10,000 more at an average annual pay of $99,069. information.
In Canada, the percentage working in manufactur- There’s more data on industries in section 26 where
ing versus service are closer: 37.2% of respondents in we look at employee satisfaction and the percentages
service industries. The pay difference there, however, of respondents who say they are satisfied or dissatis-
is even more stark than in the United States. Manufac- fied with their salaries and the noncompensation as-
turing workers in Canada gross an average of $81,399, pects of their jobs. Section 26 also examines how dif-
while their counterparts in services have salaries aver- ferent industries deal with fostering quality in their
aging $15,008 more—$96,407. organizations.
In the United States, 73.4% of

respondents report that they work
in manufacturing, at an average
salary of $89,105. The 26.6%
who work in services earn nearly
$10,000 more, at an average
annual pay of $99,069.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by industrial classification / TABLE 1
United States Canada

Average Average
Percentage Percentage
salary salary
Manufacturing sector 73.4% $89,105 62.8% $81,399
Aerospace vehicles 6.2 89,733 8.1 81,193
Chemicals and related products 9.6 96,088 8.1 90,570
Computers and electronic products 4.6 103,170 4.4 104,815
Defense 1.9 95,971 1.4 72,861
Electrical products 2.5 88,682 2.5 76,286
Fabricated metal products 3.8 76,806 2.2 67,692
Food and related products 4.9 88,575 5.6 69,429
Machinery 4.8 84,576 4.4 83,481
Medical instruments and supplies 16.0 92,845 5.8 84,008
Nonelectric measuring, analyzing and controlling instruments 0.4 84,605 0.3 32,000
Other products 3.7 83,983 3.3 80,229
Paper and related products 1.5 84,834 2.2 92,956
Primary metals 1.1 79,781 — —
Rubber and plastic products 4.2 74,707 3.9 64,059
Toys, sporting goods, pens, jewelry and miscellaneous products 1.0 88,487 1.4 100,922
Transportation vehicles (not aerospace) 7.2 83,741 9.2 76,283
Service sector 26.6% $99,069 37.2% $96,407
Construction services 1.0 103,077 2.5 98,085
Educational services 1.3 100,203 2.5 107,432
Financial and insurance services 2.2 99,226 1.7 80,689
Healthcare services 5.3 97,430 3.1 90,569
Information services 1.3 108,094 1.9 89,065
Government and public administration services 2.7 94,025 3.1 89,725
Nuclear 0.4 101,785 0.6 82,215
Oil and gas extraction and refining 1.8 109,112 4.7 115,443
Other services 1.4 87,080 1.9 93,018
Consulting and other professional, scientific and technical services 5.8 101,480 7.5 92,598
Retail services 0.4 87,927 0.8 83,265
Social services 0.3 76,006 0.8 84,748
Transportation services 1.1 99,297 2.8 107,126
Utilities 1.2 106,093 2.5 106,228
Wholesale services 0.5 82,268 0.8 56,156
Salary by manufacturing industry and job title
Standard
deviation
Analyst $58,000 $75,000 $8,586 3 $67,200 $68,600
Auditor 55,000 140,000 28,495 7 87,186 79,800
Black Belt 85,000 130,000 18,715 4 105,250 103,000
Director 80,000 176,000 27,024 21 127,286 127,000
Inspector 32,679 89,000 14,584 19 57,003 54,000
Manager 42,000 206,000 30,108 81 102,168 100,000
Other 52,000 141,000 42,884 4 88,500 80,500
Aerospace Process/manufacturing/project engineer 44,000 154,000 33,458 8 86,375 80,000
vehicles Quality engineer 40,000 140,000 21,537 90 81,657 83,000
Specialist 32,000 140,000 27,606 16 74,726 65,000
Statistician 72,000 153,000 33,935 4 114,250 116,000
Supervisor 48,000 85,000 15,438 5 62,459 60,000
Technician 35,000 67,000 9,043 15 46,815 46,000
Analyst 35,000 115,000 20,768 21 68,659 68,200
Associate 34,476 87,000 13,966 12 61,060 60,000
Auditor 35,360 177,000 27,826 38 79,435 75,750
Black Belt 49,480 150,000 31,190 8 112,060 110,000
Consultant 70,000 190,000 41,578 6 125,500 120,500
Coordinator 37,080 86,000 17,464 12 61,692 57,933
Director 60,000 300,000 48,951 52 148,841 147,750
Chemicals Inspector 35,000 63,000 14,171 3 50,267 52,800
and related Manager 42,000 183,000 28,331 154 102,337 101,150
products Other 51,000 140,000 26,259 11 79,418 75,000
Specialist 30,000 150,000 22,370 63 74,591 75,000
Statistician 65,000 200,000 66,002 4 163,750 195,000
Supervisor 50,000 128,000 19,193 24 75,572 71,500
Technician 39,015 148,000 29,518 11 66,106 60,000
Manufacturing workers in Canada earn an

average of $81,399, while their counterparts
in services have salaries averaging $15,008
more—at $96,407.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
for U.S. respondents / TABLE 2 (CONTINUED
(CONTINUED) THROUGH P. 40)
Standard
deviation
Analyst $45,000 $149,000 $49,057 5 $98,060 $125,000
Auditor 42,000 48,500 3,279 3 45,500 46,000
Black Belt 87,250 150,000 32,646 3 113,417 103,000
Coordinator 32,000 80,000 24,054 3 56,933 58,800
Director 72,604 223,000 38,468 28 148,100 148,000
Green Belt 75,000 120,000 18,927 4 100,250 103,000
Manager 45,000 192,000 30,163 66 97,096 90,367
Computers Master Black Belt 90,000 139,000 25,239 3 118,000 125,000
and electronic Process/manufacturing/project engineer 67,000 125,000 18,851 15 93,650 98,000
products Quality engineer 40,000 196,000 30,499 60 94,241 90,500
Specialist 40,000 143,500 38,990 6 69,862 57,400
Supervisor 63,000 83,000 8,655 4 70,750 68,500
Technician 34,840 57,000 10,177 5 44,568 43,000
Auditor 39,000 106,000 25,628 5 67,400 70,000
Director 90,000 230,000 49,476 9 143,311 125,800
Inspector 37,000 62,000 12,583 3 48,667 47,000
Defense Manager 42,700 154,000 33,876 27 101,437 87,000
Specialist 43,000 82,000 21,313 3 67,467 77,400
Analyst 45,000 50,000 2,686 3 46,933 45,800
Director 76,544 184,000 30,062 9 133,283 135,000
Manager 50,000 190,000 31,074 45 94,565 93,000
Electrical Reliability/safety engineer 88,000 146,800 24,986 6 111,592 107,875
products Specialist 33,870 67,000 12,705 5 50,914 50,000
Supervisor 60,000 96,000 18,390 5 75,700 65,000
Technician 29,120 55,000 10,389 8 43,140 45,000
Analyst 38,000 73,000 17,502 3 55,667 56,000
Coordinator 40,000 75,000 13,980 6 53,583 50,750
Director 85,000 145,000 19,462 12 111,100 110,500
Inspector 30,000 95,000 24,516 6 48,199 39,500
Manager 43,784 144,000 20,432 76 87,894 87,000
Fabricated
metal products
Specialist 31,824 87,000 25,399 4 49,281 39,150
Supervisor 41,122 79,999 15,560 6 63,020 66,500
Technician 30,000 80,000 11,469 18 44,803 41,975
Standard
deviation
Analyst $41,000 $111,000 $26,999 7 $65,571 $50,000
Associate 55,000 73,000 9,074 3 63,333 62,000
Auditor 34,000 99,000 18,620 11 73,660 74,000
Coordinator 42,000 70,000 11,977 4 53,895 51,790
Director 72,000 185,400 28,841 31 127,735 130,578
Green Belt 32,690 85,000 26,395 3 60,897 65,000
Food and Inspector 26,000 39,520 5,437 5 30,364 29,800
related Manager 36,889 142,000 22,721 103 91,103 90,000
products Process/manufacturing/project engineer 63,000 90,000 14,654 4 75,631 74,762
Specialist 31,000 130,000 25,004 15 65,187 59,000
Supervisor 30,000 79,000 11,425 17 57,384 58,000
Technician 30,000 70,000 14,023 9 49,056 46,300
Analyst 38,000 78,000 20,133 3 56,667 54,000
Auditor 39,000 90,000 21,764 4 61,500 58,500
Black Belt 75,000 125,000 18,366 5 96,400 92,000
Coordinator 50,000 64,000 6,022 4 58,230 59,460
Director 75,000 206,000 30,971 18 123,650 112,500
Inspector 28,000 72,000 13,890 10 51,940 50,500
Manager 42,000 170,000 22,494 69 94,042 95,000
Machinery
Other 61,000 104,000 21,595 3 83,667 86,000
Specialist 38,188 114,336 26,103 7 86,987 99,510
Supervisor 53,000 90,000 16,032 9 68,018 63,000
Technician 32,000 68,750 10,728 15 49,773 50,691
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Standard
deviation
Analyst $41,600 $100,000 $16,215 20 $66,396 $64,500
Associate 32,000 100,000 20,896 17 57,797 55,000
Auditor 45,000 127,500 25,444 26 78,208 71,000
Consultant 127,643 200,000 37,048 3 159,214 150,000
Coordinator 37,500 110,000 18,929 16 57,175 51,502
Director 52,000 215,000 37,068 56 134,972 133,000
Green Belt 60,000 76,500 9,124 3 70,500 75,000
Inspector 24,048 85,000 16,013 25 48,233 45,000
Manager 40,000 221,000 30,466 191 105,954 106,000
Medical Other 24,000 120,000 30,297 15 65,240 65,000
instruments
and supplies Process/manufacturing/project engineer 71,000 114,000 12,753 20 90,693 87,500
Specialist 35,000 123,000 23,228 73 72,658 72,000
Statistician 84,000 90,000 2,598 4 86,250 85,500
Supervisor 34,000 133,000 26,457 24 78,333 75,000
Technician 28,000 80,000 13,015 31 50,249 48,000
Nonelectric
measuring, Manager 66,000 120,000 17,695 6 93,500 96,000
analyzing and
controlling Quality engineer 64,000 95,000 12,987 4 79,000 78,500
instruments
Associate 28,000 55,000 13,507 3 41,247 40,742
Auditor 40,000 65,000 13,229 3 55,000 60,000
Consultant 70,000 104,000 16,404 4 94,450 101,900
Coordinator 27,000 69,000 15,628 6 49,433 48,500
Director 85,000 180,000 26,648 15 120,231 120,000
Inspector 30,000 50,000 8,859 4 39,585 39,170
Manager 42,000 145,000 25,061 71 87,022 87,500
Other products
Other 62,000 80,000 9,644 3 69,000 65,000
Specialist 33,000 100,000 22,816 6 71,833 74,000
Supervisor 49,000 111,000 21,646 8 71,563 63,000
Technician 28,000 50,000 9,072 5 43,600 45,000
Auditor 30,000 70,000 20,817 3 53,333 60,000
Director 73,000 155,000 25,463 9 120,611 120,000
Manager 52,000 132,000 19,918 28 86,194 80,500
Paper and Process/manufacturing/project engineer 50,000 108,000 26,758 4 77,000 75,000
related
products Quality engineer 36,000 95,000 17,319 8 68,775 70,000
Specialist 42,500 110,000 23,909 6 63,417 56,500
Supervisor 74,000 91,000 8,622 3 81,667 80,000
Technician 29,000 101,000 27,875 5 56,086 45,000
Standard
deviation
Analyst $45,500 $76,000 $15,420 3 $62,067 $64,700
Director 85,200 190,000 38,773 5 127,040 125,000
Manager 50,000 140,400 19,214 24 89,563 86,500
Primary metals
Supervisor 46,000 80,000 18,251 3 59,167 51,500
Technician 37,500 83,238 20,613 4 53,685 47,000
Analyst 55,500 148,255 49,138 3 111,252 130,000
Black Belt 30,000 116,000 31,213 5 67,550 68,000
Coordinator 30,000 60,000 8,994 10 45,850 45,750
Director 68,000 150,000 22,459 13 112,615 110,000
Inspector 28,000 60,000 14,863 4 45,250 46,500
Manager 28,080 139,000 22,185 84 82,672 82,250
Rubber and
plastic products
Specialist 38,000 52,000 7,024 3 45,333 46,000
Supervisor 40,000 106,000 18,192 11 53,680 50,000
Technician 25,854 87,395 12,741 27 43,875 43,000
Toys, sporting Director 65,000 117,000 22,917 5 98,800 112,000
goods, pens, Manager 65,000 120,230 13,854 20 89,179 90,000
jewelry and
miscellaneous Quality engineer 42,000 120,000 23,116 15 81,112 76,000
products Vice president/executive 93,000 185,000 46,058 3 137,667 135,000
Auditor 35,096 78,000 15,319 7 62,085 71,000
Black Belt 80,000 116,000 12,853 5 99,200 100,000
Coordinator 43,000 98,000 24,536 4 62,000 53,500
Director 85,000 160,450 19,707 20 134,238 138,500
Inspector 30,000 65,000 13,200 7 43,714 40,000
Manager 45,000 210,000 26,599 89 94,820 93,000
Transportation Other 45,000 80,000 15,401 5 66,200 70,000
vehicles
(not aerospace) Process/manufacturing/project engineer 47,500 120,000 20,434 15 72,633 75,000
Specialist 29,000 82,000 15,600 8 53,675 51,700
Supervisor 52,000 122,700 22,285 12 75,179 66,000
Technician 27,040 88,438 13,165 34 47,496 45,488
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
for Canadian respondents / TABLE 3
Standard
Deviation
Manager $72,861 $136,861 $22,257 8 $98,646 $93,784
Aerospace vehicles Quality engineer 50,215 92,553 15,687 6 66,592 61,538
Specialist 64,984 78,769 6,939 3 71,414 70,488
Director 103,384 152,614 23,236 4 138,091 148,184
Chemicals and
Manager 73,846 118,029 17,330 7 94,364 92,553
related products
Specialist 68,923 98,461 12,570 5 76,252 70,892
Director 100,430 127,999 11,205 5 120,122 123,076
Computers and
Manager 81,723 169,353 33,316 6 105,280 93,538
electronic products
Manager 68,923 98,461 13,734 5 81,191 76,800
Electrical products
Specialist 54,154 73,846 11,369 3 67,282 73,846
Fabricated
Manager 49,230 86,153 19,538 3 71,384 78,769
metal products
Coordinator 39,384 66,953 12,866 4 47,901 42,634
Food and Manager 65,969 128,984 22,369 6 91,290 86,154
related products Supervisor 51,077 72,861 10,905 3 61,661 61,046
Technician 36,431 59,077 9,734 4 45,416 43,077
Machinery Manager 78,769 118,153 16,542 8 94,153 90,092
Medical instruments Director 90,584 128,797 22,062 3 103,322 90,584
and supplies Manager 83,692 123,076 12,499 8 100,923 99,446
Rubber and
Manager 93,538 102,399 5,116 3 96,492 93,538
plastic products
Manager 54,154 108,307 15,934 12 85,333 89,600
Transportation vehicles
(not aerospace)
Technician 24,615 73,846 24,779 3 50,872 54,154
Sign of the Times

What external factors do you foresee having the biggest impact on quality?
“ As baby boomers age, they are looking for ways use their vast
knowledge and experience base in more meaningful ways.
”
Mimi Berlin
analyst
Haivision Network Video
Lake Forest, IL.
Salary by service industry and job title
(CONTINUED THROUGH P. 44)
Standard
deviation
Director $99,000 $300,000 $76,903 6 $171,417 $152,750
Manager 58,300 135,000 20,533 20 95,690 97,000
Construction
services
Specialist 89,287 106,752 8,734 3 97,932 97,756
Analyst 36,400 118,000 23,708 18 65,405 58,729
Associate 30,000 90,000 25,878 4 54,800 49,600
Auditor 32,000 150,000 27,027 22 82,643 87,753
Black Belt 82,000 118,000 18,000 3 100,000 100,000
Consultant 51,840 240,000 45,911 32 129,551 123,315
Coordinator 39,520 88,000 19,165 8 56,790 49,500
Consulting
and other Director 75,000 227,000 37,508 38 128,142 131,000
professional, Manager 48,000 195,000 31,481 76 94,955 91,000
scientific and Master Black Belt 119,000 150,000 15,022 4 132,500 130,500
technical Other 40,000 106,000 21,358 7 71,857 75,000
services
Specialist 41,600 100,000 15,553 19 71,663 70,000
Statistician 115,000 175,000 24,534 6 152,267 162,592
Supervisor 67,000 120,000 28,572 3 87,333 75,000
Analyst 58,000 80,000 8,936 5 66,140 61,700
Director 80,000 160,000 25,596 8 100,350 92,650
Educational Manager 48,000 141,500 34,964 6 107,833 117,500
services Quality engineer 64,000 106,000 21,958 3 81,296 73,888
Specialist 36,740 75,000 19,202 3 54,913 53,000
Technician 33,600 90,000 32,234 3 52,785 34,756
Analyst 40,000 112,878 19,268 17 70,119 73,000
Associate 42,000 70,000 11,566 5 55,660 58,000
Auditor 40,000 125,000 30,686 6 84,000 91,500
Black Belt 81,500 138,500 15,638 15 103,884 102,000
Consultant 70,000 157,000 28,088 9 106,246 106,000
Financial and Director 74,880 175,000 37,984 6 132,980 140,000
insurance Green Belt 67,419 127,000 28,443 4 109,855 122,500
services Manager 68,910 155,000 21,233 15 96,287 95,300
Supervisor 69,200 79,982 5,739 3 75,727 78,000
QP
2016
SALARY
Salary by service industry and job title SURVEY
Standard
deviation
Analyst $50,000 $131,000 $22,580 12 $79,363 $77,676
Auditor 37,923 160,300 38,757 11 84,691 78,000
Consultant 50,000 140,000 36,071 8 97,086 100,000
Coordinator 37,458 99,252 27,531 4 73,866 79,377
Government Director 71,400 154,000 26,803 12 111,954 105,000
and public
Manager 43,000 165,000 26,548 38 102,257 103,806
administration
services Other 45,000 65,500 10,372 3 56,167 58,000
Specialist 45,000 85,051 12,394 11 62,269 62,400
Supervisor 75,000 128,000 22,909 5 102,600 112,000
Analyst 37,000 89,000 17,510 14 63,991 66,727
Associate 34,000 70,000 12,885 6 58,220 60,160
Auditor 45,000 100,000 19,829 10 66,555 65,225
Black Belt 46,000 165,000 25,111 22 96,312 97,510
Consultant 79,000 210,000 37,935 12 113,715 102,000
Coordinator 34,000 109,200 19,700 24 62,190 65,000
Director 60,000 210,000 31,158 49 124,013 124,000
Healthcare Green Belt 40,000 96,000 21,616 7 66,861 70,000
Other 50,000 195,000 63,006 4 103,813 85,125
Specialist 30,000 107,874 18,754 25 63,946 60,000
Supervisor 34,500 98,375 22,686 9 63,574 54,000
Technician 38,500 115,000 39,454 3 71,167 60,000
Analyst 56,000 127,000 26,589 6 87,112 87,336
Black Belt 97,000 140,000 17,035 5 113,800 110,000
Consultant 132,000 180,000 22,633 4 146,250 136,500
Director 95,500 155,000 20,675 9 127,361 131,750
Information Manager 48,000 150,000 30,733 16 103,634 108,700
services Master Black Belt 125,000 170,000 22,742 3 145,590 141,770
Other 50,000 190,000 73,711 3 106,667 80,000
Specialist 61,000 180,000 62,931 3 108,667 85,000
Manager 79,861 156,000 35,687 5 120,772 137,000
Nuclear
Black Belt 88,500 170,000 43,088 3 121,167 105,000
Director 80,000 200,000 35,422 10 137,600 135,000
Oil and gas Manager 54,000 249,000 53,923 30 119,388 104,000
extraction Quality engineer 58,000 156,000 32,010 14 92,294 81,300
and refining Reliability/safety engineer 100,000 148,000 19,732 4 122,000 120,000
Specialist 36,250 112,000 30,857 5 74,970 80,000
Technician 40,000 54,000 7,572 3 45,333 42,000
Standard
deviation
Auditor $55,000 $110,000 $26,575 4 $76,250 $70,000
Black Belt 75,000 93,600 9,626 3 82,867 80,000
Coordinator 42,000 66,000 13,292 3 50,700 44,100
Director 97,000 152,000 18,678 6 121,854 122,500
Manager 36,000 131,000 25,419 32 81,406 80,000
Other services
Specialist 53,000 65,000 6,429 3 60,333 63,000
Technician 38,126 60,000 12,046 3 46,149 40,320
Director 65,000 131,153 33,404 3 95,384 90,000
Retail services
Manager 53,760 78,000 12,586 3 63,920 60,000
Director 60,000 71,400 5,931 4 65,600 65,500
Social services
Manager 39,500 89,000 23,354 4 72,975 81,700
Analyst 75,000 79,000 1,848 4 76,250 75,500
Auditor 46,000 109,565 21,776 6 71,501 66,720
Consultant 123,600 150,000 14,454 3 140,200 147,000
Coordinator 45,320 90,500 25,942 3 75,273 90,000
Director 115,000 150,000 15,317 7 135,571 145,000
Transportation
Manager 91,317 111,000 7,917 8 100,045 99,000
services
Specialist 48,300 102,000 26,850 3 75,100 75,000
Technician 40,000 70,000 16,179 3 58,500 65,500
Analyst 56,500 104,000 16,994 6 78,992 82,476
Auditor 67,000 140,000 28,883 8 94,563 84,250
Consultant 74,000 110,000 16,780 4 98,250 104,500
Utilities Director 125,000 170,000 17,466 8 146,750 147,500
Manager 83,000 183,000 30,069 15 121,724 120,000
Wholesale Coordinator 55,000 68,000 5,377 4 61,250 61,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY

Standard
deviation
Construction services Manager $70,892 $118,153 $23,963 3 $92,225 $87,630
Auditor 59,077 79,753 9,408 5 72,467 78,769
Consulting and other Manager 98,461 133,907 12,084 7 111,683 113,230
professional, scientific
and technical services Other 101,415 134,891 18,785 3 113,230 103,384
Specialist 60,061 93,538 14,300 4 80,000 83,200
Government and public
Analyst 67,938 87,630 10,056 3 78,966 81,329
administration services
Director 88,615 139,815 25,701 3 112,902 110,276
Healthcare services
Specialist 54,154 91,569 18,845 3 74,174 76,800
Information services Manager 89,599 108,307 8,555 4 96,295 93,637
Oil and gas extraction Manager 49,230 157,537 40,497 8 101,612 100,923
and refining Specialist 88,615 216,614 64,199 3 149,693 143,851
Transportation services Manager 78,769 153,599 25,050 7 105,916 105,353
Utilities Manager 83,692 141,784 32,212 3 104,697 88,615
Sign of the Times

What will define the future of quality?
“ Because all companies have limited resources, the future will

belong to those who are most efficient. Quality built into design
and manufacturing processes will be the hallmark of successful
companies.
” Terrance Church
supplier quality engineer
Daktronics Inc.
Brookings, SD.
Section 7. Salary by Highest Level of Education and Number
of Years in Quality
Stay on Course, and

Take Courses
I
If you’re fairly new to the quality field, you probably have that the effect itself (that is, the salary difference between the
several years of salary increases ahead of you—provided you high school band and the band for two-year programs) is not
continue to work in quality. This is safe to say because, as large. Last year, the difference went in the other direction, but
section 4 of this report shows, employers tend to reward ex- again in a small way, with those who’ve completed two-year
perience in the quality profession. In section 5, we examine programs out-earning the high school or less contingent by a
the case for formal education as a variable and find it to be margin of less than $2,000.
another factor that strongly influences earnings. In this sec- This meant that in 2015, the chart equivalent to Figure 1
tion, experience and education are combined. showed not a single exception to the stair-step pattern. In
Figure 1 shows salaries by educational attainment and every case, more education and more experience together
years of quality experience for U.S. respondents. A careful brought more pay.
look shows that, with a single exception, more education For respondents holding master’s degrees, the jump in sal-
brings higher pay for persons in the same experience band, ary as quality experience goes beyond 10 years is especially
and more experience brings higher pay for professionals with large. This year, master’s degree holders with 10 or fewer
the same level of education. years in quality earn an average of $88,127, while those with
The exception is that among those with 20 years or more experience of between 10 and 20 years earn $112,559, a hefty
of experience, the people with a two-year program or degree difference of $24,432.
under their belts bring home a bit less than those with only a The stair-step pattern is not apparent in Canada, as Figure
high school diploma or less. Perhaps this has something to do 2 shows, education and experience factors might be over-
with the opportunities that were open to those employees 20 whelmed by other variables, and the sample sizes are smaller
or more years ago. and make similar charts vary from year to year.
The exception can’t be attributed to small sample sizes. Table 1 (p. 48) breaks down salaries by educational attain-
As Table 1 (p. 48) shows, all of the cells—except those for ment and experience level by job title for both the United
respondents with doctorates—are fairly well populated. Note States and Canada.
In the United States, master’s degree holders

with 10 or fewer years in quality earn an aver-
age of $88,127, while those with experience
of between 10 and 20 years earn $112,559, a
hefty difference of $24,432.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by highest level of education and number of years

in the quality field for U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1
$160,000
142,759
$140,000 124,892
$120,000 112,559 114,229
Average salary
110,936 107,308
95,114
$100,000 88,127
83,276 81,033
$80,000 73,894
66,153 70,563
$60,000 54,302 57,071
$40,000
$20,000
0
Years of experience in the quality field
High school or less Two-year program Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree Doctorate
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

Salary by highest level of education and number of years

in the quality field for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 2
$140,000
119,532 123,076
118,256
$120,000
103,063
Average salary
$100,000 94,769 94,453 95,047 92,137

85,458
77,087
$80,000 73,439
67,503 69,881 65,073
$60,000 52,106
$40,000
$20,000
0
Years of experience in the quality field
High school or less Two-year program Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree Doctorate

Salary by education, years of experience
in quality and job title / TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
(CONTINUED)

10 or fewer 10.1 to 20 More than 10 or fewer 10.1 to 20 More than
years years 20 years years years 20 years
High school or less $54,302148 $66,153110 $83,276102 $73,4394 $94,7696 $65,0732
Two-year program 57,071 267
70,563 195
81,033 263
67,503 27
85,458 36
92,13739
All respondents Bachelor’s degree 73,894 963
95,114 651
107,308 710
69,881 62
94,453 51
103,06343
Master’s degree 88,127 586
112,559 519
124,892 528
77,087 43
95,047 25
118,25619
Doctorate 110,936 57
114,229 39
142,759 50
52,106 5
119,532 5
123,0765
High school or less 48,188 8
54,407 3
n=1 — — —
Two-year program 58,98312 69,3333 74,5004 43,0272 — —
Analyst Bachelor’s degree 62,70651 77,79516 94,96015 n=1 — —
Master’s degree 68,35338 73,4316 115,7504 71,4835 n=1 n=1
Doctorate 81,0003 — — 61,3422 — —
High school or less 48,4923 n=1 — — — —
Two-year program 55,20911 n=1 — — — —
Associate Bachelor’s degree 54,985 23
75,500 4
97,500 2
52,841 3
— —
Master’s degree 68,27213 66,0712 n=1 46,5393 — —
Doctorate 75,0003 — — — — —
High school or less 56,89112 69,1676 73,6673 — — —
Two-year program 64,78014 62,29711 80,6005 47,5903 88,6152 n=1
Auditor
Bachelor’s degree 69,618 41
81,113 36
96,771 24
n=1 n=1 85,6612
Master’s degree 69,63913 90,70715 110,2717 64,2464 n=1 n=1
Two-year program n=1 76,278 2
n=1 n=1 — —
Bachelor’s degree 88,18921 102,0008 100,2818 n=1 n=1 —
Black Belt
Master’s degree 98,67227 107,53722 103,0339 n=1 — n=1
Doctorate n=1 n=1 120,7502 — — —
High school or less 52,3333 39,0413 n=1 — — —
Calibration technician Two-year program 52,7506 54,6355 53,6673 — n=1 —
Bachelor’s degree 48,5733 63,0502 n=1 — — —
Bachelor’s degree n=1 n=1 n=1 — — —
Champion
Master’s degree 102,0003 76,6673 — — — —
Two-year program 92,5002 — — — — —
Bachelor’s degree 88,23618 124,51711 117,18516 — n=1 106,3382
Consultant
Master’s degree 123,79011 107,40010 157,25020 n=1 n=1 —
Doctorate 81,833 3
90,000 3
138,600 5
— — —
High school or less 51,8006 65,0002 n=1 n=1 n=1 —
Two-year program 47,90923 55,72711 58,9205 n=1 n=1 56,1232
Coordinator
Bachelor’s degree 56,25141 58,91712 54,6673 54,3676 54,8103 60,3082
81,708 6
75,640 5
57,961 3
61,374 3
—
Two-year program 114,7005 100,5008 109,40622 117,1692 108,3072 139,8145
Director Bachelor’s degree 100,77333 127,74269 132,83487 n=1 114,0516 147,6915
138,814 77
144,732 103
121,084 4
111,660 2
99,0237
Doctorate 139,188 8
152,833 6
151,350 6
— — —
QP
2016
SALARY
Salary by education, years of experience SURVEY
in quality and job title / TABLE 1 (CONTINUED
(CONTINUED)THROUGH P. 50)

High school or less — — n=1 — — —
Two-year program $47,6373 — — — — —
Educator/instructor
Master’s degree 73,5003 $104,0003 $86,5004 — — —
Doctorate 101,0004 87,6673 142,7209 — n=1 —
— 75,000 2
n=1 — —
Green Belt Bachelor’s degree 69,12614 96,0004 n=1 $53,4973 — —
Master’s degree 85,2729 93,5002 — — — —
47,27711 52,3656 — — n=1
Two-year program 48,91424 54,21810 52,8577 63,9703 n=1 n=1
Inspector
n=1 70,067 6
50,7082 — —
Master’s degree 72,5002 n=1 — — — —
High school or less 70,74823 78,54436 87,80434 — $97,4763 n=1
Two-year program 65,13547 83,14663 82,18793 74,3775 99,68413 $97,33418
Manager Bachelor’s degree 83,138 202
97,223 224
103,877 263
90,675 13
102,586 22
94,96122
108,038 183
114,395 157
93,343 9
98,461 9
—
Doctorate 102,03914 118,3336 132,4297 — n=1 n=1
Bachelor’s degree 103,6673 134,4434 130,3978 — — —
Master Black Belt Master’s degree 116,0003 120,15815 136,13315 — — n=1
Doctorate — n=1 134,0002 — — —
High school or less 61,0004 n=1 79,7504 — — —
Two-year program 41,7196 n=1 59,3257 — 96,0002 —
Other
Bachelor’s degree 80,67317 90,1336 99,96811 113,2303 n=1 —
Master’s degree 73,70015 104,3333 n=1 n=1 — —
Two-year program n=1 61,167 3
72,400 5
— — —
Process/manufacturing/ Bachelor’s degree 79,19034 87,16919 110,6867 65,6413 — n=1
project engineer Master’s degree 84,79833 93,83816 97,5717 — n=1 92,5542
Doctorate n=1 90,854 3
135,500 2
— n=1 —
Two-year program 63,36521 74,14926 83,12747 n=1 68,1844 78,5063
Quality engineer Bachelor’s degree 74,394238 84,946108 93,415130 70,3377 68,0366 93,4644
95,403 68
107,262 79
67,692 4
n=1 n=1
Doctorate 107,2005 81,1673 112,9615 — — n=1
Two-year program — — n=1 — — —
Reliability/safety Bachelor’s degree 78,3138 117,3336 113,54511 — — n=1
engineer Master’s degree 102,1679 114,0367 129,00119 n=1 n=1 —
Doctorate 105,9673 — — — — —
Two-year program — 92,0002 n=1 — — —
Software quality Bachelor’s degree 108,5266 97,3889 114,2789 n=1 — —
engineer Master’s degree 89,0005 117,25210 108,3605 — — —
Doctorate n=1 106,5002 — — n=1 —
Salary by education, years of experience
in quality and job title / TABLE 1 (CONTINUED)
High school or less $50,2018 $58,3758 $74,2004 $70,5712 n=1 —
63,928 13
66,400 14
n=1 $74,9778 $87,3774
Specialist Bachelor’s degree 61,77089 83,80140 90,45629 66,4616 93,2717 —
76,767 14
94,075 15
66,354 3
n=1 133,2503
Doctorate 60,0002 92,3333 — n=1 — —
— 137,70910 — — —
Statistician
Doctorate 125,3333 176,1383 174,1605 — — n=1
Two-year program 56,70614 63,14210 67,72711 — 76,3082 58,0804
Supervisor
Bachelor’s degree 67,90641 78,87825 93,71012 51,1392 — n=1
Master’s degree 72,11825 91,9176 93,4097 n=1 67,4462 n=1
High school or less n=1 n=1 85,0002 — — —
Supplier quality Two-year program n=1 92,5004 95,5006 — — —
engineer/professional Bachelor’s degree 77,23523 87,00917 97,05327 89,0792 n=1 n=1
Master’s degree 83,58622 97,11712 104,80723 70,4002 71,3852 —
49,720 15
46,039 9
n=1 — —
Two-year program 45,90451 45,43022 57,39922 51,8337 — n=1
Technician
Bachelor’s degree 49,08037 54,44410 68,0188 39,5496 n=1 —
— n=1 n=1 — —
High school or less — — 144,5002 — n=1 —
Two-year program — — 182,0006 — — —
Vice president/
128,344 18
181,38330 n=1 — 150,6452
executive
Master’s degree 139,70012 169,89438 188,33336 — — n=1
Doctorate 243,667 3
163,000 2
198,3144 — — n=1
With a single exception, more education

brings higher pay for U.S. workers in the
same experience band, and more experience
brings higher pay for professionals with the
same level of education.
QP
2016
Section 8. Salary by Number of Employees Overseen SALARY
SURVEY
Stats on Supervision
I
In addition to being responsible for the quality of their For several years, it’s been the case that more than
employers’ products and services, the professionals 40% of the survey respondents who have supervisory
who take the QP Salary Survey tend to have at least duties report an increase in the number of employees
some measure of supervisory responsibility. As a rule, they oversee during a two-year period. Figure 3 (p. 52)
they are compensated for overseeing others. shows this for U.S. and Canadian survey respondents
In the United States, Figure 1 shows only 6% of viewed together. These consistent increases have been
respondents do not oversee other employees. These reported only since 2011, when many industries be-
professionals earn on average $82,114 a year. Supervis- gan to recover from the contraction that came with
ing even one or two employees comes with a salary the 2008 global recession. During 2009 and 2010, the
increase, and those with this minimal oversight burden percentage reporting an increase in oversight respon-
earn $88,597—a healthy bump of $6,483. sibility shrank considerably, reaching a low of 24.3% in
Although there are exceptions, more employees 2011 before bouncing back to a number that has stayed
supervised generally means more money in one’s fairly constant since then.
paycheck. Figure 1 shows, though not perfectly, the Although oversight responsibilities fall heavily to
stair-step pattern of supervisory roles correlating with supervisors, managers, directors and vice presidents/
money—seen in many bar charts—more of supervi- executives, even among these job titles there are a few
sory role means a longer bar, signifying a bigger check. professionals with nobody to supervise, as shown in
Figure 2 (p. 52) shows the same information for Ca- Tables 1 (U.S. respondents, p. 53) and 2 (Canadian re-
nadian respondents, and, as is often the case, the chart spondents p. 54). These tables show the salaries of our
suggests the stair-step pattern but is far less consistent respondents broken down by job title and number of
in its increases than in the United States. employees overseen.
Salary by number of employees overseen

Number of employees overseen
Don’t oversee other employees (6%) 82,114
Oversee 1 to 2 employees (3.7%) 88,597
Oversee 6 to 10 employees (3%) 100,697
Oversee 16 to 30 employees (7%) 119,178
Oversee more than 50 employees (23.6%) 146,000
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000 $160,000

Average salary

Salary by number of employees overseen
Number of employees overseen
Don’t oversee other employees (4.3%) 81,673
Oversee more than 50 employees (26.4%) 129,253
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000

Average salary

Historical look at the changes in the number

of employees overseen / FIGURE 3
2008 44.8 37.2 18
2009 34.4 35.4 30.2
2010 24.3 38.7 36.9
2011 43.7 37.5 18.8
2012 44.2 38.1 17.8
2013 41.6 38.8 19.6
2014 45.8 38.6 15.6
2015 46 38.6 15.4
2016 43.6 38.9 17.5

Figure 1 includes results for:
0 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% x Full-time employees,
Percentage of respondents Part‑time employees,
x U.S. employees,
In the past two years, the number of employees overseen has: x Canadian employees,
Increased Stayed the same Decreased
QP
2016
SALARY
Salary by number of employees overseen SURVEY
and job title for U.S. respondents / TABLE 1
Don't Oversee
Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee
oversee more
1 to 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 50
other than 50
employees employees employees employees employees employees
employees employees
22% 36.6% 19.5% 9.8% 9.8% — 2.4% —
Analyst
$62,294 $70,223 $80,328 $77,838 $70,000 — $54,000 —
25 35 35 — — — 5 —
Associate
55,940 82,071 47,800 — — — 28,000 —
23.3 39.5 20.9 14 — 2.3% — —
Auditor
78,687 69,470 81,309 94,517 — $50,000 — —
26.7 35.6 17.8 13.3 2.2 — 2.2 2.2%
Black Belt
104,780 102,763 110,012 110,833 76,000 — 46,000 $99,999
22.2 — 55.6 11.1 11.1 — — —
Calibration technician
75,500 — 42,858 60,000 37,994 — — —
50 16.7 — — 16.7 16.7 — —
Champion
72,333 90,000 — — 106,000 130,000 — —
19.4 38.9 19.4 11.1 — 11.1 — —
Consultant
118,000 113,557 166,229 137,158 — 153,250 — —
25 26.8 21.4 12.5 3.6 — 7.1 3.6
Coordinator
58,747 55,125 65,329 77,201 45,000 — 58,250 54,000
1.5 13 22.5 24.4 12.5 11.9 6.3 8
Director
116,746 121,048 128,070 124,364 137,903 136,267 134,392 157,916
7.7 23.1 38.5 15.4 — 15.4 — —
Educator/instructor
190,000 71,667 75,200 162,500 — 178,367 — —
11.8 5.9 29.4 17.6 17.6 — 5.9 11.8
Green Belt
86,540 67,000 105,600 80,000 97,333 — 20,000 53,845
7.1 31 26.2 28.6 2.4 2.4 2.4 —
Inspector
42,333 56,246 51,929 47,708 60,000 52,800 30,000 —
2.2 22.1 31 24.5 8.5 7.2 2.6 2
Manager
94,489 89,830 93,660 97,538 103,238 106,200 112,603 108,296
13.3 26.7 33.3 20 — — — 6.7
Master Black Belt
108,750 125,628 129,200 146,500 — — — 122,500
3.3 36.7 26.7 10 10 10 — 3.3
Other
80,000 69,465 94,375 111,333 70,667 81,417 — 62,300
Process/manufacturing/ 17.3 30.8 23.1 17.3 3.8 5.8 — 1.9
project engineer 70,000 84,001 81,600 84,500 151,500 96,000 — $62,000
10.1 35.8 32.5 15.7 2.4 2.1 0.6 0.9
Quality engineer
79,165 83,667 81,228 86,846 79,417 122,000 61,000 80,333
Reliability/safety 6.3 37.5 50 — — 6.3 — —
engineer 120,000 139,000 112,150 — — 102,000 — —
Software quality 13 34.8 26.1 4.3 13 4.3 — 4.3
engineer 108,385 108,178 100,067 113,950 134,100 100,000 — 115,000
17.9 39.7 21.8 10.3 1.3 5.1 3.8 —
Specialist
71,767 63,768 77,534 63,868 60,000 75,125 53,667 —
— 18.2 45.5 9.1 18.2 — 9.1 —
Statistician
— 118,250 168,543 156,000 187,500 — 170,000 —
2.4 20.1 30.2 23.7 13 6.5 1.8 2.4
Supervisor
71,000 72,556 72,530 71,269 74,309 69,068 47,000 57,577
Supplier quality 7.7 41 33.3 10.3 5.1 2.6 — —
engineer/professional 88,833 94,342 87,654 100,375 83,000 70,000 — —
11.8 27.9 33.8 10.3 5.9 2.9 1.5 5.9
Technician
48,456 46,249 52,111 45,693 53,250 69,500 101,000 39,950
0.7 7.2 19.6 16.3 10.5 17.6 7.2 20.9
Vice president/executive
100,000 165,795 147,113 157,340 157,844 165,044 181,909 213,947
Salary by number of employees overseen and job title
Don’t Oversee
Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee Oversee
oversee more
1 to 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 50
other than 50
employees employees employees employees employees employees
employees employees
— 20% — 50% — — — 25%
Analyst
— $87,630 — $62,030 — — — $68,923
— — 66.7% — 33.3% — — —
Associate
— — $64,492 — $41,354 — — —
20% — 20 40 20 — — —
Auditor
$64,984 — 93,538 47,754 35,446 — — —
— 20 40 40 — — — —
Black Belt
— 102,661 84,184 105,846 — — — —
18.2 9.1 27.3 18.2 18.2 9.1% — —
Coordinator
53,908 78,769 76,012 77,784 59,077 $61,538 — —
6.5 25.8 9.7 25.8 3.2 12.9 6.4% 9.7
Director
99,446 118,030 125,045 114,191 155,476 130,215 $130,461 143,424
— — — 100 — — — —
Educator/instructor
— — — 236,306 — — — —
— — 100 — — — — —
Green Belt
— — 68,923 — — — — —
— 50 50 — — — — —
Inspector
— 65,536 88,615 — — — — —
1.8 29.4 32.1 18.3 5.5 7.3 1.8 3.7
Manager
102,399 91,409 99,540 97,491 111,852 90,215 85,513 97,859
— — — — — — — 100
Master Black Belt
— — — — — — — 177,230
— — 33.3 33.3 — — — 33.3
Other
— — 103,384 56,123 — — — 101,415
Process/manufacturing/ — — — 100 — — — —
project engineer — — — 88,615 — — — —
11.1 38.9 27.8 11.1 11.1 — — —
Quality engineer
75,815 70,006 95,113 81,110 103,384 — — —
Reliability/safety — 100 — — — — — —
engineer — 98,461 — — — — — —
Software quality — — — — 100 — — —
engineer — — — — 113,230 — — —
— 30 40 10 — 20 — —
Specialist
— 68,460 101,809 91,569 — 73,846 — —
8.3 33.3 33.3 8.3 — 16.7 — —
Supervisor
88,615 60,769 67,856 61,046 — 62,031 — —
Supplier quality — — 100 — — — — —
engineer/professional — — 86,646 — — — — —
— 50 — 25 — — — 25
Technician
— 32,985 — 59,077 — — — 54,154
— — 33.3 — — 33.3 — 33.3
— — 125,784 — — 150,645 — 228,429
QP
2016
Section 9. Salary by Number of Work Hours SALARY
SURVEY
Easing Up on Overtime
Y The percentage of
Year after year, QP Salary Survey results have shown
that a longer workweek tends to come with higher pay.
For some quality professionals who are paid for over-
time, this means extra hours bring extra pay. As sec- U.S. respondents who
tion 10 of this report shows, however, that’s a minority
of the survey respondents. work more than 45
For the majority who are exempt from overtime
pay, their higher salaries aren’t so directly tied to long hours a week has
workweeks. For many of them, it’s likely pay and hours
are above the average because they are in positions in fallen about 10 points
which long hours are simply expected. In the United
States, however, this expectation may be decreasing. since 2006. It’s still
As Figure 1 shows, the percentage of U.S. respon-
dents who work more than 45 hours a week has fallen more than 37%, which
about 10 points since 2006. It’s still more than 37%,
which means a lot of long workweeks. The norm is means a lot of long
workweeks.
different for respondents in Canada: Those working
more than 45 hours have always made up a smaller
percentage than in the United States. This year, that
figure for Canada fell below 25% (it’s difficult to see the
precise percentages in Figure 1, but add
up the percentages associated with the
last three bars in Figure 3, p. 56).
Tables 1 (p. 57) and 2 (p. 58) show
Percentage of respondents
salaries by job title and by average work- working more than 45 hours
week. Each band of workweek hours per week / FIGURE 1
in those tables shows the percentage of
60%
persons holding a job title who work that
many hours. This shows, among other 50%
things, that there’s almost certainly some
correlation between responsibility and 40%
long hours. At the extreme end, where

30%
vice presidents/executives bear great re-
sponsibility, the hours are long indeed. In 20%
the United States, 97.6% of these respon-
United States
dents report working more than 45 hours 10%
Canada
per week, Table 1 shows.
0%
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees,

Average number of hours per week
30 or fewer hours (0.6%) 39,809

Average number
31-35 hours (0.4%) 76,445
36-40 hours (17.3%) 76,982
41-45 hours (44%) 85,745
46-50 hours (25.1%) 100,060
51-55 hours (8%) 110,470
56 or more hours (4.6%) 124,889
0 $20,000 $60,000 $100,000 $140,000
Average salary

Average number of hours per week

30 or fewer hours (1.3%) 46,671

Average number
31-35 hours (3.4%) 87,534
36-40 hours (38.1%) 78,509
41-45 hours (32.7%) 85,951
46-50 hours (17%) 96,882
51-55 hours (4.6%) 97,901
56 or more hours (2.8%) 134,354
0 $20,000 $60,000 $100,000 $140,000
Average salary

U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
In Canada, where those respondents working

more than 45 hours have always made up a
smaller percentage than those U.S. respondents,
that figure fell below 25% this year.
Salary by number of work hours for U.S. respondents / TABLE 1
35 or fewer 60 hours
36-40 hours 41-45 hours 46-50 hours 51-55 hours 56-60 hours
hours or more
0.6% 0.6% 39.3% 46.8% 9.8% 2.3% 0.6%
Analyst
$45,000 $49,450 $68,266 $69,576 $79,459 $69,408 $52,000
— 2.8 35.2 39.4 15.5 5.6 1.4
Associate
— 94,000 56,814 59,148 55,219 63,150 42,000
1 1.5 31.7 49.3 11.7 2.4 2.4
Auditor
50,000 80,000 79,719 73,794 75,240 85,600 97,210
— 1.8 20.2 48.6 22 3.7 3.7
Black Belt
— 89,500 93,034 96,979 99,473 119,750 124,625
— — 20.7 62.1 6.9 10.3 —
— — 44,495 53,530 52,000 66,733 —
— — 11.1 55.6 33.3 — —
Champion
— — 130,000 89,800 81,000 — —
1 1 27.9 37.5 24 1.9 6.7
Consultant
15,000 200,000 108,555 114,625 126,908 103,000 138,429
2.1 — 30.3 52.8 7.7 5.6 1.4
Coordinator
20,667 — 53,544 60,278 59,636 61,325 66,000
0.2 — 8 29.7 34.1 17.3 10.6
Director
100,000 — 118,394 121,024 133,483 135,844 151,632
5.9 5.9 17.6 20.6 29.4 11.8 8.8
Educator/instructor
17,500 48,500 98,207 75,416 131,973 87,750 96,000
— — 38.5 30.8 25.6 5.1 —
Green Belt
— — 71,213 90,835 77,000 91,000 —
— — 27.4 48.1 11.3 10.4 2.8
Inspector
— — 45,366 46,209 50,552 58,213 80,000
0.2 0.3 8.3 41.1 34.1 10.3 5.7
Manager
59,667 53,638 89,244 95,461 97,580 102,156 101,776
1.7 — 19 39.7 25.9 13.8 —
Master Black Belt
100,000 — 111,647 126,442 126,801 136,500 —
6.7 1.1 25.8 38.2 21.3 4.5 2.2
Other
26,341 26,000 59,798 80,525 87,116 91,250 125,000
Process/manufacturing/ 0.7 — 15.4 50.3 26.6 5.6 1.4
project engineer 46,900 — 86,102 83,134 89,721 91,000 83,000
0.1 0.1 17.7 51.9 22.8 4.6 2.7
Quality engineer
46,981 74,000 82,446 82,997 85,091 84,413 103,388
1.5 1.5 10.3 60.3 20.6 2.9 2.9
Reliability/safety engineer
24,000 120,000 93,271 110,001 120,175 125,000 146,250
— — 30.2 52.8 15.1 1.9 —
Software quality engineer
— — 95,174 109,753 107,038 150,000 —
0.9 0.3 29.7 56 9.9 2.2 0.9
Specialist
29,540 89,287 64,962 68,964 83,880 92,757 101,380
— — 12.5 53.1 21.9 6.3 6.3
Statistician
— — 103,597 114,182 168,929 187,500 163,000
— 0.6 13.4 43.6 31.8 7.8 2.8
Supervisor
— 62,000 68,860 71,486 71,077 69,929 82,690
Supplier quality engineer/ 0.7 0.7 13.8 46.2 26.2 6.2 6.2
professional 30,000 102,500 88,853 86,940 92,044 107,111 107,706
1.3 0.4 33.5 47.8 13.4 3.1 0.4
Technician
27,846 40,000 46,979 47,173 56,465 65,966 60,000
0.6 — 1.8 16 36.8 25.2 19.6
120,000 — 157,000 143,679 163,812 177,238 191,642
Salary by number of work hours for Canadian
35 or fewer 60 hours
36-40 hours 41-45 hours 46-50 hours 51-55 hours 56-60 hours
hours or more
— 8.3% 66.7% 16.7% 8.3% — —
Analyst
— $82,707 $69,735 $66,953 $46,670 — —
— 14.3 71.4 14.3 — — —
Associate
— 28,357 48,246 64,000 — — —
5.9% — 29.4 47.1 17.6 — —
Auditor
$29,538 — 57,304 86,707 80,738 — —
— — 20 40 40 — —
Black Belt
— — 45,292 105,846 112,869 — —
— — 100 — — — —
— — 64,512 — — — —
— — 50 16.7 33.3 — —
Consultant
— — 93,005 87,630 101,415 — —
— — 58.3 25 12.5 4.2% —
Coordinator
— — 61,672 66,461 63,179 $51,200 —
— — 11.8 29.4 44.1 11.8 2.9%
Director
— — 114,461 110,455 124,514 127,261 $123,076
33.3 — — — — — 66.7
Educator/instructor
68,923 — — — — — 177,230
— — 50 25 25 — —
Green Belt
— — 60,336 68,923 42,338 — —
— — 36.4 54.5 9.1 — —
Inspector
— — 54,936 50,529 88,615 — —
— 5.9 28.6 32.8 20.2 8.4 4.2
Manager
— 91,676 96,098 100,283 95,182 94,523 86,055
— 100 — — — — —
Master Black Belt
— 177,230 — — — — —
— — 44.4 33.3 22.2 — —
Other
— — 85,169 84,020 103,384 — —
Process/manufacturing/ — — 50 37.5 — 12.5 —
project engineer — — 104,984 65,641 — 88,615 —
2.9 — 35.3 41.2 14.7 5.9 —
Quality engineer
59,077 — 76,012 76,195 91,569 84,064 —
— 33.3 33.3 33.3 — — —
— 98,461 78,769 167,384 — — —
— — 66.7 33.3 — — —
— — 89,600 73,846 — — —
2.6 2.6 66.7 23.1 5.1 — —
Specialist
62,030 79,923 84,241 74,513 93,538 — —
— — 100 — — — —
Statistician
— — 132,922 — — — —
— — 15.4 61.5 23.1 — —
Supervisor
— — 53,144 68,996 62,359 — —
Supplier quality engineer/ — — 50 37.5 — — 12.5
professional — — 73,723 80,227 — — 113,230
5.3 5.3 47.4 36.8 5.3 — —
Technician
13,785 29,538 43,596 58,585 24,615 — —
— — 16.7 33.3 16.7 — 33.3
— — 103,876 154,091 140,799 — 228,429
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
QP
2016
Section 10. Salary by Nonexempt vs. Exempt Status
SALARY
SURVEY
Pay for Overtime
O
Over your career, if you’ve seen your pay grow as your Figure 2 (p. 60), which combines U.S. and Canadian
workweek has expanded, it may be because you get responses, helps explain why. That chart sorts job ti-
paid overtime for your extra hours. It may be, but it tles by the percentage of holders who are exempt from
isn’t likely. overtime.
Yes, longer hours tend to come with higher pay, The titles at the top—where all or nearly all re-
as section 9 shows. But look at the data labels under spondents are exempt—are generally the highest pay-
the columns in Figure 1 of this section. In the United ing and most responsible positions, and also the ones
States, 84.5% of respondents are exempt from being whose holders have logged the most years in the qual-
paid for overtime, and only 15.5% receive overtime ity profession (see section 4)
pay. In Canada, overtime pay is more common—22.4% Figure 3 (p. 60) is sorted the same way, with the ti-
being eligible for it. Even there, though, it’s hardly the tles that were on top in Figure 2 on the right-hand side
norm. In either country, it’s not the way to wealth. of the x-axis. As the percentage of exempt respondents
In the United States, exempt respondents earn an rises, salary tends to do the same. Salaries do bounce
average of $97,683, a whopping $38,448 more than around a bit in this chart, but the trend is obvious.
the nonexempt respondents, whose average salary is Tables 1 (U.S. respondents, p. 61) and 2 (Canadian
$59,235. In Canada, the exempt professionals earn an respondents, p. 62) break down the data even further,
average of $91,682, and nonexempt professionals earn showing the numbers and salaries of exempt and non-
an average of $70,432. That’s still a hefty difference, exempt employees not only by job title, but also by the
with $21,250 more going to the exempt. number of hours worked in an average week.
Salary by nonexempt vs.

exempt status / FIGURE 1
84.5% of U.S. $100,000
97,683
(84.5%) 91,682
(77.6%)
respondents are $80,000 70,432

(22.4%)
Average salary
59,235
exempt from
(15.5%)
$60,000
being paid
$40,000
$20,000
overtime, and 0
only 15.5% receive

Exempt Nonexempt Exempt Nonexempt
overtime pay. Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees,

Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,
Candian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
Exempt vs. nonexempt status by job title / FIGURE 2
Master Black Belt 100 0
Champion 100 0
Vice president/executive 98.8 1.2
Director 98.5 1.5
Black Belt 96.5 3.5
Manager 95.8 4.2
Consultant 95.4 4.6
Reliability/safety engineer 94.3 5.7
Statistician 93.8 6.3
Supplier quality engineer/professional 90.7 9.3
Process/manufacturing/project engineer 89 11
Quality engineer 88.3 11.7
Supervisor 85.6 14.4
Software quality engineer 83.6 16.4
Educator/instructor 81.8 18.2
Green Belt 81 19
Auditor 77.3 22.7
Specialist 75.8 24.2
Analyst 74.3 25.7
Other 72.5 27.5
Associate 63.6 36.4
Coordinator 62.1 37.9
Calibration technician 12.9 87.1

Inspector 12.1 87.9
x Full-time employees,
Technician 11.8 88.2
0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% x U.S. employees,
Percentage of respondents x Canadian employees,
Exempt Nonexempt International employees
Percentage exempt and average salary by job title

$180,000 100%
$160,000 90%
Percentage exempt
$140,000 80%
Average salary
$120,000 70%
60%
$100,000
50%
$80,000
40%
$60,000 30%
$40,000 Average salary 20%
$20,000 Percentage exempt 10%
0 0
Supplier quality engineer/pro.
Technician
Inspector
Coordinator
Associate
Other
Analyst
Specialist
Auditor
Educator/instructor
Green Belt
Supervisor
Quality engineer
Process/mfg./project engineer
Statistician
Consultant
Manager
Black Belt
Director
Champion
Master Black Belt

x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,
Pro. = professional x U.S. employees, Canadian employees,
Mfg. = manufacturing International employees
QP
2016
SALARY
Salary by nonexempt vs. exempt status and
SURVEY
number of work hours per week for U.S.
Exempt Nonexempt
36-40 hours $70,263 43
64,95124
Analyst
41-45 hours 73,75064 54,22816
36-40 hours 65,278 14
46,04311
Associate 41-45 hours 64,88220 44,8138
46-50 hours 60,095 7
46,6864
36-40 hours 85,61948 63,05717
Auditor 41-45 hours 78,120 78
59,60722
46-50 hours 76,72419 70,2504
Calibration technician 41-45 hours 38,8653 56,46415
Consultant 36-40 hours 111,581 26
82,3333
36-40 hours 53,95825 53,08517
41-45 hours 68,764 41
50,34933
Coordinator
46-50 hours 62,1119 48,5002
51-55 hours 63,433 6
55,0002
36-40 hours 121,32736 68,3333
Director
41-45 hours 121,567 143
90,7813
Educator/instructor 41-45 hours 96,2504 47,6373
36-40 hours 72,88111 71,5003
Green Belt
41-45 hours 95,003 10
70,0002
36-40 hours 65,1502 43,90127
Inspector
41-45 hours 57,313 8
44,14443
31-35 hours 69,2762 38,0002
36-40 hours 91,848 114
66,52312
41-45 hours 96,229599 76,14226
Manager
46-50 hours 97,932 506
80,37512
51-55 hours 103,023149 88,2867
56 or more hours 101,61083 92,0003
30 or fewer hours 19,250 4
40,5222
36-40 hours 67,55013 49,72110
Other
41-45 hours 86,804 27
56,3097
46-50 hours 95,37114 64,0005
36-40 hours 90,766 16
82,3333
Process/manufacturing/ 41-45 hours 84,30566 70,2506

project engineer 46-50 hours 86,346 33
130,0003
51-55 hours 89,5006 95,5002

number of work hours per week for U.S.
Exempt Nonexempt
36-40 hours 82,227135 83,60725
41-45 hours 84,390425 71,17843
Quality engineer 46-50 hours 85,794192 67,15413
51-55 hours 87,642 34
70,6888
56 or more hours 103,53520 102,8005
Reliability/safety engineer 41-45 hours 110,360 39
103,0002
36-40 hours 98,41314 72,5002
41-45 hours 110,973 23
109,0504
36-40 hours 69,59166 53,26228
Specialist 41-45 hours 74,918 140
48,63641
46-50 hours 87,78826 66,9436
36-40 hours 72,78220 49,6673
Supervisor 41-45 hours 74,115 64
57,65613
46-50 hours 73,98748 56,2508
Supplier quality engineer/ 36-40 hours 95,504 14

73,3336
professional 41-45 hours 86,78360 89,3336
36-40 hours 53,267 6
46,43269
Technician 41-45 hours 49,7157 46,56199
46-50 hours 70,438 5
53,67025


number of work hours per week
Exempt Nonexempt
Analyst 36-40 hours 63,330 5
$78,2772
Associate 36-40 hours 46,933 3
50,2152
Auditor 41-45 hours 113,1325 42,6663
Coordinator 36-40 hours 65,17110 52,9234
36-40 hours 95,828 32
100,4302
Manager
41-45 hours 100,51437 96,0002
36-40 hours 79,064 6
72,9606
Quality engineer 41-45 hours 69,4648 85,1696
46-50 hours 82,708 2
97,4763
Specialist 36-40 hours 88,52918 74,5958
Supervisor 41-45 hours 69,020 6
68,9232
36-40 hours 46,1544 41,5505
Technician
41-45 hours 58,0924 59,2413

QP
2016
Section 11. Salary by Organization and Division Size
SALARY
SURVEY
The Effects of Growth
T
The QP Salary Survey results each year show that larger ployees. In other words, the tier-one respondents may
organizations tend to provide bigger paychecks. This have more knowledge about a large organization’s true
year, data were examined to see whether the same is condition.
true of growing organizations. What the analysis found, On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine a new hire in
shown in Table 1 (p. 64), isn’t really exact. It shows that an entry-level position thinking, “Well, they hired me, so
respondents who said their organization did not add they must have been adding employees,” perhaps un-
employees earn more than those who reported a grow- aware of the true net change in the organization’s head-
ing head count, and this is true in the United States and count.
Canada. Then again, maybe growing organizations really pay
Does this mean growing organizations pay poorly? less than the rest. More digging would be required to for-
That answer is counterintuitive, and in any case, the dif- mulate a definitive answer.
ference looks rather large. The last two columns in the Setting growth aside, this section is about the sizes
table may start to explain this. of organizations and divisions within them. As usual, re-
First, let’s understand the other columns. The percent- sults show larger organizations tend to pay more. This is
age column is simply the overall percentage of responses fairly clear in the United States, where the sample size is
within a country: In the United States, 77.5% of respon- large for all organization sizes (Figure 1, p. 64). It’s less
dents said their organization had added employees, while clear in Canada (Figure 2, p. 64).
22.5% of respondents said their organization had not. In both countries, there is an exception among the
The last two columns break down the answers by job smallest organizations: Those with 10 or fewer employ-
titles grouped into tiers. Here’s how it was done: All job ees actually pay more on average than mid-sized orga-
titles were sorted by average U.S. salary. The top half of nizations.
titles was called tier one and the bottom half was called In the United States, those who work in the small-
tier two (that’s the brief explanation—the full story and est organizations average $86,862 a year in salary, which
lists are in Appendix C). is more than the average pay in all organizations larger
The last two columns in Table 1 are the percentages than 10 employees but smaller than 1,000. In Canada,
of responses from people within these tiers. What we too, respondents in the smallest organizations make
see is that within a large and (we hope) randomized mix quite substantial paychecks.
of organizations, the people in the top-paying jobs (tier Figures 3 and 4 (p. 65) show salary by division size
one) are somewhat likelier than the rest to say their or- for U.S. and Canadian respondents, respectively.
ganization has not added employees. Table 2 (p. 66) cross-tabulates organization size and
It’s unlikely this is because growing organizations division size. Within each resulting cell, the number of
have fewer high-responsibility positions. On the con- U.S. respondents and their average salary are provided.
trary, growing organizations tend to put management Salaries more than $95,000 are highlighted in red to
infrastructure in place first before hiring the lower-level make it apparent how division size and overall organiza-
positions—but why would higher-level managers be tion size affect salary. Table 3 (p. 66) shows the same
likelier to report nongrowing organizations? information for Canadian respondents, with the cutoff
We can only speculate, but a guess is that such a for highlighting being set at $92,000.
person, who would tend to hold a more responsible Table 4 (p. 67) shows salaries by organization size
position within an organization, will be better placed to and job title for U.S. and Canadian respondents. Table
know whether the organization has actually added em- 5 (p. 68) shows salaries by division size and job title.
Salary by organization growth
during last two years / TABLE 1
Average First-tier Second-tier
Percentage
salary answers answers
Organization has added
77.5% $90,647 76.4% 78.9%
United employees
States Organization has not
22.5 95,515 23.6 21.1
added employees
Organization has added
67.5 65,448 65.1 70.0
employees
Canada
Organization has not
32.5 71,487 34.9 30.0
added employees

Salary by organization size

Number of employees worldwide
10 or fewer (2.2%) 86,862
11-100 (12.3%) 81,844
101-500 (17.4%) 86,235
501-1,000 (8.6%) 86,166
1,001-5,000 (16.7%) 95,270
5,001-10,000 (10.9%) 96,976
10,001-50,000 (17.8%) 98,935
More than 50,000 (14.2%) 103,736
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary
Salary by organization size

10 or fewer (1.4%) 92,356
11-100 (12.9%) 72,766
101-500 (23.0%) 79,464
501-1,000 (7.9%) 77,927
1,001-5,000 (17.4%) 91,087
5,001-10,000 (10.4%) 109,757
10,001-50,000 (16.9%) 97,585
More than 50,000 (10.1%) 89,012
$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

QP
2016
Salary by division size for U.S. SALARY
respondents / FIGURE 3 SURVEY
Number of employees in
No divisions (16.2%) 89,080

division (percentage
10 or fewer (9.3%) 80,185

of respondents)
11-100 (22.9%) 87,649
101-500 (24%) 88,518
501-1,000 (9.3%) 96,853
1,001-5,000 (11%) 106,369
5,001-10,000 (3.5%) 107,987
More than 10,000 (3.8%) 123,413
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000 $140,000

Average salary

Salary by division size for Canadian

respondents / FIGURE 4
Number of employees in
No divisions (15.4%) 85,720

division (percentage
10 or fewer (12.9%) 75,540

of respondents)
11-100 (26.2%) 81,077
101- 500 (25.3%) 88,986
501-1,000 (7.7%) 95,547
1,001-5,000 (9.9%) 115,635
5,001-10,000 (1.4%) 85,563
More than 10,000 (1.1%) 81,410
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

In the United States, those who work in the

smallest organizations average $86,862
a year in salary, which is more than the
average pay in all organizations larger than
10 employees but smaller than 1,000.
Salary by organization and division size
for U.S. respondents / TABLE 2
1,001- 5,001- 10,001- More than
10 or fewer 11-100 101-500 501-1,000
5,000 10,000 50,000 50,000
No divisions $86,862106 $79,798226 $90,022236 $94,32763 $102,91576 $100,38026 $109,62430 $100,9759
respondent’s division
10 or fewer 75,025140 76,986114 81,83652 93,96362 84,26825 81,32027 76,09213

employees in
11 to 100 84,033195 85,268231 85,118108 93,894207 99,331103 93,364109 83,18686

Number of
101 to 500 86,705246 81,587140 90,088250 91,509148 94,737206 93,714111

501 to 1,000 100,89044 96,113121
93,128 87
100,089106
101,11575
1,001 to 5,000 108,20977
109,489 106
101,796215
113,934117
5,001 to 10,000 126,2297 104,76982 110,83576
More than 10,000 129,44043 122,040137
Salary by organization and division size

1,001- 5,001- 10,001- More than
10 or fewer 11-100 101-500 501-1,000
5,000 10,000 50,000 50,000
No divisions $92,3565 $69,51316 $88,28222 $114,2574 $113,8863 — $106,8302 $75,3232
respondent’s division
10 or fewer 61,12614 80,49920 73,5014 104,6973 n=1 86,6463 n=1

employees in
11 to 100 86,20316 79,52721 60,0598 76,78418 $87,8778 86,75212 91,1638

Number of
101 to 500 69,21117 75,54910 92,49622 103,65211 99,20818 92,14312

501 to 1,000 n=1 96,47114 96,7875 93,0464 98,1133
1,001 to 5,000 112,0002 148,67610 106,74717 91,0597
5,001 to 10,000 90,0922 n=1 71,1382
More than 10,000 84,9722 n=1
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote the number of respondents.

respondents said their organization
had added employees within the
last two years.
Salary by organization size and job title / TABLE 4
1,001- 5,001- 10,001- More than

10 or fewer 11-100 101-500 501-1,000
5,000 10,000 50,000 50,000
United States
Analyst $61,3502 $61,98614 $68,38427 $71,64014 $72,66926 $77,31016 $74,57022 $69,49729
Associate 64,3333 63,2006 61,1138 61,0006 56,4977 53,9506 65,9409 63,12211
Auditor 70,6006 60,07811 74,20934 65,37118 73,08626 80,52120 88,50337 88,52421
Black Belt — 98,0004 103,4005 83,56114 92,32622 106,38715 100,60727 115,06814
Calibration technician n=1 n=1 51,0002 55,2405 48,0914 67,5554 53,9005 49,6396
Champion — 90,0002 — n=1 n=1 n=1 96,0002 110,0002
Consultant 110,5006 130,68914 130,8618 91,6604 132,64615 113,59012 110,73516 118,73621
Coordinator 47,3333 46,54211 52,70929 54,89513 64,20715 60,89219 68,26715 67,77614
Director 114,68211 116,05570 116,469107 124,75254 134,05587 139,30945 152,84065 157,30940
Educator/instructor — 78,3333 79,2504 117,9576 97,1258 n=1 123,2475 n=1
Green Belt — 68,7504 51,6165 90,5002 91,5746 73,5273 86,7867 90,0689
Inspector 51,0003 47,15217 50,96723 53,4805 52,8527 48,9688 52,3719 62,9388
Manager 86,32235 77,820245 88,060278 93,926112 99,629232 106,347130 106,500231 117,701172
Master Black Belt n=1 n=1 145,0001 111,6934 126,98615 124,4297 124,80618 125,1568
Other 46,0002 60,9698 73,57311 61,7028 80,15911 95,4577 97,0667 96,43514
74,7822 73,65512 75,37010 84,74210 86,34024 95,4756 90,64034 91,13027
project engineer
Quality engineer 91,16313 71,92869 75,288126 77,46156 81,894121 87,441110 86,562170 96,976134
Reliability/safety engineer — — 105,9745 n=1 102,66513 110,21010 116,90812 116,75020
Software quality engineer n=1 92,8754 90,3758 n=1 114,1949 113,2956 106,4567 112,98211
Specialist 44,8097 59,43027 62,70350 65,34822 72,50141 64,06924 78,74061 85,72642
Statistician — 151,4723 — 118,0004 132,8005 142,9417 155,7673 140,8127
Supervisor — 66,75920 62,50535 62,52914 70,71234 78,18416 77,68329 85,73116
n=1 84,7147 77,93112 84,0899 90,39929 97,93315 92,69932 94,94026
professional
Technician — 44,53823 45,10819 43,04824 47,23934 51,60527 54,86030 55,99629
Vice president/executive 124,5569 156,00026 164,48842 140,65911 177,78726 175,35317 197,26217 216,00010
Canada
Analyst n=1 — $60,3893 — $75,2893 n=1 $73,7143 —
Associate — n=1 52,5133 — n=1 — n=1 —
Auditor — $86,1542 56,3205 n=1 112,0002 $100,4302 n=1 n=1
Consultant — n=1 108,3072 — n=1 — — n=1
Coordinator n=1 41,4524 57,9286 $58,8312 69,6614 72,8612 n=1 $67,6922
Director — 93,7026 115,1999 131,8922 130,2963 146,2152 128,96510 113,2302
Green Belt — 45,7842 n=1 — — — n=1 —
Inspector — n=1 n=1 48,3352 — — n=1 78,7692
Manager $79,2612 81,36218 86,83427 101,2747 98,75014 114,20712 104,11618 97,21216
Other — — n=1 n=1 102,7283 118,1532 n=1 —
— 66,4622 — n=1 103,5074 — — n=1
project engineer
Quality engineer — n=1 70,4833
59,503 3
87,305 10
113,230 2
86,015 5
71,1384
Reliability/safety engineer — — — — — n=1 88,6152 —
Software quality engineer — — — — — 69,9082 — n=1
Specialist — — 68,6228 80,0254 72,6428 92,9197 106,2227 n=1
Supervisor — n=1 60,6603 n=1 86,9982 n=1 64,4924 —
— — 88,8612 — 63,2622 — 93,5382 78,7402
professional
Technician — 34,7575 48,1485 59,0772 n=1 n=1 n=1 68,4312
Vice president/executive n=1 — 144,2452 — n=1 n=1 n=1 —
Salary by division size and job title / TABLE 5
No 10 or 1,001- 5,001- More than

11-100 101-500 501-1,000
divisions fewer 5,000 10,000 10,000
United States
Analyst $67,55717 $61,92626 $70,48842 $76,69623 $71,67213 $72,39811 $91,1266 $93,2114
Associate 66,0157 58,1899 63,27714 62,56711 53,6235 54,5347 — —
Auditor 69,40433 76,94018 76,73644 76,64432 80,38014 83,33225 76,0005 88,3333
Black Belt 102,5115 89,24114 95,45023 96,24723 101,79212 108,94714 106,4115 115,7147
Calibration technician 40,0002 48,3863 58,9489 54,8408 43,5433 n=1 n=1 —
Champion — n=1 85,6673 91,6673 — — n=1 n=1
Consultant 121,30010 117,68517 117,99130 109,46315 135,1268 112,7008 112,8222 126,7458
Coordinator 53,74621 50,43718 56,95831 61,20928 57,18715 77,1717 49,2902 86,1254
Director 119,529112 113,68042 122,088100 125,60882 139,21242 147,97062 180,58312 174,18820
Educator/instructor 135,0003 83,6437 113,14810 98,1258 — n=1 — —
Green Belt — 75,10511 83,83011 71,4388 n=1 116,3333 n=1 —
Inspector 50,44623 53,40010 43,07618 55,67022 54,9085 56,7673 n=1 —
Manager 85,659281 82,34195 89,655336 96,601341 109,167100 110,339146 119,34552 126,17858
Master Black Belt 127,8758 n=1 127,3219 122,69213 131,8899 122,3038 121,6673 129,3333
Other 61,34610 63,55714 82,06724 79,85813 75,0586 120,6673 n=1 123,0003
74,5079 68,83312 85,10734 83,12030 99,26015 93,55917 97,7638 83,3333
project engineer
Reliability/safety engineer 90,3684 110,9005 104,4448 113,69111 122,2005 118,92914 112,3333 114,4297
Software quality engineer 119,4176 n=1 98,59714 102,31714 101,8905 117,5743 103,9754 111,5002
Specialist 58,74038 64,72540 63,66756 71,18566 79,00525 78,00325 87,37914 91,9297
Statistician 141,1835 n=1 n=1 143,4007 127,6953 123,0836 116,0002 171,2283
Supervisor 67,72923 68,99218 68,71947 71,80339 79,31416 84,58513 83,9005 79,3333
86,1867 92,1852 81,82026 87,78533 93,59625 89,50524 108,3333 119,1449
professional
Technician 40,88714 47,19925 48,79357 49,17656 52,94628 53,4049 53,8554 n=1
Vice president/executive 159,85645 139,25014 189,52232 155,70824 134,1258 179,47724 229,3333 219,2506
Canada
Analyst n=1 $78,7693 $51,3313 — $78,2762 n=1 — n=1
Associate — 55,6312 34,8562 $58,5842 — — — —
Auditor — 60,3893 80,5415 47,2622 65,4772 $102,5643 n=1 —
Black Belt $109,7073 — 76,8002 — — — — —
Coordinator 52,6116 56,2215 61,9653 66,3635 n=1 n=1 $70,1542 —
Director 117,16011 n=1 110,4735 132,3315 124,7173 125,1349 — —
Green Belt n=1 70,1832 n=1 — — — — —
Inspector n=1 — 54,6904 59,9173 — — — —
Manager 82,34218 96,29513 89,80734 101,90430 114,9538 110,3729 n=1 n=1
Other — 83,6923 76,3072 n=1 119,1382 — n=1 —
n=1 n=1 85,0053 114,4612 n=1 — — —
project engineer
Quality engineer 73,233 2
— 69,738 7
83,961 15
78,129 2
91,963 3
— n=1
Software quality engineer — — — n=1 93,5382 — — —
Specialist 70,8923 66,6314 71,9019 90,94114 63,7542 148,2692 — n=1
Supervisor n=1 n=1 55,3414 71,8074 n=1 78,7692 — —
88,8612 — n=1 63,2622 n=1 76,3082 — —
professional
Technician 42,666 3
44,406 5
54,646 5
57,436 3
— — — —
Vice president/executive 185,5992 n=1 n=1 n=1 — n=1 — —
QP
2016
Section 12. Salary by Organizational Quality Infrastructure
SALARY
SURVEY
Infrastructure Influences
S
Starting in 2014, QP has focused part of its salary sur-
vey on variables other than salary. Since then, each
Salary by percentage of job
survey report has included a section on how our re- descriptions mentioning
spondents’ employers foster a culture of quality and quality / TABLE 1
how culture and other matters affect employee sat-
isfaction. Percentage of job
Percentage of Average
descriptions
As we continue to analyze the data over the years, respondents salary
including quality
it’s becoming clear the survey respondents are far
None 2.2% $91,520
more likely to be happy if they work for organizations
0.1-25% 42.2 92,040
that truly value quality. This year, those matters are United
25.1-50% 16.5 92,453
covered in more detail in section 26. States
One measurement of whether an organization val- 50.1-75% 15.8 89,560
ues quality is whether it makes its employees—not 75.1-100% 23.3 92,688

just members of its quality departments but all its None 2.4 66,622
employees—responsible for quality. An organization 0.1-25% 41.8 68,084
that cares about quality is likely to include some men- Canada 25.1-50% 14.8 69,340
tion of quality in every job description throughout the 50.1-75% 16.2 71,641
organization. 75.1-100% 24.8 62,803
One question included in the QP Salary Survey is:
“In your organization, how many people do you think Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time
employees, x U.S. employees,
have quality responsibilities stated in their job de-
scriptions?” The answers are shown in Table 1, along
with the percentage of respondents in the United
States and Canada, respectively, who selected a par-
ticular percentage range and the average salary for
those respondents. There doesn’t seem to be a dis-
cernable pattern to the results: In the United States,
the percentage of employees with quality in their job ment—84.7% in the United States and 81.4% in Can-
descriptions seems to have no effect on salary. ada—and they typically earn less than those respon-
Organization and division size can influence how dents who aren’t. As Table 4 (p. 71) shows, the U.S.
many employees are in a quality department. As the respondents who are part of quality departments earn
size of an organization increases, so does the number an average of $11,480 less than those respondents
of employees in the quality department (Table 2, p. who aren’t in a quality department. Similarly, the Ca-
70). Similarly, the larger the division, the larger the nadian respondents who are in a quality department
size of the quality department (Table 3, p. 70). earn an average of $3,875 less than their counterparts
Most respondents are part of a quality depart- who aren’t (see Table 5, p. 71).
Quality department by organization size / TABLE 2
Number of employees in quality department

1-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 More than 50
10 or fewer 74
Number of employees
11-100 524 43

101-500 558 184 50 20 10 7
worldwide
501-1,000 193 108 41 8 10 17

1,001-5,000 308 172 78 54 27 82
5,001-10,000 182 113 51 27 17 68
10,001-50,000 258 179 92 45 12 159
More than 50,000 166 126 70 29 32 152

Quality department by division size / TABLE 3
Number of employees in quality department

1- 9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 More than 50
No divisions 516 115 45 22 8 31
Number of employees
10 or fewer 348
11-100 578 212 58 32 21 52
in division
101-500 536 293 110 35 26 89

501-1,000 115 99 56 30 25 62
1,001-5,000 136 105 58 37 16 114
5,001-10,000 32 31 25 8 3 41
More than 10,000 26 23 15 10 8 74


respondents are part of a quality
department, and these on
average earn $11,480 less than
those respondents who aren’t in a
quality department.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary of U.S. respondents Salary of Canadian

who are part of a quality respondents who are part of
department / TABLE 4 a quality department / TABLE 5
Part of a Not a part of a Part of a quality Not a part of a
quality department quality department department quality department
Average Average Average Average
Percentage Percentage Percentage Percentage
salary salary salary salary
All respondents 84.7% $90,022 15.3% $101,502 All respondents 81.4% $86,289 18.6% $90,164
Analyst 73.1 66,968 26.9 77,523 Analyst 50 62,588 50 74,272
Associate 73.5 59,834 26.5 58,655 Associate 83.3 53,957 16.7 28,357
Auditor 96 76,018 4 103,663 Auditor 100 76,400 — —
Black Belt 63 95,436 37 104,146 Black Belt 80 95,015 20 102,661
Calibration Calibration
79.3 51,546 20.7 58,193 50 71,680 50 57,344
technician technician
Champion 44.4 90,250 55.6 92,200 Consultant 60 89,723 40 106,338
Consultant 51 113,013 49 124,350 Coordinator 87.5 62,434 12.5 63,934
Coordinator 94 57,881 6 67,175 Director 79.4 119,021 20.6 121,234
Director 87.3 129,301 12.7 140,300 Educator/
— — 100 177,230
Educator/ instructor
23.3 98,786 76.7 104,017
instructor Green Belt 75 60,901 25 49,230
Green Belt 50 77,343 50 83,615 Inspector 100 56,919 — —
Inspector 97 49,883 3 41,000 Manager 87.9 96,526 12.1 91,090
Manager 89.9 95,187 10.1 107,343 Master Black
— — 100 177,230
Master Black Belt
57.9 123,516 42.1 127,261
Belt Other 55.6 90,978 44.4 86,153
Other 58.5 71,987 41.5 86,119 Process/
Process/ manufacturing/ 25 112,492 75 80,082
manufacturing/ 34.1 80,600 65.9 89,364 project engineer
project engineer Quality engineer 93.8 74,323 6.3 154,092
Quality engineer 96.6 83,986 3.4 87,271 Reliability/safety
66.7 123,077 33.3 98,461
45.3 113,212 54.7 111,115
engineer Software quality
100 84,348 — —
75.5 103,456 24.5 112,609
engineer Specialist 78.9 82,393 21.1 82,012
Specialist 86.3 68,329 13.7 81,912 Statistician — — 100 132,922
Statistician 34.4 110,364 65.6 144,047 Supervisor 76.9 63,265 23.1 70,892
Supervisor 90.2 70,012 9.8 80,517 Supplier quality
Supplier quality engineer/ 100 81,100 — —
engineer/ 88.7 91,264 11.3 88,211 professional
professional Technician 72.2 51,503 27.8 37,415
Technician 88.9 48,646 11.1 52,662 Vice president/
83.3 172,405 16.7 147,691
Vice president/ executive
86.3 172,703 13.7 146,768
executive
Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, U.S. employees,
Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, International employees
Canadian employees, International employees Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
Section 13. Salary by Extent of Quality Responsibilities
What’s In a
Job Description?
S
Section 12 showed salary doesn’t seem to depend on respondents earning the lowest pay are the tiny group
how many people in your organization have quality du- with no quality responsibilities.
ties written into their job descriptions. Your own job This doesn’t appear true for Canadian respondents
description may be a different matter. (Figure 2). Because that bottom bar in the chart repre-
It’s very likely that if your work activities include sents fewer than 1% of respondents, however, it’s best
quality tasks along with other kinds of work, you earn a to consider it statistically insignificant.
bigger pay check than if quality work is all you do. This In both countries, most respondents are doing qual-
may be because quality is often considered best in orga- ity-related work more than 75% of the time. Section
nizations that don’t isolate it to special departments but 12 showed that being in a quality department doesn’t
mix it into the enterprise’s main activities. bring the best pay, but here we see that group (67% for
Each year, QP asks its salary survey respondents: U.S. respondents and 62.8% for Canadian respondents)
“To what extent does your job include quality-related doesn’t draw the highest pay. In the United States, the
duties?” In nearly all years, it seems the best salaries group with quality duties between 25 and 50% of their
are drawn by respondents who answer, “Less than workload earns the best salaries—averaging $102,067.
50%.” For more details about salaries by the extent of an
As Figure 1 shows for this year, it’s also important individual’s quality duties, Table 1 (p. 74) shows U.S.
that quality plays some role in a respondent’s work, at salaries by this variable and job title. Table 2 (p. 75)
least in the United States. There, results show that the shows the same information for Canadian respondents.
Salary by extent of quality duties

Extent of quality duties
75.1-100% (67%) 88,851
50.1-75% (16.8%) 95,921
25.1-50% (8.7%) 102,067
0.1-25% (6.6%) 99,778
0% of duties are quality related (0.8%) 86,273
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by extent of quality duties

Extent of quality duties
75.1-100% (62.8%) 85,530
50.1-75% (19.5%) 86,858
25.1-50% (10.2%) 94,488
0.1-25% (7.2%) 93,582
0% of duties are quality related (0.3%) 105,353
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

Sign of the Times

How is quality perceived in your organization? Why?
“ High on the list—from the president on down. Back in 2004

when I first started here, many managers thought delivery was
the No. 1 concern of our customers. A customer survey easily
showed quality was their No. 1 concern. Annual customer
surveys continue to stress that over and above price and
delivery.
” Gerry LeBlanc
quality engineering manager
EPTAM Plastics Ltd.
Northfield, NH.
Salary by extent of quality duties and job title
for U.S. respondents / TABLE 1
0.1-25% 25.1-50% 50.1-75% 75.1-100%
No duties are
of duties are of duties are of duties are of duties are
quality related
quality related quality related quality related quality related
1.8% 13.2% 12.6% 19.8% 52.7%
Analyst
$52,833 $77,654 $72,083 $73,057 $66,786
3.1 12.5 7.8 14.1 62.5
Associate
43,200 66,761 70,800 69,644 56,068
— 2.6 5.2 10.4 81.9
Auditor
— 71,240 77,610 75,729 77,564
1.9 15 22.4 17.8 43
Black Belt
96,500 101,600 94,925 100,373 98,883
Calibration — 17.9 7.1 14.3 60.7
technician — 56,231 62,500 61,480 48,979
— 22.2 22.2 22.2 33.3
Champion
— 108,000 81,000 79,000 95,333
2 21 16 21 40
Consultant
100,000 111,060 123,181 130,928 116,914
0.8 5.3 5.3 19.8 68.7
Coordinator
50,750 64,143 67,257 59,269 56,471
— 6.6 11.1 18.7 63.6
Director
— 134,302 143,597 129,019 128,772
10 26.7 16.7 13.3 33.3
Educator/instructor
75,667 112,217 121,800 108,436 91,641
2.6 18.4 15.8 31.6 31.6
Green Belt
120,000 63,695 93,263 76,856 84,208
2 1 2 7 88
Inspector
28,000 42,000 35,260 63,271 49,421
0.5 4.4 7.3 16.3 71.6
Manager
123,129 101,028 105,065 97,252 94,927
— 14.5 12.7 23.6 49.1
Master Black Belt
— 125,750 111,714 119,654 131,919
3.7 32.1 12.3 12.3 39.5
Other
92,500 75,419 88,025 92,800 70,524
Process/ 4.4 27.9 32.4 16.9 18.4
manufacturing/
project engineer 90,200 86,387 83,770 94,696 80,980
0.1 0.8 3.7 17.4 78.1
Quality engineer
67,000 80,571 76,675 84,654 84,460
Reliability/safety 4.7 10.9 17.2 29.7 37.5
engineer 117,667 87,071 112,645 116,177 115,133
Software quality — 7.7 11.5 9.6 71.2
engineer — 119,863 98,644 86,931 107,465
1.3 5.3 7.9 10.9 74.7
Specialist
79,125 70,092 78,619 77,538 68,411
— 48.4 3.2 19.4 29
Statistician
— 149,967 160,300 93,750 135,409
0.6 4 5.7 18.2 71.6
Supervisor
91,000 70,266 73,238 74,298 70,378 Table 2 includes
Supplier quality — 1.4 5.6 15.5 77.5 results for:
engineer/professional — 95,000 91,496 90,147 91,135 x Full-time employees,
0.5 1.4 6.1 15.9 76.2
Technician x U.S. employees,
35,000 46,833 55,873 53,445 47,850 Canadian employees,
Vice president/ 0.6 10 17.5 26.3 45.6 International
executive 75,000 179,622 168,089 162,893 171,749 employees
QP
2016
SALARY
Salary by extent of quality duties and job title SURVEY
0.1% to 25% of 25.1% to 50% 50.1% to 75% 75.1% to 100%
No duties are
duties are of duties are of duties are of duties are
quality related
quality related quality related quality related quality related
— — 16.7% 25% 58.3%
Analyst
— — $47,754 $86,842 $66,447
— 16.7% — — 83.3
Associate
— $28,357 — — 53,957
— — — 12.5 87.5
Auditor
— — — 38,892 81,758
— — 20 20 60
Black Belt
— — 123,076 102,661 85,661
Calibration — — — — 100
technician — — — — 64,512
— 40 — — 60
Consultant
— 101,415 — — 93,005
— 8.3 8.3 16.7 66.7
Coordinator
— 60,308 68,923 64,689 61,606
2.9% 5.9 14.7 26.5 50
Director
$105,353 121,599 129,753 121,216 116,115
— 50 — 50 —
Educator/instructor
— 236,306 — 118,153 —
— — 25 25 50
Green Belt
— — 49,230 68,923 56,890
— — 11.1 — 88.9
Inspector
— — 68,923 — 56,380
— 8.5 9.4 17.1 65
Manager
— 89,885 90,589 92,322 98,453
— — 100 — —
Master Black Belt
— — 177,230 — —
— 11.1 11.1 22.2 55.6
Other
— 49,230 101,415 102,400 88,812
Process/ — — 25 37.5 37.5
manufacturing/
project engineer — — 82,215 73,846 106,502
— — 3.1 31.3 65.6
Quality engineer
— — 56,910 77,002 81,474
Reliability/safety — — 66.7 — 33.3
engineer — — 132,923 — 78,769
Software quality — — — 33.3 66.7
engineer — — — 65,969 93,538
— — 13.5 18.9 67.6
Specialist
— — 93,323 83,850 79,665
— 100 — — —
Statistician
— 132,922 — — — Table 3 includes
— 15.4 — 38.5 46.2 results for:
Supervisor x Full-time employees,
— 80,738 — 61,950 62,351
Supplier quality — — — — 100
U.S. employees,
engineer/professional — — — — 81,100 x Canadian employees,
— 17.6 11.8 11.8 58.8 International
Technician
— 33,805 45,292 46,523 54,695 employees
Vice president/ — 33.3 16.7 33.3 16.7 Salaries are noted in
executive — 175,753 147,691 132,184 246,152 Canadian dollars.
Section 14. Salary by U.S. and Canadian Areas
Location, Location,
Location
I
In New England, quality professionals who responded (and territory—that is, Puerto Rico) sorted from highest
to this year’s QP Salary Survey are paid an average of (Washington, D.C., at $120,392) to lowest (Wyoming at
$103,014, which is 12.4% higher than the average for the $66,932).
entire United States. Tables 2 (U.S. respondents, p. 79) and 3 (Canadian
Figure 1 shows these differentials for all regions in the respondents, p. 80) break down regional and provincial
United States, and Figure 2 shows the differentials for Ca- salaries by job title. Table 4 (p. 81) provides extra detail
nadian provinces. for salaries by states.
Most of the jobs in the New England region are in Mas- Table 5 (p. 82) goes into even more detail, breaking
sachusetts, where the cost of living index (COLI), shown in down responses by state and job title. Table 6 (p. 91)
Figure 3 (p. 78), is 146.7. The COLI is based on a national looks at job titles within the major U.S. metropolitan ar-
average of 100, so that the COLI in Massachusetts of 146.7 eas. These metro areas are presented within their regions.
means that cost of living is 46.7% higher there than the aver- The regions, from west to east, are:
age for the rest of the country. There, the average ($106,469) • Pacific.
is 16.2% higher than the national average salary of $91,659. • Mountain.
This hardly makes up for that higher cost of living. • West North Central.
The other piece of information provided with each • West South Central.
state and province in Figures 1 and 2 is the percentage of • East North Central.
respondents working in that particular state or province. • East South Central.
Table 1 shows the average salaries for the states • New England.
Comparison of salaries in U.S. regions / FIGURE 1
New England 12.4% ($103,014)
Pacific 11.1% (101,853)
West South Central 4.2% ($95,521)
Middle Atlantic 2.1% ($93,621) National average

South Atlantic 1.7% ($93,181) salary of $91,659
Mountain −2.5% ($89,353)
East North Central −7% ($85,233)
West North Central −8% ($84,308)
East South Central −8.3% ($84,074)
−9 −6 −3 0 3 6 9 12
Percentage difference from the national
average salary (region’s average salary)

QP
2016
SALARY
• Middle Atlantic. has been assigned to a region based on the location SURVEY
• South Atlantic. of the city that provides the name for the metro area.
Within each region, the metro areas are listed al- Thus, all of the New York City metro area is treated
phabetically. If you’re uncertain of a region’s composi- as part of the Middle Atlantic region, even though a
tion, see Figure 3, where the map is color-coded by re- portion of it spills into Connecticut, which is part of
gion. Some metro areas span two or more regions. For New England.
example, the St. Louis metro area contains several cit- Table 7 (p. 102) shows salaries by job title in Cana-
ies and suburbs in Illinois. In such cases, a metro area dian metro areas.
Comparison of salaries in Canadian provinces / FIGURE 2

Alberta 21.9 ($105,950)
Quebec 7.6 ($93,503)
Saskatchewan 6.3 ($92,357)
British Columbia −2.2 ($84,980)

National average
Manitoba −5 ($82,607) salary of $86,923
Ontario −5.2 ($82,400)
Prince Edward Island −14.8 ($74,045)
Nova Scotia −15.5 ($73,438)
New Brunswick −33.7 ($57,651)
−40 −30 −20 −10 0 10 20 30

Percentage difference from the national
average salary (province’s average salary)

States and territory ranked by average salary / TABLE 1
Washington, D.C. $120,392 Virginia $95,605 Maine $88,849 Montana $81,267

New Mexico 109,901 Illinois 94,650 Minnesota 88,218 Missouri 80,972
Massachusetts 106,469 Colorado 94,144 Tennessee 85,666 Nevada 80,270
Maryland 105,653 West Virginia 93,108 South Carolina 85,645 Hawaii 80,143
California 104,753 North Carolina 91,910 Alabama 85,461 North Dakota 79,448
Connecticut 104,116 New York 91,810 Indiana 84,687 Wisconsin 78,752
New Jersey 102,387 Alaska 91,667 Michigan 84,391 Idaho 78,190
Delaware 100,800 Georgia 91,461 Ohio 83,251 Mississippi 75,823
Washington 100,531 New Hampshire 91,237 Kentucky 82,759 Nebraska 75,432
Rhode Island 100,297 Florida 91,221 Oregon 82,662 Arkansas 70,218
Texas 99,348 Pennsylvania 90,918 Oklahoma 82,599 Puerto Rico 69,998
Vermont 98,524 Arizona 89,532 Utah 82,142 South Dakota 69,504
Louisiana 97,676 Kansas 89,438 Iowa 81,846 Wyoming 66,932
Percentage of respondents and cost of living
by state and territory / FIGURE 3
Regions
Pacific East South Central
Alaska
0.1% Mountain South Atlantic
132.8 West North Central Middle Atlantic
East North Central New England
West South Central
Washington New Hampshire

1.8% 0.9% 117.4 Maine
Montana North Dakota Vermont
108.6 Minnesota 0.1%
0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 124.1
4.1% 111.3
Oregon 101.6 97.4
99.3
1.1% Idaho South Dakota New
Wisconsin
130.6 0.3% 0.2% Michigan York MA 4.1% 146.7
5%
92.5 Wyoming 101.3 5.2% 3% 135.4 RI 0.4% 121.2
Iowa 98.5
0.1% 91.4
Nebraska 1.7% Pennsylvania
Nevada 92 Indiana Ohio Connecticut 1.4% 131.8
0.6% 91.6 Illinois 4.4% 103.2
0.4% 3% 4.9% New Jersey 2% 120.3
Utah 90.8 5.2%
105.8 Colorado 87.4 92.8 WV Delaware 0.2% 102.4
1.4% Kansas 96.2
2.2% Missouri 0.2% Virginia D.C. 0.4% 146.8
California 93.1 0.8%
104.5 2.2% Kentucky 97.8 2.6% 99.9 Maryland 1.9% 124.3
9.4% 90.2
91 1.5% 90.3
136.2 North Carolina
Arizona Oklahoma Tennessee 3.6% 93.8
New Mexico Arkansas 2.3% 89.5
1.7% 1%
0.5% 0.5% South Carolina
97.8 87.9 Alabama
94.5 89 MS 1.1% Georgia 1.8%
0.4% 89.4 2.4% 100.6
Texas
85.3 91.0
6.4% Louisiana
91 0.6%
94 Florida
3.6%
Hawaii 99.1
0.1%
192.8 Puerto Rico
0.6%
89.6

x Full-time employees,
x Part‑time employees,
x U.S. employees,
Canadian employees,
Note: Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding. Total U.S. full-time
employees naming a primary state: 5,090.
Source: Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, http://www.
missourieconomy.org/indicators/cost_of_living/.
Cost-of-living figures are for Q1, 2016.
Puerto Rico: The COLI for Puerto Rico was obtained from
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Puerto+Rico
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by U.S. region and job title / TABLE 2
West West East East

South Middle New
Pacific Mountain North South North South
Atlantic Atlantic England
Central Central Central Central
All respondents $101,853626 $89,353338 $84,308485 $95,521422 $85,2331,156 $84,074268 $93,181856 $93,621465 $103,014357
Analyst 68,020 25
67,662 13
70,676 12
69,951 13
67,571 30
67,313 8
71,772 39
70,271 13
79,8797
Associate 64,9336 76,1002 60,5582 59,7506 55,03614 49,8285 63,52512 61,1468 59,6175
Auditor 80,808 20
71,644 10
75,463 25
68,420 15
80,900 35
64,586 12
75,018 46
89,922 18
65,2504
Black Belt 109,43611 84,4933 90,61513 105,9519 94,41827 80,6256 102,53624 117,2502 101,7818
Calibration
44,9355 58,5292 48,0003 n=1 39,9815 67,5002 72,4304 67,0001 49,3673
technician
Champion — 86,0001 83,0001 n=1 n=1 n=1 n=1 78,3333 —
Consultant 121,795 18
121,455 5
113,450 12
131,000 11
125,953 14
105,400 5
106,455 21
144,167 6
102,0694
Coordinator 61,80711 63,3899 58,27715 55,37911 54,58236 58,3676 57,56525 58,49111 81,6673
Director 140,759 59
127,279 29
118,960 37
128,540 45
128,021 98
122,364 22
130,347 87
133,572 45
146,52736
Educator/
93,3333 142,2453 61,8333 — 97,1258 n=1 93,5828 — n=1
instructor
Green Belt 83,3845 97,5002 80,4823 78,2385 75,1119 n=1 48,8873 72,0003 109,0004
Inspector 55,829 20
50,568 10
50,244 9
41,000 5
49,657 21
40,333 3
51,227 9
42,647 11
50,9035
Manager 107,901164 92,04399 92,329117 95,382149 90,265325 89,14786 99,871224 95,287138 106,204110
Master Black Belt 129,989 5
103,040 3
121,000 3
128,143 7
125,841 11
114,333 3
133,400 15
123,000 3
—
Other 78,108 9
71,167 6
84,667 3
68,667 6
72,700 14
70,538 4
80,957 16
98,721 11
59,7147
Process/
manufacturing/ 91,56316 89,25911 85,46316 106,7229 88,09534 82,0217 76,35121 74,95511 85,5756
project engineer
Quality engineer 94,579112 83,10455 79,001104 88,97250 77,053212 81,62040 85,758114 82,24477 89,58875
Reliability/safety
121,51315 113,8333 97,6437 121,9068 96,5318 119,2362 126,2867 124,6673 98,6437
engineer
Software quality
121,50112 108,0254 87,8754 n=1 99,67110 83,5002 118,7008 102,5507 —
engineer
Specialist 81,01333 72,39120 72,87034 67,96921 68,72855 53,99218 69,37762 74,76728 72,84219
Statistician 168,8754 184,5002 111,5002 84,5002 n=1 — 122,22611 167,2005 116,6673
Supervisor 69,530 23
72,314 14
76,979 14
74,868 16
69,043 46
79,377 8
69,463 24
71,951 13
73,6919
Supplier quality
engineer/ 95,5758 92,8749 86,5569 95,1766 90,00737 85,8758 86,85423 94,53018 103,23115
professional
Technician 56,17818 46,55416 49,65331 45,46611 46,38974 39,2439 51,90428 54,54216 52,5007
Vice president/
188,49024 202,2517 163,0006 183,67614 149,79031 126,7789 161,42524 177,07114 192,84219
executive
Salary by Canadian province and job title / TABLE 3
Prince
British New Nova
Alberta Manitoba Ontario Edward Quebec Saskatchewan
Columbia Brunswick Scotia
Island
All respondents $105,95047 $84,98049 $82,60711 $57,6512 $73,4387 $82,400175 $74,0454 $93,50343 $92,35717
Analyst n=1 67,742 2
— n=1 — 58,092 4
— n=1 n=1
Associate — — — — — 48,1974 — n=1 —
Auditor 121,927 3
69,251 3
— — — 59,569 6
— 72,861 4
—
Black Belt n=1 — — — — 76,8002 — — n=1
Consultant 97,1702 — — — — 87,1382 — n=1 —
Coordinator 70,769 4
66,232 3
n=1 — — 59,175 11
— n=1 66,2973
Director — 112,861 8
n=1 — n=1 119,538 17
n=1 123,404 6
—
Green Belt — — — — — 63,198 3
n=1 — —
Inspector — n=1 — — — 55,0727 — — n=1
Manager 118,12816 91,36616 93,3746 n=1 97,9692 92,37050 — 91,95015 101,1305
Other n=1 n=1 — — — 97,1483 — — n=1
Process/
manufacturing/ — 95,3433 n=1 — — 85,0053 n=1 n=1 —
project engineer
Quality engineer 85,7453 57,8464 n=1 — — 83,04921 — n=1 —
Reliability/safety
n=1 — — — — — — 88,6152 —
engineer
Specialist 120,5587 86,6462 — — 57,1403 74,15118 — 71,6805 81,7232
Supervisor 64,0003 — n=1 — — 62,6408 — n=1 —
Supplier quality
engineer/ — 80,5743 — — — 68,1852 — 90,2373 —
professional
Technician n=1 60,5542 — — n=1 45,2379 n=1 — n=1
Vice president/
n=1 — — — — 193,4762 — n=1 n=1
executive
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote the number of respondents.
QP
2016
Salary details by U.S. states and territory / TABLE 4
SALARY
Minimum Maximum
Standard
deviation
Count Mean Median SURVEY
Alabama $32,000 $150,000 $29,131 57 $85,461 $85,000
Alaska 70,000 120,000 25,658 3 91,667 85,000
Arizona 32,679 315,255 41,425 87 89,532 82,000
Arkansas 32,000 130,000 30,757 26 70,218 60,400
California 27,000 290,000 42,534 469 104,753 100,000
Colorado 28,000 280,500 41,972 107 94,144 85,000
Connecticut 37,000 200,000 34,482 67 104,116 102,000
Delaware 40,000 225,000 55,109 10 100,800 91,500
District of Columbia 63,000 230,000 38,174 20 120,392 114,320
Florida 30,000 300,000 40,970 179 91,221 85,000
Georgia 33,600 225,000 35,463 121 91,461 87,000
Hawaii 36,000 140,000 38,646 7 80,143 70,000
Idaho 42,000 140,000 26,042 16 78,190 74,500
Illinois 27,000 285,000 36,013 256 94,650 90,000
Indiana 28,000 235,000 35,924 148 84,687 81,000
Iowa 34,000 176,000 27,400 81 81,846 79,800
Kansas 30,000 210,000 36,944 41 89,438 89,445
Kentucky 29,000 177,000 31,997 75 82,759 78,000
Louisiana 28,000 340,000 51,842 32 97,676 89,688
Maine 49,000 129,445 32,015 7 88,849 90,000
Maryland 31,824 230,000 38,965 95 105,653 100,000
Massachusetts 24,048 300,000 43,170 202 106,469 97,000
Michigan 28,000 218,000 32,302 258 84,391 83,250
Minnesota 31,000 230,000 31,719 205 88,218 80,500
Mississippi 30,000 120,000 19,395 20 75,823 79,500
Missouri 27,000 165,000 29,050 110 80,972 79,000
Montana 37,000 155,000 42,760 6 81,267 73,700
Nebraska 42,000 108,000 18,284 28 75,432 76,250
Nevada 45,000 173,000 27,663 21 80,270 83,000
New Hampshire 24,000 200,000 34,309 47 91,237 88,000
New Jersey 28,080 230,000 41,721 98 102,387 93,750
New Mexico 42,000 199,000 40,524 25 109,901 110,000
New York 26,000 350,000 40,841 149 91,810 87,000
North Carolina 28,000 220,000 34,483 178 91,910 87,000
North Dakota 37,923 123,000 29,017 10 79,448 75,000
Ohio 35,000 300,000 34,386 242 83,251 77,000
Oklahoma 37,598 151,000 28,476 48 82,599 82,900
Oregon 35,000 192,000 31,383 55 82,662 83,000
Pennsylvania 30,000 252,000 37,945 218 90,918 86,000
Puerto Rico 33,000 134,000 27,760 28 69,998 70,000
Rhode Island 44,000 408,000 78,066 19 100,297 90,000
South Carolina 25,854 205,000 32,754 90 85,645 84,500
South Dakota 34,840 109,000 24,655 10 69,504 67,000
Tennessee 27,000 205,000 33,938 116 85,666 82,000
Texas 32,690 569,959 48,923 316 99,348 90,000
Utah 28,000 216,734 33,168 71 82,142 80,000
Vermont 51,300 137,000 24,443 15 98,524 101,000
Virginia 35,096 185,000 33,524 127 95,605 93,000
Washington 38,188 220,000 39,053 92 100,531 96,750
West Virginia 44,000 150,000 41,455 8 93,108 91,430
Wisconsin 29,120 220,000 29,944 252 78,752 75,000
Wyoming 45,660 90,000 17,510 5 66,932 70,000

Salary for job title by U.S. states and
territory / TABLE 5 (CONTINUED
Standard
deviation
Analyst $78,000 $85,000 $3,547 3 $81,167 $80,500
Associate 32,000 70,000 18,179 4 48,535 46,071
Director 99,000 150,000 24,088 4 132,250 140,000
Alabama
Manager 48,000 138,000 21,313 21 87,147 85,000
Technician 38,000 60,000 11,651 3 46,783 42,349
Analyst 56,150 89,000 13,013 6 70,534 70,350
Coordinator 37,500 72,800 18,787 3 51,433 44,000
Director 90,000 183,000 30,644 8 127,250 115,000
Inspector 32,679 89,000 25,177 4 52,420 44,000
Manager 42,000 175,000 33,996 26 94,142 85,941
Arizona Process/manufacturing/project engineer 50,000 88,000 20,033 3 72,667 80,000
Specialist 53,000 97,000 18,207 5 65,000 58,000
Technician 34,000 48,000 7,024 3 41,333 42,000
Manager 53,000 130,000 33,598 7 81,857 63,000
Arkansas
Analyst 36,400 149,000 24,274 20 68,900 68,500
Associate 60,000 63,000 1,500 4 61,250 61,000
Auditor 53,193 140,000 22,951 17 81,115 82,000
Black Belt 75,000 150,000 25,542 10 111,800 105,000
Consultant 27,000 220,000 52,709 10 124,700 127,000
Coordinator 45,000 88,000 16,519 7 61,971 58,800
Director 76,544 223,000 39,649 48 143,722 138,500
Green Belt 76,500 96,000 8,557 4 87,375 88,500
Inspector 28,000 95,000 21,799 15 57,753 54,481
Manager 55,000 183,000 28,713 116 111,310 111,850
California
Other 32,160 145,000 41,277 6 89,527 77,500
Specialist 45,000 143,500 25,842 25 83,440 85,000
Statistician 65,000 240,000 92,792 3 170,333 206,000
Supervisor 45,000 128,000 22,434 15 67,393 57,500
Technician 29,000 115,000 25,577 11 57,309 55,600
Analyst 50,000 88,400 17,760 4 76,350 83,500
Coordinator 49,000 109,200 30,104 3 79,400 80,000
Director 70,000 215,000 43,723 13 126,231 118,000
Manager 42,000 141,000 25,220 32 91,306 86,000
Other 28,000 120,000 37,959 4 69,250 64,500
Colorado Process/manufacturing/project engineer 70,000 128,000 23,889 6 94,333 91,500
Specialist 35,000 180,000 40,155 9 85,989 87,500
Supervisor 51,400 120,000 27,343 5 74,480 62,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
territory / TABLE 5 (CONTINUED)
Standard
deviation
Consultant $70,000 $135,200 $34,287 3 $108,733 $121,000
Director 74,880 182,000 28,851 12 131,740 123,000
Manager 63,000 170,000 24,549 21 102,765 103,000
Connecticut
Supervisor 47,000 76,000 15,308 3 64,333 70,000
Delaware Director 102,000 225,000 63,375 3 154,667 137,000
District of
Manager 100,000 175,000 28,953 5 126,600 119,000
Columbia
Analyst 41,000 80,000 17,819 5 60,834 65,000
Associate 55,000 58,000 1,528 3 56,667 57,000
Auditor 41,400 125,000 23,970 11 70,092 69,000
Black Belt 46,000 165,000 34,639 7 101,800 100,000
Consultant 63,000 157,000 29,275 8 111,776 113,000
Coordinator 37,500 76,000 17,399 4 51,125 45,500
Director 74,000 300,000 58,303 24 129,883 118,000
Inspector 32,240 65,000 15,622 4 50,560 52,500
Manager 42,700 200,000 32,337 31 92,543 91,317
Florida
Other 45,000 140,000 29,205 8 80,827 72,807
Specialist 30,000 89,000 18,953 10 62,522 62,859
Supervisor 30,000 83,000 20,846 6 60,167 60,000
Technician 38,000 101,000 22,188 7 53,571 45,000
Analyst 45,000 96,500 17,489 6 69,250 68,750
Auditor 52,000 95,000 16,502 5 71,400 75,000
Coordinator 47,500 86,000 20,499 4 65,375 64,000
Director 70,000 176,000 29,046 13 125,970 131,000
Manager 50,000 170,000 30,819 37 96,474 93,000
Georgia
Specialist 40,300 130,000 31,044 8 76,538 63,500
Supervisor 45,000 65,000 8,264 5 57,100 60,000
Technician 33,600 65,000 14,714 4 45,589 41,878
Manager 54,631 140,000 26,658 9 87,848 78,000
Idaho
Standard
deviation
Analyst $50,000 $89,954 $13,416 7 $66,361 $65,000
Auditor 48,500 160,000 35,164 12 88,883 81,000
Black Belt 90,000 140,000 14,772 10 107,518 105,000
Consultant 68,000 240,000 54,320 8 137,707 137,500
Director 85,000 195,000 30,336 25 132,294 131,750
Inspector 27,000 45,000 10,392 3 39,000 45,000
Manager 52,000 150,000 25,613 74 92,007 89,500
Other 62,300 114,000 19,943 6 91,050 92,000
Illinois Process/manufacturing/project engineer 75,000 110,000 12,534 6 95,500 97,000
Specialist 48,000 114,336 22,162 13 85,365 90,000
Supervisor 58,000 101,000 13,538 10 81,800 82,500
Technician 36,000 148,000 36,311 8 60,939 49,000
Analyst 80,000 90,000 5,774 3 83,333 80,000
Associate 34,476 65,000 15,295 3 49,159 48,000
Auditor 52,000 120,000 30,310 7 87,514 100,000
Black Belt 67,000 116,500 25,448 3 88,333 81,500
Coordinator 45,000 55,000 5,683 3 48,440 45,320
Director 80,000 148,300 24,445 10 111,730 112,500
Green Belt 50,000 104,000 27,875 3 73,000 65,000
Inspector 28,000 68,000 17,023 4 48,585 49,170
Indiana Manager 36,000 190,000 28,835 42 92,176 92,000
Specialist 38,000 85,000 19,449 6 58,556 53,418
Supervisor 45,000 62,000 6,245 5 52,500 51,500
Technician 32,760 60,000 7,497 11 40,654 40,250
Auditor 34,000 109,000 25,935 7 65,666 66,000
Black Belt 90,000 122,000 12,814 5 101,800 100,000
Consultant 93,000 107,000 7,371 3 101,333 104,000
Director 90,000 176,000 35,379 5 123,300 115,000
Iowa Manager 56,000 120,000 19,867 18 87,806 83,500
Technician 36,000 90,000 16,033 9 48,436 45,000
Analyst 51,022 105,000 28,259 3 73,174 63,500
Auditor 42,000 124,500 35,603 4 84,625 86,000
Director 85,000 140,000 27,839 3 110,000 105,000
Kansas Manager 55,000 132,000 23,546 11 89,809 95,000
Specialist 53,900 77,373 13,531 3 69,524 77,300
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Standard
deviation
Auditor $53,000 $78,000 $10,770 5 $63,000 $60,000
Director 76,000 133,000 20,055 8 100,750 102,000
Manager 55,000 163,000 26,336 23 89,772 84,425
Kentucky
Specialist 29,000 63,300 14,019 4 45,575 45,000
Supervisor 49,296 111,000 25,484 5 70,059 60,000
Technician 34,000 56,000 12,423 3 41,667 35,000
Director 63,000 150,000 30,504 6 98,391 91,672
Louisiana Manager 53,760 118,400 17,454 14 87,177 90,000
Analyst 57,221 127,000 23,899 8 91,245 97,500
Auditor 58,000 160,300 40,355 5 90,435 78,873
Director 70,000 227,000 45,219 12 132,050 136,000
Manager 57,200 148,000 25,963 32 109,125 113,500
Maryland
Specialist 31,824 85,000 20,656 7 62,261 68,000
Statistician 106,000 175,000 36,345 3 147,100 160,300
Analyst 68,000 98,000 12,911 5 83,200 80,000
Black Belt 60,000 150,000 32,491 7 101,750 97,000
Director 113,000 230,000 32,955 17 168,494 165,000
Green Belt 99,000 127,000 14,572 3 115,333 120,000
Manager 60,000 206,000 31,063 58 112,879 112,500
Other 51,000 84,000 15,928 5 64,800 57,000
Massachusetts Process/manufacturing/project engineer 63,000 100,000 13,814 5 82,340 80,000
Specialist 42,500 123,000 22,491 13 79,823 82,000
Supervisor 48,000 93,500 15,679 6 78,370 81,860
Analyst 40,000 125,538 30,155 8 68,692 61,000
Coordinator 30,000 75,000 15,557 7 48,003 42,000
Director 75,000 160,450 25,651 23 122,004 116,000
Inspector 38,000 71,400 16,978 3 56,467 60,000
Manager 48,000 210,000 25,218 70 92,969 91,000
Other 45,000 87,000 18,735 4 60,500 55,000
Michigan Process/manufacturing/project engineer 50,000 120,000 25,405 7 85,357 81,000
Specialist 30,000 95,000 25,890 7 68,329 79,000
Supervisor 34,500 122,700 27,349 17 73,512 64,000
Technician 28,000 88,438 12,623 23 43,909 44,000
Standard
deviation
Analyst $76,000 $86,000 $5,736 3 $79,377 $76,132
Auditor 56,000 127,500 26,200 6 84,417 82,000
Consultant 74,000 210,000 58,111 4 127,250 112,500
Coordinator 32,000 90,500 18,752 6 63,417 65,000
Director 60,000 220,000 35,104 14 131,500 127,500
Inspector 41,000 55,000 7,860 3 50,064 54,192
Manager 48,400 160,000 28,994 49 97,578 90,000
Minnesota
Specialist 31,000 110,000 20,930 16 74,694 78,250
Supervisor 48,000 114,000 31,479 6 85,450 91,100
Technician 41,500 70,000 9,421 14 53,864 53,040
Manager 70,000 95,000 10,231 4 83,000 83,500
Mississippi
Auditor 62,000 115,000 19,704 6 78,667 73,500
Black Belt 61,000 108,000 17,964 5 87,800 85,000
Consultant 103,800 123,600 9,290 4 110,350 107,000
Coordinator 27,000 81,400 22,066 6 54,000 52,250
Director 71,400 165,000 33,757 11 111,546 111,000
Missouri Inspector 40,000 80,000 21,362 3 55,667 47,000
Manager 45,000 140,000 30,454 23 93,639 98,000
Specialist 49,500 140,000 25,346 14 73,671 67,000
Supervisor 63,000 83,000 8,485 5 74,000 75,000
Technician 30,000 67,949 14,218 5 44,490 41,000
Manager 53,000 108,000 15,286 10 85,086 86,231
Nebraska
Manager 69,000 173,000 29,337 10 94,220 90,250
Nevada
Manager 48,000 120,000 21,302 17 91,181 95,000
New Hampshire
Specialist 52,000 80,000 14,012 3 65,667 65,000
Auditor 90,000 140,000 18,025 7 103,943 94,000
Coordinator 49,000 72,000 12,503 3 57,667 52,000
Director 75,000 204,000 35,040 14 132,643 130,000
Inspector 42,000 75,000 16,615 3 57,373 55,120
Manager 28,080 221,000 39,622 28 105,092 98,000
New Jersey
Specialist 65,000 94,000 11,261 6 77,327 74,500
Supervisor 34,000 133,000 35,711 5 79,396 79,982
Director 110,600 155,000 18,466 5 143,020 151,000
New Mexico Manager 58,000 165,000 44,395 4 105,250 99,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Standard
deviation
Associate $42,000 $87,000 $18,500 4 $63,250 $62,000
Auditor 46,000 70,000 12,490 3 56,000 52,000
Director 80,000 187,000 32,893 13 129,538 134,000
Manager 36,889 176,000 26,807 43 95,474 95,000
Other 33,280 195,000 59,008 6 82,380 63,000
New York Quality engineer 42,000 140,000 25,194 24 82,067 77,000
Specialist 33,870 110,000 23,406 14 70,751 69,439
Supervisor 45,800 96,500 25,372 3 71,767 73,000
Technician 38,000 74,838 15,456 4 53,335 50,250
Analyst 45,000 80,000 13,430 9 61,544 55,900
Auditor 34,000 102,000 23,174 8 70,625 70,000
Black Belt 89,733 142,000 16,586 7 110,519 108,200
Coordinator 38,000 66,000 11,876 7 54,502 58,650
Director 60,000 195,000 38,825 16 124,941 129,500
Manager 39,500 156,000 26,876 55 98,576 100,000
North Carolina
Specialist 41,037 107,000 22,192 11 75,591 70,000
Supervisor 49,000 111,000 23,308 5 76,950 79,000
Technician 36,854 80,000 16,329 7 53,311 49,000
North Dakota Manager 43,000 102,552 30,676 3 68,517 60,000
Analyst 42,500 148,255 31,151 10 66,325 56,422
Associate 40,000 75,000 14,851 6 61,833 65,500
Auditor 49,500 125,000 28,030 6 77,167 66,750
Black Belt 47,000 130,000 26,014 7 86,071 85,000
Coordinator 38,000 64,000 13,004 4 50,900 50,800
Director 68,000 300,000 48,879 25 129,876 124,000
Inspector 38,000 63,000 8,289 8 51,188 50,750
Ohio
Manager 42,000 146,000 22,711 66 88,811 87,000
Specialist 41,000 102,600 16,693 17 65,683 63,000
Supervisor 40,000 70,000 12,887 6 51,187 47,561
Technician 35,000 61,500 7,884 11 46,500 47,000
Manager 50,000 151,000 27,043 20 87,452 87,900
Oklahoma Quality engineer 46,000 95,000 20,926 6 67,500 62,000
Specialist 57,000 102,000 19,085 4 83,750 88,000
Standard
deviation
Analyst $45,000 $104,000 $28,046 4 $62,625 $50,750
Director 94,000 149,000 23,386 4 117,750 114,000
Oregon
Manager 49,000 192,000 31,019 17 91,829 89,000
Technician 35,000 60,000 12,503 3 47,667 48,000
Analyst 45,760 115,000 24,191 9 76,947 73,000
Associate 40,742 75,000 18,525 4 59,042 60,214
Auditor 39,000 177,000 48,905 8 90,375 77,500
Consultant 100,000 190,000 45,622 3 140,667 132,000
Coordinator 47,000 90,404 16,076 6 58,901 53,000
Director 92,000 185,000 25,726 18 137,207 140,500
Inspector 30,000 50,000 8,383 6 39,333 38,500
Manager 47,500 150,000 23,833 67 91,069 87,000
Pennsylvania
Other 73,000 190,000 58,705 3 134,333 140,000
Specialist 44,000 110,000 23,763 8 79,875 83,000
Supervisor 45,084 106,000 23,947 5 64,617 57,000
Technician 35,256 87,395 17,190 10 54,234 50,845
Auditor 45,000 90,000 22,913 3 70,000 75,000
Manager 85,000 134,000 24,705 3 111,333 115,000
Puerto Rico Quality engineer 61,000 101,075 20,537 3 83,636 88,834
Specialist 36,740 106,000 31,736 4 63,085 54,800
Director 100,200 128,000 14,208 3 112,400 109,000
Rhode Island
Manager 65,000 112,000 16,474 7 90,778 95,000
Analyst 43,500 80,000 17,764 4 53,375 45,000
Auditor 40,000 110,000 25,135 8 78,063 82,250
Black Belt 85,000 112,000 12,339 4 101,750 105,000
Consultant 70,000 140,000 31,348 4 97,000 89,000
Director 124,000 205,000 33,381 5 163,400 173,000
South Carolina Manager 47,000 150,000 21,967 20 90,931 93,500
Specialist 42,000 93,000 22,525 4 72,125 76,750
Supervisor 63,000 95,500 18,492 4 79,238 79,225
Technician 25,854 83,238 20,786 5 51,557 50,691
South Dakota Manager 54,200 102,500 24,551 3 80,900 86,000
Standard
deviation
Auditor $47,000 $87,506 $19,162 4 $58,877 $50,500
Black Belt 75,000 116,000 22,605 3 90,000 79,000
Consultant 70,000 152,000 35,669 4 101,750 92,500
Coordinator 39,000 65,000 14,418 3 48,400 41,200
Director 112,000 205,000 26,264 10 135,700 130,000
Manager 50,000 195,000 29,384 38 90,521 85,750
Tennessee
Specialist 40,000 87,000 17,412 10 59,355 56,500
Technician 27,000 33,800 3,914 3 29,280 27,040
Analyst 38,000 130,000 30,319 10 74,965 61,350
Associate 65,000 72,500 3,146 4 69,375 70,000
Auditor 40,000 143,250 30,254 11 71,609 63,450
Black Belt 80,000 170,000 30,418 6 111,759 105,278
Consultant 81,000 250,000 56,406 11 131,000 100,000
Coordinator 37,458 92,000 18,539 9 58,285 51,000
Director 80,000 200,000 27,880 38 134,973 133,000
Green Belt 32,690 109,000 32,737 4 67,298 63,750
Inspector 35,000 40,000 2,646 3 37,000 36,000
Manager 43,000 249,000 36,525 108 98,791 92,500
Texas
Other 41,000 86,000 19,256 5 65,400 60,000
Specialist 36,250 112,000 20,026 16 66,146 63,750
Supervisor 51,000 128,000 21,532 10 77,657 78,100
Technician 38,626 65,500 9,909 8 46,891 41,500
Inspector 35,000 74,000 17,569 4 59,000 63,500
Manager 42,000 154,000 25,546 16 91,702 92,114
Utah Quality engineer 52,314 110,000 16,732 21 79,352 77,000
Technician 28,000 70,000 15,232 7 43,634 37,440
Manager 85,000 137,000 17,195 6 110,400 112,200
Vermont
Analyst 59,680 131,000 32,817 6 91,176 87,939
Auditor 35,096 109,565 27,874 6 78,527 77,250
Consultant 50,000 150,000 45,618 4 117,500 135,000
Coordinator 37,752 75,000 16,142 4 55,438 54,500
Director 93,000 157,100 26,736 11 122,975 107,000
Virginia Manager 55,000 181,606 25,468 36 102,625 100,000
Specialist 45,000 93,000 13,685 12 65,725 67,000
Sign of the Times
What do you like best about working in quality?
“ Quality requires clear, strategic thinking, good judgment and solid skills
in working with other people to really make it impactful. It’s not just a set of
formulas or rote processes that can be blindly applied. Highly calculation-
centric areas will more and more be in danger of being taken over by
automation and robotics. Quality has enough nuances to it that it
is something worth putting a career-long focus into.
”
Chad Boggan
data strategy for a federal agency

Standard
deviation
Consultant $66,687 $180,000 $44,223 6 $118,386 $122,315
Director 104,000 200,000 37,339 6 135,854 121,063
Inspector 39,000 49,275 5,397 3 45,092 47,000
Manager 51,000 170,000 26,385 29 106,127 100,027
Other 41,312 69,500 14,096 3 55,271 55,000
Washington Quality engineer 55,000 126,000 26,696 11 87,909 95,000
Specialist 38,188 106,752 24,040 6 68,990 65,500
Supervisor 55,000 91,000 15,492 4 69,000 65,000
Technician 42,800 80,000 18,436 4 59,450 57,500
West Virginia Manager 100,000 150,000 27,301 3 118,667 106,000
Associate 30,000 60,320 15,175 3 44,773 44,000
Auditor 30,000 96,000 24,026 9 65,667 65,000
Black Belt 57,060 100,000 17,747 5 80,323 80,000
Coordinator 39,000 99,252 14,869 20 57,000 54,960
Director 84,700 220,000 34,450 15 137,897 140,000
Inspector 34,560 75,000 21,333 3 50,853 43,000
Manager 40,000 130,000 20,833 73 86,120 84,000
Wisconsin
Specialist 30,000 121,000 25,031 12 60,338 56,500
Supervisor 50,000 98,375 16,146 8 67,333 60,063
Technician 29,120 70,000 10,921 21 46,508 45,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by U.S. metropolitan area and by
job title / TABLE 6 (CONTINUED
Standard
deviation
Pacific Region
Analyst $41,600 $80,000 $15,906 7 $65,800 $71,000
Associate 60,000 63,000 1,528 3 61,667 62,000
Auditor 53,193 140,000 30,268 7 77,493 67,000
Black Belt 105,000 150,000 22,546 3 128,333 130,000
Director 85,000 215,000 38,168 16 144,688 135,000
Inspector 28,000 95,000 24,179 10 54,280 48,000
Los Angeles, Manager 55,000 168,000 29,167 53 106,507 109,000
Riverside and
Other 75,000 141,000 35,217 4 105,250 102,500
Orange County
(CA) Process/manufacturing/project engineer 67,000 155,000 28,679 7 95,143 95,000
Specialist 46,000 110,000 21,930 10 81,088 85,000
Supervisor 54,260 128,000 24,639 7 81,657 83,000
Technician 29,000 67,000 14,199 7 47,600 43,000
Consultant 79,000 149,000 28,979 4 118,158 122,315
Coordinator 45,000 131,000 49,652 3 73,667 45,000
Other Director 78,267 162,200 26,788 7 115,297 113,612
metro areas,
Pacific region Manager 60,000 113,000 17,519 10 83,700 83,000
Supervisor 46,600 91,000 18,918 4 65,525 62,250
Analyst 45,000 104,000 24,299 5 62,300 56,000
Portland Director 108,000 200,000 40,958 4 144,250 134,500
and Salem Manager 49,000 192,000 31,153 18 92,864 89,500
(OR and WA) Quality engineer 75,000 120,833 15,752 8 95,279 95,000
Technician 35,000 60,000 12,503 3 47,667 48,000
Consultant 130,000 165,000 17,502 3 147,333 147,000
Director 100,000 190,000 30,160 7 135,150 130,578
Sacramento
Manager 68,000 140,000 25,380 10 110,290 113,000
and Yolo (CA)
Specialist 55,510 93,000 20,472 3 69,503 60,000
Analyst 52,000 100,000 16,098 7 69,857 67,000
Black Belt 83,000 105,000 11,533 3 96,000 100,000
Director 76,544 172,000 38,931 6 126,174 131,500
Inspector 35,000 62,500 15,086 3 45,167 38,000
San Diego (CA) Manager 65,000 155,000 23,740 21 109,912 101,600
Specialist 45,000 105,000 24,610 4 73,500 72,000
Supervisor 48,000 65,000 8,544 3 56,000 55,000
job title / TABLE 6 (CONTINUED)
Standard
deviation
Auditor $58,000 $118,055 $19,972 6 $85,176 $83,500
Black Belt 75,000 150,000 30,859 4 115,750 119,000
Director 77,453 206,000 37,948 16 153,725 165,000
Green Belt 85,000 96,000 5,568 3 91,000 92,000
San Francisco, Inspector 45,000 75,000 16,073 3 63,333 70,000
Oakland and Manager 66,000 183,000 30,583 28 124,682 125,500
San Jose (CA) Quality engineer 59,306 196,000 34,195 21 101,015 100,000
Specialist 47,608 143,500 33,210 7 96,087 85,000
Consultant 66,687 180,000 64,486 3 105,562 70,000
Director 104,000 160,000 29,866 3 126,000 114,000
Inspector 39,000 49,275 5,397 3 45,092 47,000
Seattle, Tacoma Manager 51,000 170,000 27,570 25 106,853 100,027
and Bremerton Other 41,312 69,500 14,096 3 55,271 55,000
(WA) Quality engineer 55,000 126,000 26,702 7 77,000 63,000
Specialist 38,188 84,000 16,046 6 59,531 57,500
Technician 45,000 80,000 18,028 3 65,000 70,000
Mountain Region
Analyst 50,000 88,400 20,573 3 73,467 82,000
Coordinator 49,000 109,200 30,104 3 79,400 80,000
Director 70,000 215,000 45,552 11 124,818 118,000
Manager 42,000 141,000 25,868 31 92,316 85,000
Other 28,000 120,000 37,959 4 69,250 64,500
Denver, Boulder Process/manufacturing/project engineer 70,000 128,000 23,889 6 94,333 91,500
and Greeley
(CO) Quality engineer 60,000 120,000 20,574 9 84,778 79,300
Specialist 60,000 180,000 42,297 6 96,917 88,250
Supervisor 50,000 120,000 24,118 7 70,343 62,000
Technician 45,000 57,241 6,155 3 50,747 50,000
Manager 69,000 94,000 11,297 5 80,940 85,000
Las Vegas (NV)
Director 90,000 166,000 30,221 8 135,763 148,250
Other Manager 46,700 173,000 36,367 15 92,314 86,881
metro areas,
Mountain region Quality engineer 58,500 110,000 20,656 7 89,306 98,000
Specialist 35,000 95,000 24,772 5 62,360 62,400
Analyst 56,150 89,000 12,953 6 72,750 77,000
Coordinator 37,500 72,800 18,787 3 51,433 44,000
Director 90,000 183,000 28,767 9 126,444 120,000
Inspector 32,679 89,000 25,177 4 52,420 44,000
Manager 42,000 175,000 35,888 22 97,377 95,425
Phoenix and
Mesa (AZ)
Specialist 53,000 97,000 24,846 3 68,333 55,000
Technician 34,000 48,000 7,024 3 41,333 42,000
Standard
deviation
Inspector $57,000 $74,000 $8,888 3 $67,000 $70,000
Manager 42,000 154,000 25,465 14 92,231 94,000
Salt Lake City
and Ogden (UT)
Supervisor 65,000 86,000 10,599 3 76,333 78,000
Technician 28,000 70,000 15,232 7 43,634 37,440
West North Central Region
Analyst 51,022 105,000 28,259 3 73,174 63,500
Auditor 42,000 124,500 25,388 8 76,563 69,500
Black Belt 30,000 125,000 38,584 5 84,800 100,000
Coordinator 27,000 40,000 6,506 3 33,667 34,000
Kansas City Director 72,000 140,000 35,726 3 112,333 125,000
(MO and KS) Manager 45,000 136,000 25,188 12 95,284 95,200
Specialist 53,900 99,700 16,540 6 80,879 78,687
Supervisor 67,000 83,000 6,994 4 73,750 72,500
Analyst 76,000 86,000 5,736 3 79,377 76,132
Auditor 56,000 127,500 26,200 6 84,417 82,000
Consultant 74,000 115,000 22,368 3 99,667 110,000
Coordinator 60,000 68,000 3,507 5 63,600 65,000
Director 60,000 220,000 35,796 14 132,643 127,500
Inspector 41,000 55,000 7,325 4 48,298 48,596
Manager 48,400 160,000 28,901 48 99,859 98,048
Minneapolis Process/manufacturing/project engineer 68,000 109,000 16,722 7 90,571 97,000
and St. Paul
(MN) Quality engineer 36,000 147,000 20,947 68 82,224 79,000
Specialist 31,000 110,000 21,397 15 73,873 78,000
Supervisor 48,000 114,000 28,957 7 84,100 76,000
Technician 41,500 90,000 12,912 14 57,262 54,579
Analyst 37,000 93,000 23,486 4 65,750 66,500
Auditor 35,360 109,000 26,808 6 64,047 65,000
Black Belt 75,000 122,000 24,007 3 95,667 90,000
Other Consultant 93,000 107,000 8,083 3 102,333 107,000
metro areas,
Director 73,000 144,000 30,666 4 108,125 107,750
West North
Central region Manager 43,000 120,000 20,194 22 84,461 85,500
Technician 34,840 47,000 4,761 6 42,361 44,600
Black Belt 85,000 99,300 8,256 3 89,767 85,000
Consultant 104,000 123,600 9,243 4 110,400 107,000
Coordinator 40,000 81,400 19,406 4 63,375 66,050
Director 71,400 165,000 31,578 7 125,057 133,000
St. Louis
Manager 50,000 140,000 25,959 17 93,188 98,000
(MO and IL)
Specialist 49,500 140,000 27,214 10 67,470 60,850
Supervisor 63,000 81,000 9,292 3 70,667 68,000
Technician 38,500 67,949 13,493 4 48,112 43,000
Standard
deviation
West South Central
Auditor $40,000 $143,250 $51,647 3 $90,750 $89,000
Director 100,000 160,000 20,750 6 128,167 126,000
Austin and
Manager 48,000 121,000 23,524 15 87,313 94,000
San Marcos (TX)
Specialist 38,792 78,000 17,538 4 59,948 61,500
Auditor 50,000 97,000 20,549 4 73,750 74,000
Consultant 100,000 118,000 9,866 3 111,333 116,000
Director 119,000 186,000 22,892 16 144,685 140,500
Manager 43,000 150,000 30,124 39 93,649 89,000
Dallas and Other 41,000 60,000 10,017 3 52,333 56,000
Fort Worth (TX) Process/manufacturing/project engineer 81,000 110,000 15,716 3 92,000 85,000
Specialist 58,000 100,000 19,107 4 75,125 71,250
Analyst 61,000 125,000 36,750 3 82,567 61,700
Auditor 40,000 63,450 10,729 4 55,113 58,500
Black Belt 100,000 170,000 32,755 4 121,250 107,500
Consultant 100,000 211,000 53,443 5 138,200 100,000
Coordinator 46,800 92,000 19,951 5 63,510 51,000
Houston, Director 80,000 180,000 29,385 11 125,136 117,500
Galveston and
Brazoria (TX) Manager 50,000 249,000 45,085 41 111,493 98,500
Specialist 36,250 112,000 21,868 8 66,906 65,000
Supervisor 51,000 83,127 14,612 4 72,642 78,220
Technician 40,000 65,500 11,513 5 49,100 42,000
Analyst 37,000 78,000 20,551 3 58,333 60,000
Memphis Manager 53,000 116,000 20,504 12 89,150 88,750
(TN, AR and MS) Quality engineer 65,200 124,000 17,128 9 88,289 84,000
Specialist 43,500 75,000 13,056 5 58,700 60,000
Director 80,000 150,000 31,974 4 107,500 100,000
New Orleans
Manager 69,000 222,000 63,248 5 114,880 95,000
(LA)
Manager 52,000 120,000 22,202 14 84,785 87,500
Oklahoma City
(OK)
Specialist 57,000 102,000 19,085 4 83,750 88,000
Other Director 63,000 105,000 17,242 5 84,590 85,000
metro areas, Manager 45,000 132,000 24,796 23 81,666 89,375
West South Quality engineer 42,000 100,000 21,326 7 65,857 65,000
Central region Technician 30,000 44,000 7,572 3 35,333 32,000
Analyst 38,000 130,000 46,003 3 84,317 84,952
San Antonio
Manager 64,000 112,500 18,946 7 91,890 87,500
(TX)
Technician 38,626 51,000 6,782 3 43,209 40,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Standard
deviation
East North Central
Analyst $56,500 $89,954 $13,671 5 $69,906 $70,000
Auditor 48,500 160,000 36,356 12 87,292 81,000
Black Belt 90,000 140,000 15,374 8 110,235 109,690
Consultant 53,000 240,000 62,129 8 128,707 127,500
Director 65,000 195,000 31,465 26 131,090 132,375
Inspector 27,000 45,000 10,392 3 39,000 45,000
Manager 52,000 150,000 24,145 72 92,202 89,500
Chicago, Gary Other 62,300 114,000 21,139 5 88,460 80,000
and Kenosha Process/manufacturing/project engineer 75,000 110,000 13,989 5 95,800 100,000
(IL, IN and WI) Quality engineer 40,000 133,500 19,589 42 78,934 75,500
Specialist 48,000 108,000 23,545 9 85,141 97,756
Supervisor 50,000 101,000 17,395 13 73,923 78,000
Technician 36,000 148,000 31,826 11 55,183 46,500
Analyst 42,500 79,000 14,591 6 57,299 53,647
Associate 40,000 75,000 17,502 3 57,667 58,000
Cincinnati Director 77,000 175,000 27,469 12 117,325 117,500
and Hamilton Manager 50,000 150,000 22,328 23 83,968 80,000
(OH, KY and IN) Quality engineer 66,560 83,500 6,994 9 76,173 80,000
Specialist 29,000 102,600 20,707 9 58,156 61,000
Technician 40,000 60,000 8,706 5 45,400 40,000
Analyst 48,000 148,255 48,682 4 75,364 52,600
Auditor 49,500 125,000 40,467 3 78,833 62,000
Director 68,000 300,000 76,411 9 131,778 100,000
Inspector 46,000 63,000 8,057 4 54,750 55,000
Cleveland and Manager 42,000 145,000 22,470 25 88,854 89,000
Akron (OH) Quality engineer 43,500 143,000 26,012 16 73,241 65,250
Specialist 51,000 90,000 16,174 4 69,250 68,000
Technician 35,000 53,000 7,305 6 47,167 50,000
Auditor 60,000 95,000 17,840 3 75,500 71,500
Black Belt 47,000 102,000 28,663 3 79,167 88,500
Director 112,000 165,000 20,780 5 141,600 145,000
Manager 55,000 146,000 28,942 17 94,429 87,000
Columbus (OH)
Specialist 48,518 84,000 15,560 5 69,104 75,000
Supervisor 40,000 70,000 15,053 4 53,281 51,561
Standard
deviation
Analyst $42,000 $125,538 $42,942 3 $78,013 $66,500
Director 75,000 160,450 26,785 18 124,994 125,000
Manager 50,000 210,000 26,011 44 100,010 100,000
Detroit, Quality engineer 38,000 110,000 16,067 27 81,333 83,500
Ann Arbor
and Flint (MI) Software quality engineer 79,800 101,000 11,049 3 88,600 85,000
Specialist 30,000 89,800 30,180 3 62,267 67,000
Supervisor 45,000 122,700 27,797 6 77,867 69,500
Technician 44,000 88,438 18,503 5 56,788 47,500
Director 85,200 140,000 20,416 7 116,314 116,000
Manager 48,000 120,000 18,801 24 83,467 83,993
Grand Rapids, Quality engineer 47,000 105,000 17,538 17 74,942 80,000
Muskegon and
Holland (MI) Supervisor 34,500 110,000 27,728 7 69,071 56,000
Technician 28,000 57,764 8,302 13 41,105 40,000
Auditor 56,600 120,000 25,984 7 92,943 100,000
Black Belt 67,000 116,500 25,448 3 88,333 81,500
Director 80,000 148,300 27,559 7 109,614 100,000
Inspector 28,000 68,000 20,180 3 46,447 43,340
Manager 50,000 190,000 30,480 29 95,033 92,000
Indianapolis (IN)
Specialist 38,000 85,000 16,730 6 55,439 53,418
Supervisor 45,000 62,000 8,578 3 52,833 51,500
Technician 32,760 60,000 8,333 9 40,355 40,000
Auditor 30,000 96,000 23,338 6 69,333 67,500
Coordinator 39,000 69,000 11,506 10 53,135 52,000
Director 85,000 220,000 34,268 12 141,688 145,000
Manager 43,784 130,000 18,942 49 90,131 87,000
Milwaukee and
Racine (WI)
Specialist 38,000 121,000 28,022 7 70,322 62,500
Supervisor 56,160 98,375 19,977 4 68,634 60,000
Technician 35,000 70,000 11,877 10 51,425 51,500
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY

Standard
deviation
Analyst $72,000 $100,000 $14,422 3 $84,000 $80,000
Associate 44,000 60,320 7,344 4 49,580 47,000
Auditor 32,000 89,000 20,745 6 66,233 72,299
Black Belt 69,555 100,000 14,501 4 90,889 97,000
Coordinator 30,000 99,252 18,574 12 56,264 53,250
Director 84,700 176,000 39,476 6 115,450 93,500
Other Green Belt 50,000 120,000 35,796 3 80,667 72,000
metro area, Inspector 38,000 75,000 17,648 5 55,480 55,000
East North Manager 36,000 123,500 25,201 44 83,948 83,500
Central region Process/manufacturing/project engineer 50,000 154,000 38,193 6 94,233 82,700
Specialist 30,000 114,336 28,759 9 67,997 79,000
Supervisor 54,000 122,500 30,609 4 82,625 77,000
Technician 29,120 61,500 9,162 13 43,317 45,000
East South Central
Auditor 53,000 60,000 3,786 3 55,667 54,000
Director 76,000 113,000 16,846 5 94,600 94,000
Louisville Manager 55,000 130,000 25,514 13 94,158 96,500
(KY and IN) Quality engineer 45,000 141,000 25,485 9 84,677 83,000
Director 120,000 205,000 31,456 6 141,500 130,000
Manager 50,000 150,000 27,620 17 83,882 78,000
Nashville (TN) Quality engineer 45,400 109,000 24,320 5 79,480 78,000
Specialist 40,000 87,000 19,092 5 55,000 45,000
Associate 28,000 57,141 13,056 4 38,035 33,500
Auditor 30,000 100,000 33,950 4 68,883 72,765
Coordinator 49,500 98,000 20,316 4 69,875 66,000
Other Director 99,000 150,000 21,151 6 126,833 125,000
metro area,
Manager 48,000 195,000 32,980 27 94,963 92,500
East South
Central region Process/manufacturing/project engineer 47,500 110,000 23,950 5 76,470 71,649
Specialist 32,000 55,000 9,743 4 45,250 47,000
Supervisor 69,825 111,000 21,496 3 86,842 79,700
Standard
deviation
New England
Analyst $60,000 $98,000 $15,019 6 $79,858 $79,075
Associate 42,500 75,000 14,758 4 57,771 56,792
Black Belt 60,000 150,000 32,491 7 101,750 97,000
Director 110,000 230,000 33,968 18 165,828 162,500
Green Belt 99,000 127,000 14,572 3 115,333 120,000
Inspector 55,000 71,465 8,296 3 63,822 65,000
Boston, Manager 60,000 206,000 30,591 71 107,163 105,000
Worcester and Other 24,000 84,000 21,918 6 58,000 54,500
Lawrence (MA, Process/manufacturing/project engineer 63,000 111,000 19,374 5 91,150 100,000
NH, ME and CT) Quality engineer 48,500 144,600 21,083 59 90,539 89,000
Specialist 52,000 123,000 20,301 16 78,019 76,000
Supervisor 48,000 93,500 15,679 6 78,370 81,860
Technician 32,000 75,000 21,595 3 52,333 50,000
Director 74,880 175,000 29,390 8 126,985 123,000
Hartford (CT) Manager 63,000 138,000 19,745 18 99,559 102,500
Other metro Manager 48,000 137,000 35,173 6 101,150 117,500
areas, New Quality engineer 85,000 133,000 26,889 3 102,000 88,000
England region Supplier quality engineer/professional 88,000 120,000 14,914 4 99,665 95,330
Providence, Director 100,200 128,000 14,208 3 112,400 109,000
Fall River
Manager 65,000 119,000 18,226 8 94,305 97,000
and Warwick
(RI and MA) Quality engineer 70,000 90,000 10,000 3 80,000 80,000
Middle Atlantic
Buffalo and Manager 36,889 120,000 24,680 14 87,818 92,500
Niagara Falls
(NY) Quality engineer 60,000 140,000 29,964 6 87,667 77,500
Analyst 40,000 56,000 8,718 3 46,000 42,000
Auditor 45,000 115,000 23,463 8 90,825 93,500
Coordinator 49,000 72,000 10,595 4 56,250 52,000
Director 75,000 204,000 30,281 21 140,714 136,000
Inspector 26,000 75,000 20,739 4 49,530 48,560
New York, Manager 50,000 170,000 27,186 48 101,749 96,500
Northern Other 33,280 195,000 67,600 4 102,070 90,000
New Jersey and
Long Island (NY, Quality engineer 52,500 130,000 18,766 20 91,611 90,500
NJ, CT and PA) Specialist 33,870 107,874 18,995 17 71,354 71,000
Statistician 90,000 190,000 50,846 3 145,333 156,000
Supervisor 34,000 133,000 31,734 7 73,683 73,000
Technician 39,998 77,000 19,141 3 55,666 50,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY

Standard
deviation
Analyst $45,760 $111,000 $27,106 4 $82,190 $86,000
Other Associate 40,742 64,000 10,821 4 48,042 43,714
metro areas, Manager 64,000 221,000 39,124 18 97,474 80,000
Middle Atlantic Quality engineer 45,000 122,000 22,786 16 79,213 80,000
region Software quality engineer 75,000 92,127 9,146 3 81,709 78,000
Technician 46,000 60,000 5,756 4 52,422 51,845
Analyst 53,000 115,000 31,644 3 80,333 73,000
Auditor 39,000 177,000 47,890 7 97,143 81,000
Director 85,000 225,000 34,363 19 132,302 130,000
Manager 28,080 147,000 26,526 38 95,020 94,250
Other 103,653 190,000 43,353 3 144,551 140,000
Philadelphia,
Wilmington and Process/manufacturing/project engineer 83,000 95,000 6,429 3 87,667 85,000
Atlantic City Quality engineer 53,000 130,000 22,120 22 91,514 92,500
(PA, NJ, DE and Specialist 45,660 114,000 25,012 7 81,237 82,000
MD)
Statistician 106,000 200,000 54,271 3 168,667 200,000
Supervisor 57,000 106,000 25,541 3 77,333 69,000
Technician 35,256 87,395 28,211 3 67,550 80,000
Analyst 58,457 75,000 8,876 3 68,587 72,305
Director 99,000 170,000 29,229 7 140,000 150,000
Inspector 30,000 48,000 10,116 3 36,333 31,000
Pittsburgh (PA)
Manager 47,500 137,000 21,603 21 87,151 85,000
Manager 52,000 176,000 45,283 6 104,833 91,500
Rochester (NY) Specialist 50,000 110,000 25,783 4 82,363 84,726
Technician 38,000 74,838 18,788 3 54,279 50,000
South Atlantic
Analyst 45,000 96,500 19,859 5 69,000 62,000
Auditor 40,000 99,000 25,936 5 72,200 75,000
Coordinator 48,000 105,000 23,698 4 79,750 83,000
Director 70,000 176,000 30,619 12 130,583 140,000
Manager 50,000 165,000 27,584 38 91,296 86,250
Atlanta (GA) Quality engineer 49,500 133,000 25,353 9 85,778 90,000
Specialist 63,000 130,000 28,991 5 92,000 94,000
Supervisor 52,500 65,000 5,483 4 60,125 61,500
Technician 33,600 65,000 12,825 5 44,941 42,349
Standard
deviation
Black Belt $89,733 $114,000 $12,334 3 $103,144 $105,700
Coordinator 38,000 66,000 12,982 6 51,253 50,325
Director 117,000 148,000 11,328 6 130,526 130,577
Charlotte, Manager 46,000 150,000 22,813 26 88,974 87,275
Gastonia and Process/manufacturing/project engineer 50,000 78,563 10,839 5 64,913 65,000
Rock Hill (NC) Quality engineer 43,000 220,000 45,127 12 90,286 81,393
Specialist 41,037 93,000 24,764 4 61,134 55,250
Supervisor 63,000 95,500 18,635 3 73,983 63,450
Technician 36,854 72,000 17,850 3 52,618 49,000
Greensboro, Auditor 48,500 65,000 6,993 4 58,375 60,000
Winston, Salem Director 111,500 140,000 13,622 4 123,375 121,000
and High Point Manager 39,500 156,000 33,951 10 101,030 108,000
(NC) Quality engineer 62,000 115,000 21,510 5 88,800 95,000
Auditor 41,400 69,000 14,257 3 53,133 49,000
Consultant 106,000 157,000 26,350 3 127,667 120,000
Jacksonville (FL) Director 75,000 300,000 76,817 7 134,158 110,000
Manager 59,000 170,000 42,272 5 118,080 132,000
Miami and Manager 45,000 100,000 19,076 7 86,545 91,317
Fort Lauderdale Quality engineer 55,000 93,101 18,029 4 81,275 88,500
(FL) Vice president/executive 117,000 163,000 26,000 3 133,000 119,000
Norfolk, Virginia
Beach and
Manager 87,000 132,000 15,946 7 104,429 101,000
Newport News
(VA and NC)
Auditor 55,000 80,000 12,583 3 68,333 70,000
Black Belt 46,000 106,000 27,405 4 86,400 96,800
Consultant 83,250 129,600 26,691 3 114,070 129,360
Director 110,000 145,000 17,385 4 128,750 130,000
Orlando (FL)
Manager 45,000 200,000 50,539 8 98,732 80,500
Supervisor 30,000 83,000 25,643 4 60,250 64,000
Analyst 45,000 80,000 15,686 6 62,917 63,750
Auditor 35,096 76,500 11,379 9 57,984 57,500
Black Belt 85,000 112,000 11,147 4 99,750 101,000
Consultant 70,000 140,000 31,348 4 97,000 89,000
Coordinator 47,500 82,860 16,708 4 60,590 56,000
Other Director 83,700 205,000 40,180 9 119,533 107,000
metro areas, Inspector 50,000 72,000 11,976 3 58,267 52,800
South Atlantic Manager 47,000 154,000 24,062 36 93,902 93,400
region Process/manufacturing/project engineer 44,000 96,000 20,440 5 77,720 84,000
Specialist 30,000 78,000 14,350 12 54,526 56,000
Supervisor 45,000 95,000 22,485 4 63,250 56,500
Technician 25,854 83,238 16,738 8 47,473 47,000
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY

Standard
deviation
Analyst $45,000 $80,000 $16,610 4 $63,625 $64,750
Auditor 34,000 102,000 26,603 5 78,300 88,000
Director 60,000 195,000 64,919 5 132,280 140,000
Raleigh, Durham Manager 82,000 156,000 22,370 19 113,215 107,000
and Chapel Hill
(NC) Quality engineer 65,500 135,000 25,219 7 94,761 87,000
Specialist 52,600 107,000 21,131 9 78,385 70,000
Supervisor 49,000 111,000 31,005 3 79,667 79,000
San Juan,
Caguas and Specialist 36,740 106,000 31,736 4 63,085 54,800
Arecibo (PR)
Tampa, Director 80,000 190,000 41,539 6 131,500 134,500
St. Petersburg Manager 74,000 104,000 11,789 5 88,280 85,000
and Clearwater Other 70,614 140,000 34,719 3 104,538 103,000
(FL) Quality engineer 61,000 113,000 22,477 6 81,000 73,500
Analyst 57,221 131,000 25,693 12 96,237 102,500
Associate 55,000 130,000 41,187 3 82,667 63,000
Auditor 66,000 160,300 32,627 7 93,534 85,000
Black Belt 93,000 101,000 4,359 3 98,000 100,000
Consultant 90,000 150,000 28,897 4 116,875 113,750
Coordinator 37,752 90,000 26,291 3 65,584 69,000
Washington, Director 70,000 227,000 37,517 18 135,735 146,000
D.C., and Manager 57,200 181,606 26,989 53 108,696 110,000
Baltimore (MD, Master Black Belt 123,000 200,000 32,025 4 156,250 151,000
VA and WV) Quality engineer 79,999 125,000 11,659 12 103,675 101,000
Specialist 31,824 93,000 18,394 11 68,911 73,000
Statistician 120,000 185,000 28,513 5 153,743 160,300
Technician 44,000 80,000 14,177 5 59,000 60,000
West Palm
Beach and Boca Director 112,000 289,000 95,144 3 180,333 140,000
Raton (FL)

Salary by Canadian metropolitan areas / TABLE 7
Standard
deviation
Auditor $64,984 $164,922 $51,408 3 $121,927 $135,876
Calgary (AB) Manager 93,538 169,353 27,039 10 120,280 111,753
Auditor 48,246 105,353 30,331 3 70,892 59,077
Director 59,077 157,537 44,033 5 127,999 157,537
Montreal (QC)
Manager 54,154 136,861 24,731 12 92,389 88,615
Specialist 55,138 98,461 16,155 5 71,680 68,923
Ottawa- Director 90,584 123,076 15,348 4 101,907 96,984

Gatineau (ON Manager 70,892 102,892 10,979 8 90,621 93,046
and QC) Specialist 69,139 99,446 13,338 5 82,579 78,769
Analyst 39,384 68,923 16,515 3 49,887 41,354
Associate 28,357 64,984 15,190 4 48,197 49,723
Auditor 29,538 83,692 21,511 5 55,532 59,077
Coordinator 39,384 88,615 16,834 8 59,335 63,754
Director 103,384 157,537 21,730 10 131,633 133,415
Inspector 33,477 64,000 16,603 3 44,964 37,415
Toronto (ON)
Manager 61,046 141,784 19,909 30 96,491 93,538
Other 88,615 101,415 7,390 3 97,148 101,415
Specialist 54,154 91,569 12,695 11 72,605 75,784
Supervisor 51,200 88,615 13,304 6 65,805 62,523
Technician 24,615 59,077 18,037 4 42,584 43,323
Coordinator 46,080 78,769 17,625 3 66,232 73,846
Director 63,015 139,815 24,409 7 113,511 121,107
Manager 65,673 137,845 22,468 12 94,088 90,092
Vancouver (BC)
Analyst 67,938 84,676 9,148 3 78,440 82,707
Auditor 78,769 79,753 568 3 79,097 78,769
Black Belt 102,661 123,076 11,584 3 109,707 103,384
Coordinator 34,461 93,538 21,703 9 61,921 54,154
Director 88,615 147,691 19,718 8 112,960 109,292
Work in a
Canadian Inspector 57,452 88,615 12,446 5 67,956 65,536
metropolitan Manager 47,364 153,599 23,317 39 91,871 90,584
not listed above
Specialist 55,237 216,614 47,776 11 88,184 73,846
Supervisor 51,077 101,135 22,415 4 70,779 65,452
Technician 29,538 73,846 18,379 6 48,656 47,754
QP
2016
Section 15. Salary by Gender and Age
SALARY
SURVEY
Gender Gap Persists,

But Narrows
I
In the United States, 60.8% of the full-time workers and younger, women earn $2,068 less than the men,
who participated in the QP Salary Survey are men. but in the group of older U.S. respondents, the advan-
With an average salary of $95,915, they earn an aver- tage to the males grows with age, reaching a gap of
age of $11,916 more than their female counterparts. $12,407 among the 56-to-65 age group.
In Canada, 67.2% of the full-time respondents are The youngest respondents show the smallest gen-
men, and they earn an average salary of $91,770, der gap. In fact, in three of the last four years, the
which is an average of $15,958 more than the women. women in the 25-and-younger group actually have
This gap in Canada has appeared in the most recent shown slightly higher earnings than the men of the
surveys but tends to vary widely from year to year same age.
due to the relatively small number of responses from Figure 2 (p. 104) breaks down the same data for
Canada, which can bring to the surface fairly large an- Canadian respondents and shows a gender gap in pay
nual variations due to the mix of job titles held by that in the age bands in the middle of the chart.
country’s respondents. Table 2 (p. 105) explores the salaries of the U.S.
The gap between men’s and women’s average sala- respondents by gender, age and job title. Table 3 (p.
ries shows a tendency to widen as ages increase. Fig- 106) provides the same breakdown for the Canadian
ure 1 shows for the group of U.S. respondents aged 25 respondents.
Salary by age and gender for U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1

$120,000 109,594
103,656 106,565
$100,000 91,679 107,618
94,158
Average salary
89,757
$80,000 72,427
82,697
58,488 70,586
$60,000
56,420
$40,000
$20,000
0
25 or 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66 and
younger older
Age
Female Male


The youngest U.S. respondents show the
smallest gender gap. In fact, in three of the
last four years, the women in the 25-and-younger
group actually have shown slightly higher
earnings than the men of the same age.
Salary by age and gender for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 2

$120,000
100,373 101,102
$100,000 90,336
93,924 80,738
Average salary
$80,000 82,707
68,548 80,110
69,160 71,443
$60,000
61,046
41,846
$40,000
$20,000
0
25 or 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66 and
younger older
Age
Female Male

Salary and representation by gender and age

in the United States / TABLE 1
25 or 66 and
26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 All ages
younger older
Average salary, women $56,420 $70,586 $82,697 $89,757 $94,158 $107,618 $83,999
Average salary, men 58,488 72,427 91,679 103,656 106,565 109,594 95,915
Average salary difference
+2,068 +1,840 +8,982 +13,899 +12,407 +1,976 +11,916
for men
Men’s average salary
as a percentage of 103.7% 102.6% 110.9% 115.5% 113.2% 101.8% 114.2%
women’s average salary
Number of women 49 403 495 575 370 14 1,906
Number of men 61 480 660 920 750 91 2,962
Percentage men 55.5% 54.4% 57.1% 61.5% 67% 86.7% 60.8%

Salary by gender, age and job title for U.S. respondents / TABLE 2
25 or 66 and
26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 All ages
younger older
Women $56,42049 $70,586403 $82,697495 $89,757575 $94,158370 $107,61814 $83,9991,906
All respondents
Men 58,48861 72,427480 91,679660 103,656920 106,565750 109,59491 95,9152,962
Women 51,0805 56,98332 69,06023 77,20715 77,33113 n=1 66,52489
Analyst
Men 44,5004 70,52419 70,68216 83,17117 87,05611 92,0662 75,42869
Women 62,5002 57,75218 57,6699 62,36713 n=1 — 59,06443
Associate
Men n=1 62,2504 68,3867 64,0003 n=1 — 62,92816
Women — 64,15716 66,60431 69,02836 85,09827 47,5002 71,151112
Auditor
Men — 60,9119 78,29116 91,96123 94,70020 n=1 85,23969
Women n=1 92,0002 91,17010 98,77310 93,5154 — 93,53727
Black Belt
Men n=1 89,89813 102,45922 102,43123 97,22911 — 99,26070
Women n=1 — 31,5802 n=1 n=1 — 37,4675
Men — 52,7796 55,5905 57,4336 61,3904 — 56,41821
Women — — — 118,0002 n=1 — 103,6673
Champion
Men — — 86,5002 98,0002 n=1 — 88,2005
Women 51,0002 100,7504 93,13410 117,22918 120,48011 n=1 108,08146
Consultant
Men 95,0002 92,9618 79,5004 136,34417 144,19315 150,0004 126,64850
Women 54,5733 51,32121 50,84524 53,42120 61,66018 — 53,95486
Coordinator
Men n=1 60,0238 63,57713 68,1805 82,1578 — 66,92435
Women n=1 107,9899 118,98749 129,05459 129,70349 107,0254 124,649171
Director
Men — 102,23015 127,98153 138,165112 136,44587 126,48211 133,284278
Women — n=1 92,0002 78,5003 120,6005 n=1 102,70812
Educator/instructor
Men — n=1 69,6005 129,8704 136,2504 108,6673 106,14017
Women — 64,4176 83,6673 n=1 101,0002 — 74,12512
Green Belt
Men n=1 72,60310 48,8452 105,6005 109,2005 — 85,11823
Women 39,7502 40,5002 38,51011 39,01714 53,6673 — 40,35532
Inspector
Men 42,9605 52,12418 45,85010 60,51513 58,07613 64,0002 53,79061
Women 80,0002 81,26678 91,356134 95,260167 92,053109 79,2752 91,141492
Manager
Men 59,8676 79,58287 100,637206 101,234313 101,193246 97,11726 98,551884
Women — n=1 n=1 127,0004 n=1 — 129,2867
Master Black Belt
Men — — 117,7789 127,40121 128,83910 146,6673 127,06543
Women — 66,6149 71,7048 77,26312 82,05911 — 75,07440
Other
Men n=1 57,3925 78,5119 86,6818 93,1676 100,3072 81,50431
Process/manufacturing/ Women 58,5003 88,41111 81,38610 81,3758 n=1 — 82,93633
project engineer Men 61,3333 73,23327 81,25022 99,26625 100,42018 n=1 86,59496
Women 60,16112 75,19988 82,77955 85,41464 83,53937 n=1 80,154257
Quality engineer
Men 63,74220 72,963130 81,919119 89,150148 95,965129 104,73223 85,221569
Reliability/safety Women — 99,0002 107,5002 146,8001 n=1 n=1 116,4007
engineer Men 64,0002 85,9005 124,3179 111,74417 122,17114 115,1573 112,63750
Software quality Women n=1 n=1 93,4915 95,85511 111,7003 — 94,37921
engineer Men n=1 n=1 115,8056 115,6809 116,4969 114,4502 114,47528
Women 48,5428 57,72254 70,37753 72,98038 72,74532 — 66,683185
Specialist
Men — 66,12129 75,93622 83,17132 82,48419 94,7502 76,983104
Women n=1 132,1044 — 117,6953 154,0002 n=1 135,86411
Statistician
Men — 89,2005 180,3422 n=1 145,2258 — 133,96816
Women 66,5002 66,71621 75,69118 62,05317 78,2769 — 69,49067
Supervisor
Men 57,3333 61,89129 71,05023 85,50827 82,53714 — 73,59696
Supplier quality Women — 82,9438 80,82510 89,40011 103,3333 — 86,41232
engineer/professional Men 64,4502 77,26517 93,72212 97,61029 99,58938 72,8333 93,076101
Women 41,7333 43,60314 45,36615 49,11726 46,14216 — 46,37174
Technician
Men 45,0668 47,24131 51,58044 50,54225 56,92121 — 50,802129
Women — n=1 136,70010 151,01221 207,85010 — 160,54242
Men — 164,6673 145,56822 167,64035 172,10038 213,4183 165,782101

Salary by gender, age and job title
25 or 66 and
26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 All ages
younger older
Women n=1 $69,16020 $71,44348 $80,11031 $93,92412 n=1 $75,812113
All respondents
Men $41,8462 68,54833 90,33673 100,37375 101,10242 $80,7386 91,770231
Women — 64,0002 63,0152 87,6301 — 82,7071 70,7286
Analyst
Men — 71,8764 n=1 n=1 — — 66,1336
Women — — 54,4823 — — — 54,4823
Associate
Men — 53,1692 n=1 — — — 44,8983
Women — — 43,6513 n=1 114,9532 — 68,1846
Auditor
Men — — 77,1283 83,0356 n=1 — 81,32910
Women — n=1 n=1 n=1 — — 111,5893
Black Belt
Men — n=1 — — n=1 — 73,9772
Men — — — — n=1 — 57,3441
Women — — — — — — —
Women — — n=1 — — — 74,8301
Consultant
Men — — 97,1702 — 106,3382 — 101,7544
Women n=1 52,2173 62,4245 46,9664 67,6922 — 56,87115
Coordinator
Men — 76,3082 n=1 82,7073 69,9073 — 72,2059
Women — n=1 n=1 115,4454 — — 104,0406
Director
Men — n=1 132,0657 124,32911 142,9684 90,5842 126,64925
Men — — — n=1 n=1 — 177,2302
Educator/instructor
Women — — — — — — —
Women — n=1 n=1 — — — 56,8902
Green Belt
Men — — 59,0772 — — — 59,0772
Women — n=1 n=1 — — — 51,3722
Inspector
Men — 49,5072 — 66,4622 61,7613 — 59,6037
Women — 89,9933 96,20212 83,4958 94,5235 — 91,60728
Manager
Men — 72,1234 100,52228 101,61424 94,36812 75,8154 96,91072
Men — — — n=1 — — 177,2301
Master Black Belt
Women — — — — — — —
Women — 97,9692 n=1 — — — 99,1173
Other
Men — — 76,3072 82,0513 n=1 — 83,6926
Process/manufacturing/ Women — — n=1 n=1 — — 95,5072
project engineer Men — 65,6413 n=1 94,5232 — — 85,7436
Women — n=1 62,8182 70,4002 101,7602 — 74,1697
Quality engineer
Men — 69,7433 60,4837 78,3197 109,0865 — 78,46722
Reliability/safety Men — — n=1 132,9232 — — 114,8713
engineer Women — — — — — — —
Software quality Women — — — n=1 — — 73,8461
engineer Men — — — n=1 n=1 — 89,6002
Women — 67,9953 66,8276 74,2256 n=1 — 70,99716
Specialist
Men — 65,3785 85,6617 92,5464 149,6933 — 91,88319
Men — — — — n=1 — 132,9221
Statistician
Women — — — — — — —
Women — — 60,7183 75,1832 — — 66,5045
Supervisor
Men — 51,0771 64,9602 59,0772 81,2312 — 65,9447
Supplier quality Women — — n=1 — — — 62,5231
engineer/professional Men — n=1 80,2324 — n=1 — 85,4056
Women — 58,5852 42,9544 — — — 48,1646
Technician
Men 41,8462 50,5433 52,1842 52,8413 — — 49,82110
Men — n=1 132,1842 175,7532 — — 152,7135
Women — — — — — — —
Salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Superscript numbers denote number of respondents.
QP
2016
Part 1. Regular Employee Results SALARY
Section 16. Raises and Additional Annual Payments SURVEY
Raises Remain So-So
E
Each year, survey respondents are asked what size isfied with their benefits. If a survey taker says he or
raise they expect to receive in the next year. Each year, she is dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the benefits
there are a certain number of respondents who don’t provided, we ask him or her to list the unsatisfactory
expect a raise at all. This number may include a few benefits.
who actually expect a pay cut. Table 1 (p. 108) lists the benefits most often men-
The percentage of U.S. and Canadian respondents tioned in these responses.
who don’t expect a raise in the next year is shown in Returning to raises, Table 2 (p. 108) details the sur-
a time series in Figure 1, which shows that percentage vey respondent’s expectations of raises, breaking down
rose significantly in the years when the 2008 worldwide over the past 11 years the various sizes of raises that re-
recession made itself felt. spondents expect, showing for each band the percent-
In 2011, the percentage dropped to below 20% and age of respondents expecting a raise of that size.
has remained there since. It hit a post-recession low Table 3 (p. 109) goes into more detail, looking at ex-
of about 14% in 2014 and has risen slightly in the past pected raises by job title for both U.S. and Canadian
two years. It shows no sign of returning to below 10%, respondents and showing the current salary for each
where it was in the boom years just before the reces- band of expected raise within a job title.
sion. Table 4 (p. 110) provides the average bonus expect-
In addition to raises, survey respondents are asked ed by job title, along with the percentage of base salary
about benefits. Because benefits can be difficult to that bonus represents, for U.S. and Canadian respon-
quantify, respondents are asked whether they are sat- dents.
Percentage of respondents not

expecting a raise in salary / FIGURE 1
38
40%
35%
30%
25%
20% 21.9
15% 18.7 18.7
16.7 16.9
15.8
10% 14.3
11.2
5% 8.9 7.6
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Years


Benefits with which In 2011, the percentage
respondents are
dissatisfied / TABLE 1 of respondents not
Keyword
Percentage of
mentions
expecting a raise
Health
Incentives
45%
21
dropped to below
Retirement
No benefits
18.1
11.9
20% and has remained
Dental 3.6 there since then. It hit a
Vision 2.7
Vacation 1 post-recession low
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time
employees, x Part‑time employees, of about 14% in 2014.
x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees,
Percentages may not equal 100% due to
rounding.
Historical look at expected size of raise / TABLE 2
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Expect a pay cut 0.1% 0.1% 0.3% 1.9% 0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 0.6% 0.3% 0.4% 0.4%
Do not expect a raise 8.9 7.6 11.2 38.0 21.4 18.2 18.3 16.2 14.1 15.4 16.5
0.1 to 2% increase 13.3 12.3 13.4 14.8 23.6 25.3 26.4 26.2 26.5 27.8 28.3
2.1 to 4% increase 57.7 58.1 56.5 36.4 45.0 46.5 45.6 47.4 49.0 46.8 46.0
4.1 to 6% increase 15.2 16.1 14.2 6.6 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.1 5.6
6.1 to 8% increase 2.3 3.0 2.1 0.9 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.5 1.3 1.3 1.1
8.1 to 10% increase 1.4 1.7 1.2 0.6 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.7 1.3 1.1 1.0
More than 10% increase 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.0 1.4 1.1 1.1

Average salary by size of expected raise in salary / TABLE 3
Here’s an example of how to read this table. In the United States, 26 analysts—with an average salary of $67,548—do not expect a raise,
and 53 analysts—with an average salary of $73,233—expect a 0.1 to 2% increase.
Expect a Do not expect 0.1 to 2% 2.1 to 4% 4.1 to 6% 6.1 to 8% 8.1 to 10% More than
pay cut a raise increase increase increase increase increase 10% increase
United States
Analyst n=1 $67,54826 $73,23353 $70,48264 $74,30210 $58,0258 $63,3333 $41,6673
Associate n=1 53,80913 59,16122 60,82526 69,0004 — n=1 n=1
Auditor — 71,47131 79,50872 78,15583 69,1369 87,1673 n=1 —
Black Belt n=1 95,92813 95,51023 98,94056 103,45610 n=1 101,5002 97,5002
Calibration technician — 50,5586 52,9677 53,91314 n=1 — — n=1
Champion — — 83,8336 106,3333 — — — n=1
Consultant — 121,92027 121,31225 116,25237 134,3676 116,6673 95,0003 n=1
Coordinator n=1 58,73727 56,98345 59,67353 58,3125 62,5002 n=1 n=1
Director — 118,62580 127,495112 137,390255 126,42634 117,0006 93,6254 154,5002
Educator/instructor — 80,7147 98,06711 122,5828 116,5003 — — n=1
Green Belt — 75,2826 91,20212 74,28418 n=1 — — n=1
Inspector — 48,80921 47,43335 50,48336 49,9056 57,7502 n=1 n=1
Manager $74,9125 83,991244 96,952343 101,137786 97,15582 79,22914 80,93315 73,89314
Master Black Belt — 120,63910 123,36215 124,95231 — — n=1 —
Other — 77,97723 78,36227 78,46825 77,1005 — n=1 n=1
n=1 83,06328 88,40536 88,32060 86,8619 — n=1 61,6673
project engineer
Reliability/safety engineer — 109,0205 107,92119 118,03335 107,0004 — n=1 n=1
Software quality engineer — 103,7905 101,78319 109,23527 — — n=1 n=1
Specialist 42,3702 58,75139 71,608100 73,887140 66,97722 71,5003 n=1 57,5006
Statistician — 46,6673 149,7139 142,30918 95,0002 — — —
Supervisor — 56,11627 75,06050 73,89489 64,0707 n=1 73,0802 81,5002
n=1 96,54818 89,03146 91,01564 87,2569 n=1 n=1 111,0002
professional
Technician — 47,10531 50,74578 49,31394 42,19712 n=1 42,7452 n=1
Vice president/executive — 164,26131 160,39433 165,57779 182,18211 202,5002 197,5002 377,4802
Canada
Analyst — $61,1444 $74,8304 $55,6302 n=1 — n=1 —
Associate — 42,6013 n=1 n=1 n=1 — — n=1
Auditor — 88,7135 78,2067 67,2823 n=1 — — —
Black Belt — n=1 111,3483 n=1 — — — —
Consultant — 102,5233 87,1382 — — — — —
Coordinator — 60,72411 71,1737 60,4555 — — — n=1
Director n=1 112,7957 123,3577 125,03416 113,2302 — — n=1
Green Belt — n=1 45,7842 n=1 — — — —
Inspector — 76,3082 57,2223 44,8444 — — — n=1
Manager n=1 90,52930 97,87742 99,13237 94,1946 — n=1 n=1
Other n=1 92,0612 76,8004 n=1 — — n=1 —
— n=1 96,1965 80,2462 — — — —
project engineer
Quality engineer — 92,3085 72,72616 95,2868 — 61,4402 n=1 —
Reliability/safety engineer — — n=1 88,6152 — — — —
Specialist n=1 122,2825 71,24318 80,52512 — n=1 — n=1
Supervisor — 73,0963 70,6955 54,5135 — — — —
— 68,9232 80,0823 95,9712 n=1 — — —
professional
Technician — 28,7183 50,0928 57,4363 46,0312 n=1 n=1 —
Vice president/executive — — 135,0553 228,4292 n=1 — — —

Expected bonus by job title for United States
and Canada / TABLE 4
Average Average Avg. bonus as Average Average Avg. bonus as

bonus Salary pct. of avg. salary bonus Salary pct. of avg. salary
All respondents $16,497 $91,659 18% $13,113 $86,923 15.1%

Analyst 8,238 69,986 11.8 4,231 68,430 6.2
Associate 5,725 58,693 9.8 5,000 47,655 10.5
Auditor 11,511 76,979 15 17,800 76,400 23.3
Black Belt 18,247 98,445 18.5 6,667 96,544 6.9
Calibration technician 4,642 52,921 8.8 — 64,512 —
Champion 35,250 91,333 38.6 — — —
Consultant 23,542 118,118 19.9 4,688 94,913 4.9
Coordinator 8,285 58,287 14.2 3,664 62,621 5.9
Director 32,886 130,902 25.1 24,922 119,477 20.9
Educator/instructor 29,062 101,319 28.7 — 177,230 —
Green Belt 22,989 79,749 28.8 2,700 57,983 4.7
Inspector 4,346 48,672 8.9 538 56,919 0.9
Manager 14,510 96,609 15 14,617 96,038 15.2
Master Black Belt 20,593 125,093 16.5 — 177,230 —
Other 9,674 77,847 12.4 7,533 88,834 8.5
13,685 85,798 16 17,660 88,184 20
project engineer
Quality engineer 10,876 83,991 12.9 13,085 78,935 16.6
Reliability/safety engineer 9,820 112,058 8.8 23,333 114,871 20.3
Software quality engineer 24,371 105,701 23.1 — 84,348 —
Specialist 9,116 70,143 13 6,676 82,313 8.1
Statistician 14,153 132,468 10.7 — 132,922 —

Supervisor 11,259 71,193 15.8 4,200 65,025 6.5

24,630 91,219 27 5,125 81,100 6.3
professional
Technician 7,693 48,994 15.7 2,617 47,590 5.5
Vice president/executive 44,253 169,350 26.1 22,500 168,286 13.4
QP
2016
Part 2. Self-Employed Consultants Results SALARY
Section 17. Consultants Overview SURVEY
A Quarter of Consultants
Moonlight
W
Worldwide, 57.9% of the self-employed consultants up less than 70% of the total.
who responded to this year’s salary survey work full Figure 2 (p. 112) shows full-time, self-employed
time at their consulting. The raw number of full-time consultants in the United States expect to earn an av-
consultants is 95, while 69 work part-time as consul- erage of $158,847 compared to $268,716 for their Ca-
tants. Of the total 164 self-employed consultants who nadian counterparts. Most bill on an hourly or daily
responded, Figure 1 shows 25.6% also work for an- basis. Figure 3 (p. 112) shows billing methods used
other employer. by U.S., Canadian and international consultants.
That chart also shows that the recession, the Only 34.8% of consultants bill by a method other than
effects of which were felt most strongly in 2009, an hourly or daily rate.
brought a major shift in the percentage of self- Table 1 (p. 112) breaks down the billing methods
employed consultants who also work for other of respondents worldwide by years of experience as
organizations. Before that year, those who ran a full-time consultant. It’s apparent from the last row
solo businesses while also working for other em- in the table that newcomers to the consulting busi-
ployers made up the majority of our consultants. ness are very likely to bill by the hour. The 62.5% of
Since then, the ratio has flipped, and in no year first-year consultants who bill hourly are joined by
since 2009 have the solo-only respondents made another 6.3% who add daily billing to the mix.
Self-employed consultants who also work

as employees: historical comparison / FIGURE 1
100%
90% 21.4 20.9 21.5
27.6 26.6 27.9 25.6

33
80%
70% 61.1
72.5
60%
50%
40% 78.6 79.1 78.5 74.4
72.4 73.4 72.1
67
30%
20% 38.9
27.5
10%
0%
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Year
Self-employed only Self-employed and
work for an organization

x U.S. employees, x Canadian employees, x International employees

Annual revenue for full-time
vs. part-time consulting / FIGURE 2
$300,000 268,716
$250,000
Annual revenue
$200,000
158,847
$150,000
$100,000
65,735
47,458
$50,000 Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time consultants,
x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,
0
Self-employed Self-employed Self-employed Self-employed x Canadian consultants, International consultants
consultants who consultants who consultants who consultants who Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.
work part time in work full time in work part time work full time
the United States the United States in Canada in Canada
(42.1%) (57.9%) (33.3%) (66.7%)
Billing methods used by consultants / FIGURE 3
Daily
17.1%
By project
18.3%
Hourly
Other
42.1%
16.5%
Figure 3 includes results for: x Full-time consultants,

Hourly and x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,
daily rates x Canadian consultants, x International consultants
6.1% Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Billing methods by years as a full-time

self-employed consultant, all countries / TABLE 1
Hourly Hourly and

Daily rates By project Other
rates daily rates
More than 20 years 16.7% 25.0% 33.3% 8.3% 16.7%
10.1-20 years 45.9 5.4 10.8 21.6 16.2
6.1-10 years 51.7 6.9 13.8 10.3 17.2
3.1-6 years 45.0 — 20.0 15.0 20.0
1-3 years 32.0 4.0 24.0 20.0 20.0
Less than 1 year 62.5 6.3 — 31.3 —
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, Part‑time consultants,

x U.S. consultants, x Canadian consultants, x International consultants
QP
2016
Part 2. Self-Employed Consultants Results SALARY
Section 18. Consultant Earnings by Experience SURVEY
Quality Experience,
Quality Earnings
E
Every year, the QP Salary Survey shows that among the problem of small sample sizes makes this chart less
quality professionals who work as employees of orga- useful.
nizations, the more quality experience they accrue, the In Figure 3 (p. 114), the rest of the world’s consul-
larger their paychecks (see section 4, p. 25). Among tants are added and divided into three bands of experi-
consultants, the picture looks similar. ence. This is probably a truer, if less-detailed picture of
Figure 1 shows for full-time consultants worldwide, the effect of consulting experience on earnings.
consultants with more than 20 years in the quality pro- In addition, just as among employees, quality expe-
fession bring home an average of $176,240 a year, or rience trumps experience in a particular job, and we
$80,999 more than those who’ve worked in quality for see less benefit from consulting experience than from
10 or fewer years. Of course, because fewer than 200 experience in quality. While consultants who’ve been
consultants are included in the data set, all inferences self-employed for more than 20 years bill a respectable
here in the consultants’ portion of the report are to be $178,808 a year, those who’ve been at it for between 10
taken with an element of skepticism. and 20 years do even better, bringing home an average
Look at income by experience in self-employed con- of $183,397.
sulting, for example. Figure 2 (p. 114) shows there is no What seems to make the greatest difference in con-
clear increase in income with an increase in years as a sulting income is not years of experience but the par-
consultant. This is for U.S. consultants only, however. ticular kind of experience a consultant holds. Table 1
Because they are divided into six experience cohorts, (p. 114) shows the groups of consultants earning more
than $200,000 are those who, in
their time as employees, held
Annual revenue by years of experience the highly responsible and well-
in quality worldwide / FIGURE 1 paying positions of Master Black
Belt, director and vice president/
$200,000 executive.
176,240
Tables 2 and 3 (p. 115) provide
$150,000 138,176
more detail on incomes by years
$100,000 95,241 of experience in the quality pro-
fession for U.S. and Canadian
$50,000
respondents. While Figures 1 and
$0 3 have dealt only with full-time
0-10 10.1-20 More than consultants, these tables add
(11) (30) 20 (54)
part-timers (30 or fewer billed
Years of experience in quality
hours per week) to the mix.
(number of respondents)
Tables 4 and 5 (p. 116) are sim-
Figure 1 includes results for: ilar, but show incomes by years
x Full-time consultants, Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,
as a self-employed consultant.
x Canadian consultants, x International consultants
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars for all countries and were calculated using the
exchange rate in effect on July 1.

Base earnings by consulting experience for
U.S. self-employed consultants / FIGURE 2
39,813
Less than 1 year
91,410
70,294
1-3 years
Number of years as a
165,113
97,600
3.1-6 years
116,053
53,286
6.1-10 years
132,865
54,444
10.1-20 years
183,397
More than 20 years

178,808
0 $40,000 $80,000 $120,000 $160,000 $200,000

Base earnings
Part time Full time
Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,

Canadian consultants, International consultants
Consultant earnings Annual revenue by years of

by last job title, U.S. experience as a consultant
and Canada / TABLE 1 worldwide / FIGURE 3
Average annual
Title Count $200,000
earnings 183,397 178,808
Associate 2 $64,000 $150,000 140,456

Auditor 2 146,193
$100,000
Consultant 15 178,361
Director 13 209,691 $50,000
Manager 21 150,427
$0
Master Black Belt 3 418,978 0-10 10.1-20 More than
Other 5 151,968 (62) (22) 20 (11)
Quality engineer 12 118,864 Years of experience in quality
(number of respondents)
Software quality engineer 3 93,067
Vice president/executive 3 244,998
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Full-time consultants, Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,
x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees, x Canadian consultants, x International consultants
x Canadian employees, International employees Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars for all countries and were
Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. calculated using the exchange rate in effect on July 1.
QP
2016
Base earnings by years in quality SALARY
for U.S. self-employed consultants / TABLE 2 SURVEY
Standard
deviation
Full time
All consultants $30,000 $800,000 $116,919 70 $158,847 $134,000
Number of years of experience in the quality field
1-3 years n<3
3.1-6 years n<3
6.1-10 years 67,000 138,000 31763 4 111,250 120,000
10.1-20 years 39,000 225,000 56980 23 115,801 103,000
More than 20 years 47,000 800,000 139093 40 192,021 150,000
Part time
All consultants 2,000 210,000 54,002 51 65,735 50,000
Less than 1 year n<3
1-3 years n<3
6.1-10 years 10,000 95,000 47,697 3 40,000 15,000
10.1-20 years 5,000 158,000 41,372 10 63,100 61,500
More than 20 years 2,000 210,000 58,685 34 73,206 51,000
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants,

x U.S. consultants, Canadian consultants, International consultants
n < 3 indicates fewer than 3 respondents. Data are shielded to protect personally identifiable information.
Base earnings by years in quality

for Canadian self-employed consultants / TABLE 3
Standard
deviation
Full time
All consultants $44,307 $1,181,531 $302,542 12 $268,716 $194,460
6.1-10 years n<3
10.1-20 years 88,615 1,181,531 503043 4 455,382 275,691
More than 20 years 44,307 246,152 76252 7 183,559 216,614
Part time
All consultants 1,969 147,691 55,095 6 47,458 30,523
10.1-20 years 41,354 147,691 75,192 2 94,522 94,522
More than 20 years 1,969 68,923 30,975 4 23,926 12,406

U.S. consultants, x Canadian consultants, International consultants

Base earnings by years as a
U.S. self-employed consultant / TABLE 4
Standard
deviation
Full time
Less than 1 year $39,000 $200,000 $61,678 5 $107,800 $100,000
1-3 years 30,000 340,000 83,481 19 146,002 130,000
3.1-6 years 67,000 200,000 52,418 8 129,375 144,000
6.1-10 years 60,000 500,000 104,078 16 146,470 125,000
10.1-20 years 47,000 800,000 176,340 17 190,160 140,000
More than 20 years 125,000 400,000 110,646 5 239,000 235,000
Part time
Less than 1 year 2,500 100,000 36,320 8 39,813 25,000
1-3 years 4,000 210,000 56,423 17 70,294 63,000
3.1-6 years 36,000 175,000 55,334 10 97,600 90,000
6.1-10 years 2,000 200,000 67,366 7 53,286 26,000
10.1-20 years 6,000 125,000 39,900 9 54,444 50,000

x U.S. consultants, Canadian consultants, International consultants
Base earnings by years as a

Canadian self-employed consultant / TABLE 5
Standard
deviation
Full time
1-3 years $216,614 $1,181,531 $548,767 3 $548,099 $246,152
6.1-10 years 44,307 118,153 37,168 3 83,692 88,615
10.1-20 years 123,076 403,690 140,659 3 257,639 246,152
More than 20 years 147,691 236,306 45,743 3 185,435 172,307

U.S. consultants, x Canadian consultants, International consultants
While consultants who’ve been self-employed

for more than 20 years bill a respectable $178,808
a year, the ones who’ve been at it for between
10 and 20 years do even better, bringing
home an average of $183,397.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Part 2. Self-Employed Consultants Results
Section 19. Consultant Earnings by Education and Training
Random Variables
T
The independent consultants who respond to Table 1 (p. 118), for example, shows annual
the annual QP Salary Survey, of course, make income for U. S. consultants broken out by
up a smaller group than the group of regular education, certifications and Six Sigma train-
employees who respond to the questionnaire. ing. Any Six Sigma training more than the Yel-
This year in the United States, 51 consul- low Belt level provides a healthy income boost
tants reported working part time, and there when compared to the earnings of those with-
were 70 full-time consultants (a workweek of out Six Sigma training. While the full-time con-
30 or fewer hours is considered part time.) In sultants holding Master Black Belts are few in
Canada, six part-time and 12 full-time consul- number, they earn on average $31,099 a year
tants made up this year’s respondents. more than the consultants without Six Sigma
After these groups are sliced into sub- training ($179,644 vs. $148,545).
groups, of course, what’s left are some small Table 1 shows annual incomes for U.S. con-
sample sizes, making it a bit difficult to derive sultants by education, Six Sigma training, ASQ
any reliable inferences. There are a few group- certifications and Exemplar Global certifica-
ings, however, that are large enough to be sig- tions. Table 2 (p. 119) shows the same infor-
nificant. mation for Canadian consultants.
Among consultants in the United

States, any Six Sigma training
more than the Yellow Belt
level provides a healthy
income boost when compared
to the earnings of those without
Six Sigma training.

Base earnings for U.S. self-employed consultants / TABLE 1
Standard
deviation
Full time
All consultants $30,000 $800,000 $116,919 70 $158,847 $134,000
Bachelor’s degree 58,000 400,000 81,236 31 158,578 140,000
Master’s degree 30,000 500,000 97,124 34 141,246 120,000
Doctorate 70,000 800,000 400,375 3 340,000 150,000
Highest level of Six Sigma training
None 39,000 400,000 76,403 27 148,545 138,000
Yellow Belt 30,000 248,000 66,624 8 87,125 71,000
Green Belt (GB) 67,000 800,000 195,099 12 194,047 150,000
Black Belt (BB) 47,000 300,000 85,698 14 153,274 141,000
Master BB (MBB) 72,151 340,000 97,874 8 179,644 140,000
ASQ certification
None 30,000 800,000 155,677 32 168,435 115,000
Biomedical auditor 58,000 180,000 51,907 4 129,500 140,000
Manager of quality/organizational excellence 72,000 285,000 62,606 13 155,655 152,000
Quality auditor 60,000 285,000 56,867 19 158,282 150,000
Quality inspector 110,000 211,364 44,096 4 152,841 145,000
Quality technician 60,000 156,000 44,091 4 124,000 140,000
Reliability engineer 130,000 175,000 21,360 4 146,250 140,000
Six Sigma BB 60,000 300,000 63,899 12 131,179 125,000
Six Sigma GB 130,000 211,364 38,520 4 155,341 140,000
Exemplar Global certification
None 30,000 800,000 116,450 60 158,654 134,000
Quality management system (QMS) auditor 103,000 175,000 36,556 3 142,667 150,000
QMS lead auditor 60,000 110,000 27,074 3 91,000 103,000
Part time
All consultants 2,000 210,000 54,002 51 65,735 50,000
High school or less 10,000 63,000 26,951 3 39,333 45,000
Two-year program 5,000 95,000 29,821 7 36,429 25,000
Master’s degree 6,000 210,000 64,034 17 83,647 75,000
Doctorate 4,000 175,000 66,844 6 74,833 60,000
None 2,000 140,000 37,444 20 38,375 22,500
GB 6,000 130,000 37,403 10 69,100 67,500
BB 25,000 200,000 61,205 10 81,000 61,000
MBB 50,000 210,000 52,475 7 134,000 125,000
ASQ certification
None 2,500 210,000 62,984 17 60,735 45,000
Biomedical auditor 2,000 200,000 85,081 5 73,600 40,000
Manager of quality/organizational excellence 6,000 200,000 47,865 18 88,444 87,500
Quality auditor 2,000 200,000 48,009 25 60,280 50,000
Quality improvement associate 80,000 125,000 22,546 3 101,667 100,000
Six Sigma BB 40,000 120,000 33,239 5 76,400 70,000
Exemplar Global certification
None 2,000 210,000 56,969 42 65,726 50,000
QMS lead auditor 15,000 130,000 45,992 5 63,400 72,000
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants, Canadian consultants,
International consultants
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Base earnings for Canadian self-employed

consultants / TABLE 2
Standard
deviation
Full time
All consultants $44,307 $1,181,531 $302,542 12 $268,716 $194,460
Two-year program 44,307 403,690 140,691 5 166,399 123,076
Master’s degree 216,614 1,181,531 472,817 4 472,612 246,152
None 88,615 403,690 106,895 6 223,178 226,460
Green Belt 44,307 172,307 90,509 3 108,307 108,307
ASQ certification
None 44,307 403,690 109,986 8 198,768 204,306
Quality auditor 147,691 1,181,531 731,035 3 664,611 664,611
Part time
All consultants 1,969 147,691 55,095 6 47,458 30,523
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants, U.S. consultants, x Canadian consultants,
International consultants
Sign of the Times
“ Learning opportunities are enormous. Every problem you solve

provides more isight to product and process opportunities for
improvement.
” Russ Snyder
operations engineering manager
Intel Corp.
Intel Communication and Devices Group (iCDG)
Portland, OR.

Part 2. Self-Employed Consultants Results
Section 20. Consultant Earnings by Age, Gender and Geography
It’s Experience,
Not Age, That Matters
M
Men usually outnumber women among those self-employed (more than 30 hours billed per week) and part-time consul-
consultants from the United States and Canada who respond tants. The incomes of consultants paid in currencies other
to each year’s survey. This year, as Table 1 shows, men made than U.S. or Canadian dollars were converted to U.S. dollars
up more than 72% of respondents from the United States using the exchange rates in effect July 1, 2016. Table 2 also
and more than 77% from Canada. In both countries, there breaks down the U.S. and Canadian consultants’ earnings
is no pattern to suggest age has any appreciable effect on a by state or province.
person’s consulting income. Table 3 (p. 122) divides the U.S. and Canadian self-em-
In most years, we have few consultants who respond ployed consultants’ earnings by the metropolitan area in
from outside the United States and Canada. This year, 21 which they’re based. The survey included 43 of the top 50
other countries were represented among independent con- U.S. metropolitan areas and the top five Canadian metro-
sultants who responded. politan areas. This year, survey responses came from 43 of
Table 2 shows their earnings by country, for full-time the U.S. metropolitan areas.
Consultant earnings and rates

by age and gender / TABLE 1
Average base earnings Average rates
Percentage Full time Part time Hourly rate Daily rate
United States
25 or younger 1.7% — $20,000 $15 —
26-35 3.3 $180,000 55,833 80 —
36-45 9.1 151,820 50,000 55 —
46-55 27.3 159,912 83,267 112 $1,202
Age
56-65 36.4 177,018 52,438 111 1,096
66 and over 13.2 184,333 71,923 121 1,157
No information
9.1 103,315 72,000 93 2,005
provided
Female 27.3 113,078 57,324 99 1,843
Gender
Male 72.7 172,408 113,324 104 1,096
Canada
36-45 25.0% $610,458 $41,354 $115 $1,600
46-55 25.0 150,973 — 113 —
Age
56-65 33.3 161,230 72,861 124 1,250
66 and over 16.7 147,691 35,446 1,200 1,200
Female 22.2 88,615 37,415 86 —
Gender
Male 77.8 285,089 72,861 292 1,325
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,

x Canadian consultants, International consultants
Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars. Categories in which there were no respondents are
not included. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
QP
2016
This year, self-employed SALARY
SURVEY
consultants reported from
43 of the 50 largest U.S.
metropolitan areas.
Consultant earnings by geographic location / TABLE 2
Full time Part time Full time Part time

Arizona $101,333 $42,667 Alberta $433,228 $51,200
California 169,839 107,429 British Columbia 44,307 —
Colorado 109,200 33,333 Nova Scotia 236,306 —
Connecticut 235,000 80,000 Ontario 147,691 30,195
Florida 208,750 162,500 Quebec 182,153 94,522
Georgia — 175,000 Saskatchewan 403,690 —
Illinois 157,000 81,000 International
Indiana 180,000 — Argentina $26,954 —
Kansas 72,151 — Australia — $114,890
Kentucky — 52,000 Belgium 83,135 —
Maryland 75,000 50,000 Brazil 52,035 —
Massachusetts 189,000 6,000 China — 15,212
Michigan 130,000 67,500 Germany 110,847 —
Minnesota 167,788 59,000 Great Britain — 78,213
Missouri 130,000 10,000 Israel — 13,084
Nevada 120,000 — Italy 110,847 114,726
New Jersey 475,000 15,000 Jamaica 39,550 —
New York 185,000 27,500 Japan — 48,870
North Carolina 111,000 — Malaysia — 19,850
Ohio 171,667 86,667 Mexico 52,000 1,078
Oklahoma — 5,000 Nigeria 9,480 —
Oregon 100,000 — Pakistan — —
Pennsylvania 110,000 38,500 Peru 19,278 18,073
Puerto Rico 72,960 — Philippines — 25,000
Rhode Island — 120,000 Singapore 148,539 —
South Carolina — 26,000 Spain 277,117 —
Tennessee 75,000 — United Arab Emirates — 700,000
Texas 197,600 4,000 Venezuela 120,000 —
Utah — 70,000
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time
Virginia 160,000 — consultants, x U.S. consultants, x Canadian consultants,
Washington 206,000 — x International consultants
Wisconsin 79,667 20,000 Canadian salaries are noted in Canadian dollars.

International salaries are noted in U.S. dollars.

Consultant earnings by metropolitan area / TABLE 3
Full time Part time

United States
Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange County (CA) $300,000 $152,333
Portland and Salem (OR and WA) 100,000 —
Sacramento and Yolo (CA) 130,000 —
Pacific
San Diego (CA) 97,667 87,500
San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose (CA) 211,905 40,000
Seattle, Tacoma and Bremerton (WA) 206,000 —
Denver, Boulder and Greeley (CO) 109,200 37,500
Las Vegas (NV) 120,000 —
Mountain Other metro area, Mountain region 82,000 25,000
Phoenix and Mesa (AZ) 111,000 42,667
Salt Lake City and Ogden (UT) — 70,000
Kansas City (MO and KS) 72,151 —
West North Central Minneapolis and St. Paul (MN) 167,788 59,000
St. Louis (MO and IL) 130,000 10,000
Dallas and Fort Worth (TX) 60,000 —
Houston, Galveston and Brazoria (TX) 232,000 40,000
West South Central
Other metro areas, West South Central region — 5,000
San Antonio (TX) — 4,000
Chicago, Gary and Kenosha (IL, IN and WI) 140,800 293,714
Cincinnati and Hamilton (OH, KY and IN) — 76,000
Cleveland and Akron (OH) 192,500 2,000
Columbus (OH) 225,000 158,000
East North Central
Detroit, Ann Arbor and Flint (MI) 130,000 67,500
Indianapolis (IN) 60,000 —
Milwaukee and Racine (WI) 100,000 20,000
Other metro area, East North Central region 180,000 —
Boston, Worcester and Lawrence (MA, NH, ME and CT) 189,000 63,000
New England
Hartford (CT) 235,000 80,000
New York, Northern New Jersey and Long Island (NY, NJ, CT
378,333 15,000
and PA)
Other metro area, Middle Atlantic region — 26,833
Middle Atlantic
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Atlantic City (PA, NJ, DE and MD) 133,000 50,000
Pittsburgh (PA) 140,000 —
Rochester (NY) — 40,000
Atlanta (GA) — 175,000
Charlotte, Gastonia and Rock Hill (NC) 152,000 26,000
Jacksonville (FL) 192,500 —
Miami and Fort Lauderdale (FL) 110,000 —
Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News (VA and NC) 160,000 —
South Atlantic
Orlando (FL) — 162,500
Other metro area, South Atlantic region 150,000 —
Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill (NC) 70,000 —
San Juan, Caguas and Arecibo (PR) 51,840 —
Washington, D.C., and Baltimore (MD, VA and WV) 75,000 50,000
Canada
Calgary (AB) $167,384 $5,120
Montreal (QC) 246,152 94,522
All provinces Ottawa-Gatineau (ON and QC) — 19,692
Toronto (ON) 147,691 35,446
Vancouver (BC) 44,307 —
Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time consultants, x Part‑time consultants, x U.S. consultants,

x Canadian consultants, International consultants
QP
2016
Part 3. International Results SALARY
Section 21. International Overview SURVEY
The Big Three
I
In 2014, QP made a concerted effort to increase survey par- plies even 200 responses, the sample sizes are small after
ticipation among quality professionals outside of the Unit- we slice the data into subgroups. Naturally, this makes it
ed States and Canada. This section reviews those results risky to draw inferences from the data. Even differences
from quality professionals beyond the United States and from one year to another may not be a report of real condi-
Canada who responded to the survey. Ensuing sections fo- tions, but simply a difference in samples from year to year.
cus on results from China, India, Mexico and the rest of the For example, a chart similar to Figure 1 (p. 125) show-
world, respectively. ing salaries by Six Sigma training also was included in the
As Table 1 (p. 124) shows, China, India and Mexico pro- 2015 salary survey report. Then, each reporting area (in-
vided 335 responses that were usable in the analysis. Of the cluding the rest of the world) showed a red column higher
three, the most came from Mexico: 170 responses. The table than the blue, indicating that Six Sigma training increased
further details the number of usable responses by country. average salary in every country.
Table 2 (p. 125) breaks down the locations of the head- This year, China appears to be an exception to that re-
quarters of the organizations the respondents work for, sult. There, respondents without Six Sigma training out-
sorted by the country in which a respondent primarily earned those with any Six Sigma training by $5,926. This
works (top row). Most respondents report working for an is almost certainly an example of the problem with small
organization headquartered in the United States, where sample sizes. With quality careers comprising so many job
most of the survey respondents also work. titles with different pay scales, a small shift in who decides
Even for quality professionals reporting from Mexi- to respond to the survey can cause a misleading appear-
co, the United States is still the country most commonly ance of a difference in conditions in a particular location.
named as the headquarters’ location of the respondent’s For that reason, the international portion of the report
employer. Of all the countries from which respondents remains limited, and most of our reporting will be simple,
reported, India alone supplied not a single respondent descriptive statistics. As ASQ’s reach continues to grow
working for a U.S.-based organization. Half of India’s outside the United States and Canada and respondents to
respondents work for organizations from Asia and half the QP Salary Survey from other countries become more
from the Middle East. numerous, better inferences can reasonably be drawn
Because no other country featured in this section sup- from future data sets.
Sign of the Times

What do you like best about working in quality?
“ I enjoy working with the people and seeking to understand the

day-to-day problems and helping drill down to the root cause.
”
Crystal Bechler
quality assurance specialist
Pure Fishing
Spirit Lake, IA.

Countries where Countries where
respondents work / TABLE 1 respondents work / TABLE 1
(CONTINUED) (CONTINUED)
Count Percentage Count Percentage
United States 5,438 82.15% Germany 4 0.06%
Canada 388 5.86 Guatemala 4 0.06
Mexico 170 2.57 Indonesia 4 0.06
China 106 1.6 Afghanistan 3 0.05
India 59 0.89 Ghana 3 0.05
United Arab Emirates 34 0.51 Taiwan 3 0.05
Malaysia 32 0.48 Barbados 2 0.03
Saudi Arabia 27 0.41 Bulgaria 2 0.03
Australia 23 0.35 Jamaica 2 0.03
Nigeria 23 0.35 Japan 2 0.03
Dominican Republic 21 0.32 Portugal 2 0.03
Trinidad and Tobago 21 0.32 Slovenia 2 0.03
Brazil 19 0.29 Antigua and Barbuda 1 0.02
Costa Rica 17 0.26 Bangladesh 1 0.02
Ireland 16 0.24 Cameroon 1 0.02
Qatar 16 0.24 Chile 1 0.02
Singapore 15 0.23 Congo 1 0.02
Egypt 11 0.17 El Salvador 1 0.02
Republic of Korea 11 0.17 Ethiopia 1 0.02
Great Britain 9 0.14 Finland 1 0.02
Israel 9 0.14 Iraq 1 0.02
Peru 9 0.14 Jordan 1 0.02
Greece 8 0.12 Kenya 1 0.02
Italy 8 0.12 Latvia 1 0.02
South Africa 8 0.12 Mauritius 1 0.02
Argentina 7 0.11 Morocco 1 0.02
Oman 7 0.11 New Zealand 1 0.02
Pakistan 7 0.11 Nicaragua 1 0.02
Netherlands 6 0.09 Poland 1 0.02
Ecuador 5 0.08 Romania 1 0.02
France 5 0.08 St. Vincent and the
1 0.02
Grenadines
Kuwait 5 0.08
Slovakia 1 0.02
Philippines 5 0.08
Sri Lanka 1 0.02
Spain 5 0.08
Switzerland 1 0.02
Turkey 5 0.08
Syria 1 0.02
Belgium 4 0.06
Uganda 1 0.02
Colombia 4 0.06

x Part‑time employees
x Part‑time employees
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by Six Sigma China, India and

training / FIGURE 1
$100,000 Mexico together
$90,000
$80,000
$70,000
provided 335
usable responses.
60,629
$60,000
48,342 49,146
$50,000 42,416
$40,000
$30,000
35,820
20,046
31,962
From countries
18,751
beyond the United

$20,000
$10,000
$0
China India Mexico Rest of
world
States and Canada,
Hasn’t completed any Six Sigma training
Has completed one or more Six Sigma training programs
Mexico sent the
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, most responses—170.
Part‑time employees
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars for all countries and were
computed using the exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
Location of organization’s headquarters / TABLE 2
Respondents
Respondents Respondents Respondents Respondents Respondents
from the rest
from the U.S. from Canada from China from India from Mexico
of the world
United States 83.57% 16.89% 33.33% — 62.5% 22.46%
European Union 9.19 7.39 8.33 — — 19.86
Europe (not including European Union) 2.91 1.58 8.33 — — 2.84
Asia 2.4 1.58 50.00 — 12.5 8.51
Canada 0.91 72.30 — 50% — 2.36
Middle East 0.32 — — 50 — 16.55
Pacific (includes Australia, New
0.26 — — — — 4.02
Zealand and Pacific Island countries)
Latin America and the Caribbean 0.25 0.26 — — — 15.37
Mexico 0.15 — — — 25.0 0.95
Africa 0.04 — — — — 7.09

Section 22. China Results
China
A
Among the QP Salary Survey respondents from China, times as large as the 26-to-35 band.
the vast majority are full-time employees of organi- • Salary by highest level of Six Sigma training shows
zations and do not add to their incomes by working an average salary of $75,000 for Master Black Belts
on the side as self-employed consultants. As Table 1 (see Figure 3, p. 129). Although the respondents
shows, these professionals earn an average salary of holding this Belt make up only 1.9% of Chinese re-
$44,605. spondents, the high value of this Belt is consistent
You’ll notice this amount doesn’t match the average with results from respondents in the United States
for all full-time employees, shown in the top row of and other countries.
Table 2, because that average incorporates the salary
income of the full-time employees who do supplement
Exhibits in this section
Remember that all salaries are expressed in U.S. dol-
their income through self-employment, who are mixed
lars, converted from other currencies using the ex-
in with part-timers in the second row of Table 1.
change rate in effect July 1, 2016.
Table 1 shows the employment status of all respon-
• Table 1 shows the employment status of those who
dents who reported their status, along with the number
responded and how many responses were usable.
of responses in each category that were deemed usable
Although we do not analyze income data from self-
for the report. There are always some responses that
employed consultants, a response from a consultant
contain information far from reasonable that make
is deemed usable when it includes enough informa-
the entire response invalid. One respondent ended his
tion to assign to a country and appears to contain
or her unemployment within the past six months and
complete answers with regard to education, certifi-
filled in the survey using the most recent information.
cation and other qualitative questions. The same is
This was incorporated into the report.
true of a respondent who reports being retired, laid
Before running down the tables and figures in this
off or unemployed.
section, a few highlights of results from China include:
• Table 2 breaks down salaries by job title. Although
• Despite the relatively small number of respondents
there may be great variation in pay scales from
from China, the numbers of those whose highest edu-
cation is a bachelor’s or master’s degree
are large enough to suggest that the
salary difference between these two
Employment statuses for
groups is statistically significant. The respondents from China / TABLE 1
group of 36 professionals with master’s
Useable
degrees earns on average of $61,405 per Original Mean
employee Percentage
responses salary
year, which is $23,652 more than the responses
average salary of the 56 respondents Regular, full-time employee 117 102 96.2% $44,605
whose highest degree is bachelor’s de- Full-time or part-time
grees (see Table 6, p. 128). employee who also is a 4 3 2.8 37,889
• China has a young workforce. As the
respondents are divided into 10-year Self-employed consultant 1 — — —
bands by age, the youngest band is Unemployed or retired

1 1 0.9 63,000
within the last six months
also the largest—with 41 respondents
(see Table 7, p. 128). In the United Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
States, the picture is quite different: x Part‑time employees
The 46-to-55 band is nearly three Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the exchange
rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by job title in China / TABLE 2
Standard
deviation
Associate n<3
Auditor n<3
Black Belt 34,911 85,084 25,619 3 56,998 51,000
Director 15,000 166,204 53,428 7 78,019 72,000
Green Belt n<3
Manager 3,750 135,000 36,146 30 57,007 53,250
Software quality engineer n<3
Specialist n<3
Supervisor 2,700 75,000 27,825 5 27,480 19,500
Vice president/executive n<3
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees

n < 3 indicates fewer than 3 respondents. Data is shielded to protect personally identifiable information.
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
country to country, the list of titles held by quality pro-

ASQ certifications held by
fessionals is fairly universal, as is the rough order of the respondents from
titles when sorted by average salary—no matter what China / TABLE 3
the country.
• Table 3 shows how many respondents from China hold Number of
respondents
ASQ certifications.
Quality engineer 20
• Table 4 (p. 128) shows how many respondents from
Six Sigma Black Belt 17
China hold Exemplar Global certifications and how
many they hold. Six Sigma Green Belt 16
• Table 5 (p. 128) lists the most popular Exemplar Global Manager of quality/organizational excellence 10
certifications, with the number holding each. Reliability engineer 7
• Table 6 provides details on salaries broken down by the Quality auditor 4
respondent’s highest education level attained. HACCP auditor 1
• Table 7 combines two tables, giving average salaries by Pharmaceutical GMP professional 1
gender and age. Quality improvement associate 1
• Figure 1 (p. 129) shows the average salary for each job
Six Sigma Master Black Belt 1
title held by any respondents.
Software quality engineer 1
• Figure 2 (p. 129) shows average salary by the number of
ASQ certifications held by each respondent. Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time
• Figure 3 shows average salary by the highest level of Six employees, x Self-employed consultants
Sigma training attained by each respondent. GMP = good manufacturing practices

Number of
Exemplar Global Exemplar Global certifications
certifications held held by two or more
by respondents respondents from China / TABLE 5
from China / TABLE 4
Number of
respondents
Number of
Respondents
certifications held Internal auditor 16
0 74 Quality management systems (QMS) auditor 6
1 25 Environmental system auditor 4
2 4 QMS provisional auditor 3
3 2 Occupational health and safety provisional auditor 2
4 1 QMS lead auditor 2
Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time
employees, Part‑time employees employees, x Self-employed consultants
Salary by highest level of education in

China / TABLE 6
Standard
Minimum Maximum Count Average Mean
deviation
Two-year program $5,550 $52,500 $12,697 10 $20,925 $21,000
Master’s degree 2,700 180,000 40,682 36 61,405 57,000
Doctorate 6,000 89,800 34,317 4 48,092 48,283

Salary by gender and age in China / TABLE 7
Standard
deviation
Women $2,250 $166,204 $35,353 23 $35,025 $22,815
Men 2,430 180,000 36,517 82 47,631 36,000
26 to 35 2,250 75,000 16,116 41 29,278 27,750
36 to 45 2,430 116,024 32,864 35 45,029 40,500
46 to 55 15,000 180,000 47,316 12 86,802 87,442
56 to 65 45,000 166,204 62,644 3 96,442 78,123
Age not given 13,500 145,803 40,425 13 42,491 29,250

Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were computed using the exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Salary by job title for respondents
working from China / FIGURE 1
Director (6.7%) 78,019
Manager (28.6%) 57,007
Black Belt (2.9%) 56,998
Specialist (1%) 52,500
Supervisor (4.8%) 27,480
Associate (1%) 22,815
Green Belt (1%) 22,500
Auditor (1.9%) 19,508
Software quality engineer (1%) 15,000
0 $30,000 $60,000 $90,000 $120,000

Average salary
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees

Salary by number of Salary by highest level

ASQ certifications held by of Six Sigma training
respondents from for respondents working
China / FIGURE 2 from China / FIGURE 3
85,905 Highest level
$90,000
(percentage of
$80,000
respondents)
$70,000
Average salary
59,895
$60,000
None (37.9%) 48,342
$50,000 44,947
$40,000 36,031
Green Belt (31.1%) 30,571
$30,000
$20,000
Black Belt (27.2%) 46,745
$10,000
0
None One Two Three or more Master Black Belt (1.9%) 75,000
(44.3%) (41.5%) (9.4%) (4.7%)
Number of ASQ certifications Champion (1.9%) 138,750
0 $30,000 $90,000 $150,000
Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
Part‑time employees Average salary
Figure 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the Part‑time employees
exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the

Section 23. India Results
India
A
As in all countries, nearly all of the QP Salary Survey re- holding this Belt make up only 5.2% of Indian respondents
spondents from India report working as full-time employees (already a small number), the high value of this Belt can
of an organization, without adding to their income as self- be trusted in view of its similar high value year after year
employed consultants. in the United States and other countries.
As the upper-right corner of Table 1 shows, these pro-
fessionals earn an average salary of $31,561. Other full-time Exhibits in this section
workers, who fit into rows four and five of Table 1, are in- Remember that all salaries are expressed in U.S. dollars,
cluded in the group of full-time workers reported in Table 2. converted from other currencies using the exchange rate in
There, those respondents taken together make an average effect July 1, 2016.
of $30,239 a year. • Table 1 shows the employment status of those who re-
Table 1 shows the employment status of all respondents, sponded and how many responses were usable. Although
along with the number of responses in each category that we do not analyze income data from self-employed in-
were deemed usable for the report. There are always some ternational consultants, a response from a consultant is
responses that contain some information so far from reason- deemed usable when it includes enough information to
able that the entire response is considered unusable. The two assign to a country and appears to contain complete an-
respondents who ended their unemployment within the past swers with regard to education, certification and other
six months (row five) filled in the survey using the most re- qualitative questions. The same is true of a respondent
cent information, and this was incorporated into the report. who reports being retired, laid off or unemployed.
Before explaining the tables and figures in this section, a • Table 2 breaks down salaries by job title. Although there
few highlights of results from respondents in India include: may be great variation in pay scales from country to
• Despite the fairly small numbers of respondents from In- country, the list of titles held by quality professionals is
dia, the number of those whose highest educational attain- fairly universal, as is the rough order of the titles when
ment is a bachelor’s or master’s degree is large enough to sorted by average salary—regardless of the country.
suggest that the salary difference between these groups is • Table 3 (p. 132) shows how many respondents from India
statistically significant. The 27 with master’s degrees earn hold ASQ certifications.
on average $35,323 per year, which is $7,573 more than • Table 4 (p. 132) shows how many respondents from India
the $27,750 average salary of the 24 whose highest degree hold Exemplar Global certifications and how many they
is the bachelor’s (see Table 6, p. 133). hold.
• India is known as a fast-developing country with the • Table 5 (p. 132) lists the most popular Exemplar Global cer-
youngest workforce and provided us with only seven re- tifications, with the number of respondents holding each.
sponses from professionals over the age of 45. Likewise, • Table 6 (p. 133) provides details on salaries broken down
very few respondents were women—10 times as many by the respondent’s highest education level.
men as women responded to the survey (see Table 7, p. • Table 7 (p. 133) combines two tables, giving average sala-
133). Although these groups show the same gap in pay ries by gender and age.
between the genders as respondents from most of the • Figure 1 (p. 133) shows the average salary for each job
world, the number of female respondents is so small that title held by any respondents.
the survey results should be reviewed with skepticism. • Figure 2 (p. 134) shows average salary by the number of
• In Figure 3 (p. 134), showing salary by highest level of ASQ certifications held by each respondent.
Six Sigma training—specifically, the average salary of • Figure 3 (p. 134) shows average salary by the highest
$70,359 for Master Black Belts. Although the respondents level of Six Sigma training attained by each respondent.
QP
2016
SALARY
SURVEY
Employment status of respondents from
India / TABLE 1
Useable
Original
employee Percentage Mean salary
responses
responses
Regular, full-time employee 83 54 91.5% $31,561
Regular, part-time employee 2 1 1.7 10,329
Self-employed consultant 2 — — n/a
Full-time or part-time employee who
3 2 3.4 11,317
also is a self-employed consultant
Unemployed or retired within the
2 2 3.4 13,473
last six months
Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees

Salary by job title for respondents from India / TABLE 2
Standard
deviation
Analyst n<3
Associate n<3
Auditor 10,060 43,114 11,846 5 25,904 26,946
Black Belt n<3
Calibration technician n<3
Champion n<3
Consultant n<3
Director 22,455 53,892 18,150 3 43,413 53,892
Inspector n<3
Manager 7,186 269,460 59,501 18 35,644 18,862
Supervisor n<3
Technician n<3


respondents from
India / TABLE 3
Number of
respondents
Full-time Six Sigma Black Belt 8

Quality auditor 4
employees in Quality engineer 2
Six Sigma Green Belt 2
India make an HACCP auditor 1
average salary
Manager of quality/organizational excellence 1
Pharmaceutical GMP professional 1
of $30,239 a year.
Quality process analyst 1
Quality technician 1
Reliability engineer 1
Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time

employees, x Self-employed consultants
GMP = good manufacturing practices
Number of
Exemplar Global Exemplar Global certifications
certifications held held by two or more respondents
by respondents from India / TABLE 5
from India / TABLE 4 Number of
respondents
Number of Internal auditor 9
Respondents
certifications held
Quality management systems (QMS) lead auditor 7
0 44
Environmental system lead auditor 3
1 7
QMS business improvement auditor 3
2 1
QMS auditor 3
3 3
Information security management systems auditor 2
4 2
Occupational health and safety lead auditor 2
5 1
6 1 Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time
employees x Self-employed consultants
employees, Part‑time employees
QP
2016
India / TABLE 6 SALARY
Standard
SURVEY
deviation
High school or less — — — n<3 — —
Two-year program $4,671 $16,778 $5,038 4 $11,302 $11,879
Master’s degree 7,186 209,460 40,306 27 35,323 20,659
Doctorate 17,964 53,892 19,788 3 31,138 21,557

Salary by gender and age in India / TABLE 7
Standard
deviation
Women $9,880 $35,928 $11,248 5 $15,880 $11,317
Men 2,695 269,460 45,755 53 31,582 17,964
26 to 35 3,234 65,339 14,641 24 16,715 12,126
36 to 45 10,329 269,460 55,018 21 38,348 21,557
46 to 55 12,754 209,460 69,870 7 62,284 30,539
Age not given 7,689 26,946 8,456 4 15,620 13,922

Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were computed using the exchange rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
Salary by job title for respondents from India / FIGURE 1

Director (5.2%) 43,413
Champion (1.7%) 35,928
Manager (31%) 35,644
Auditor (8.6%) 25,904
Inspector (1.7%) 18,999
Analyst (3.4%) 18,953
Black Belt (3.4%) 14,843
Associate (3.4%) 7,725
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000

Average salary

Salary by number of ASQ
Of quality certifications held by
respondents from India / FIGURE 2
professionals
$40,000 37,425
reporting from $35,000 33,549
Average salary
$30,000
India, the 27 who $25,000

$20,000
19,374
hold a master’s $15,000

$10,000
degrees earn $5,000

$0
None One Two
considerably (67.8%) (27.1%) (5.1%)

Number of ASQ certifications
more than those Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
with less education. Part‑time employees

Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the

for respondents working from India / FIGURE 3
Highest level
(percentage of
respondents)
None (32.8%) 18,751
Green Belt (19%) 39,363
Black Belt (41.4%) 29,126
Champion (1.7%) 53,892
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000

Average salary

QP
2016
Section 24. Mexico Results
SALARY
Mexico SURVEY
O
Of the 212 responses received from quality professionals answers with regard to education, certification and other
who report they work in Mexico, 161 provided useable re- qualitative questions. The same is true of a respondent
cords of full-time salaries. Table 1 breaks down their em- who reports being retired, laid off or unemployed.
ployment status and notes total responses and number of • Table 2 breaks down salaries by job title. Although there
responses deemed complete and plausible. may be great variation in pay scales from country to coun-
The part-time employees and the self-employed consultants try, the list of titles held by quality professionals is fairly
did not supply salaries used in our analyses, but their respons- universal, as is the rough order of the titles when sorted
es were included in the qualitative analyses, such as how many by average salary—no matter what the country.
held certain certifications. The average full-time salary of a • Table 3 (p. 136) shows how many respondents from Mex-
respondent working in Mexico was $29,096 with a median of ico hold ASQ certifications.
$21,562, as shown in the first row of Table 2 (p. 136). • Table 4 (p. 136) shows how many respondents from Mex-
As in all countries covered in part three of the salary ico hold Exemplar Global certifications and how many
survey report, holding a master’s degree in Mexico appears they hold.
to be an important contributor to a good paycheck in the • Table 5 (p. 137) lists the most popular Exemplar Global
quality field. In Table 6, which details salary by highest level certifications and the number holding each one.
of education, the only rows with enough data points to be • Table 6 (p. 136) provides details on salaries broken down
statistically significant are those for bachelor’s and master’s by the respondent’s highest education level attained.
degrees. There, it appears respondents whose formal educa- • Table 7 (p. 138) combines two tables, giving average sala-
tion ended with a bachelor’s degree earn on average $22,794 ries by gender and age.
a year, which is $9,287 less than the $32,081 earned by those • Figure 1 (p. 138) shows the average salary for each job
with master’s degrees. title held by any respondents.
Some unusual things about the results from Mexico ap- • Figure 2 (p. 138) shows average salary by the number of
pear when you look at the number of ASQ and Exemplar ASQ certifications held by each respondent.
Global certifications held by respondents: • Figure 3 (p. 138) shows average salary by the highest level
• The top two Exemplar Global certifications are held by 52 of Six Sigma training attained by each respondent.
respondents (26 each).
• The top-two ASQ certifications are held by 42
respondents (21 each). Employments statuses of
• In no other country we analyze do two Exem-
respondents from Mexico / TABLE 1
plar Global certifications lead all ASQ certifi-
cations in numbers of holders. Useable
Original Mean
employee Percentage
responses salary
responses
Exhibits in this section Regular, full-time employee 171 153 90% $29,716
Remember that all salaries in this section are Regular, part-time employee 12 9 5.3 3,825
expressed in U.S. dollars, converted from other Self-employed consultant 12 — — n/a
currencies using the exchange rate in effect July Full-time or part-time
1, 2016. employee who also is a 9 7 4.1 13,784
• Table 1 shows the employment status of those self-employed consultant
who responded and how many responses Unemployed or laid off for
8 1 0.6 n<1
six months or less
were usable. Although we do not analyze in-
come data from self-employed consultants, a Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
response from a consultant is deemed usable x Part‑time employees
when it includes enough information to assign Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the exchange
rate in effect on July 1, 2016.
to a country and appears to contain complete

Salary by job title for respondents from Mexico / TABLE 2
Standard
deviation
Analyst 6,469 24,581 5,773 7 13,316 12,129
Associate n<3
Auditor 9,026 109,697 31,152 9 28,689 21,346
Black Belt 19,406 35,038 6,117 5 24,733 22,496
Consultant n<3
Coordinator 7,008 25,874 6,707 10 17,237 17,789
Director 2,695 130,000 43,322 15 62,798 71,155
Inspector n<3
Manager 1,348 100,000 23,784 44 36,147 31,775
Specialist 3,180 65,980 44,406 2 34,580 34,580
Supervisor 3,881 15,740 4,823 5 10,652 9,703
Technician

Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the exchange rate in effect July 1, 2016.

respondents from
Mexico / TABLE 3
Number of
Number of
respondents Exemplar Global
Quality engineer 21 certifications held
Certified Six Sigma Black Belt 21 by respondents
Quality auditor 18
from Mexico / TABLE 4
Six Sigma Green Belt 18
Manager of quality/organizational excellence 11 Number of
Respondents
certifications held
Quality improvement associate 5
0 104
Quality process analyst 5
1 39
2 16
Six Sigma Yellow Belt 2
3 8
HACCP auditor 1
4 3
5 4
Quality inspector 1
6 1
Reliability engineer 1
7 1
Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time 9 1
employees, x Self-employed consultants
GMP = good manufacturing practices Table 4 includes results for: x Full-time
HACCP = hazard analysis and critical control point employees, Part‑time employees
QP
2016
Exemplar Global certifications held
by three or more respondents from
Mexico / TABLE 5 SALARY
Number of
SURVEY
respondents
Internal auditor 26
Quality management systems (QMS) lead auditor 26
QMS auditor 13
Management system certification body lead auditor 10
Management system certification body auditor 9
Environmental system auditor 6
Skills examiner 4
AS9100 aerospace experience auditor 3
Exemplar Global IPC QMS auditor 3
Management system certification body principal auditor 3
Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees

x Self-employed consultants
IPC = international personnel certification

Mexico / TABLE 6
Standard
deviation
High school or less $3,924 $26,953 $10,081 4 $12,692 $9,946
Two-year program 12,738 79,000 38,045 3 35,071 13,476
Bachelor’s degree 431 116,000 21,388 80 22,794 18,313
Master’s degree 1,348 130,000 28,279 77 32,081 24,581
Doctorate 15,093 90,560 28,852 6 44,876 37,869

Salary by gender and age in Mexico / TABLE 7
Standard
deviation
Women $1,348 $130,000 $21,971 41 $19,585 $13,476
Men 431 116,000 26,392 126 30,641 23,557
25 or younger 431 12,937 3,303 17 6,313 6,469
26 to 35 3,180 116,000 19,487 60 22,315 17,789
36 to 45 1,348 107,048 23,959 53 33,834 28,031
46 to 55 1,509 109,697 31,092 27 34,563 24,594
56 to 65 18,281 130,000 41,029 9 44,683 25,142
Age not given 10,997 89,000 35,738 4 36,036 22,074

Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were computed using the exchange rate in effect July 1, 2016.

Salary by job title for respondents from Mexico / FIGURE 1
Director (9.3%) 62,798
Manager (27.3%) 36,147
Auditor (5.6%) 28,689
Black Belt (3.1%) 24,733
Quality engineer (18%) 23,157
Coordinator (6.2%) 17,237
Analyst (4.3%) 13,316
Associate (1.2%) 10,027
Inspector (0.6%) 7,115
0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000

Average salary
Salary by highest level of

Six Sigma training for
Salary by number of ASQ respondents
certifications held by from Mexico / FIGURE 3
respondents from
Mexico / FIGURE 2 Highest level
(percentage of
$50,000 respondents)
44,114
41,327
$40,000
Average salary
None (33.1%) 20,046

29,575
$30,000
22,526 Yellow Belt (4.2%) 43,767
$20,000
Green Belt (27.7%) 24,501
$10,000
Black Belt (30.7%) 35,043
0
None One Two Three or more
(51.8%) (35.3%) (11.2%) (1.8%) Master Black Belt (4.2%) 46,742
(percentage of respondents) 0 $10,000 $30,000 $50,000
Average salary
Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Figure 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees,
Part‑time employees Part‑time employees
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were calculated using the
exchange rate in effect July 1, 2016. exchange rate in effect July 1, 2016.
QP
2016
Section 25. Other international Results
SALARY
SURVEY
The Other 68 Countries
T
The five countries from which we get enough survey re- (Table 2, p. 140), 72 respondents hold this certification
sponses to do any focused analysis are the United States, (Table 3).
Canada, Mexico, China and India. These countries pro- As Table 4 (p. 141) shows, 78 respondents hold at least
vide an aggregate of 6,161 responses. This section of the one Exemplar Global certification, and of that number, 36
report deals with the rest of the world—68 countries from hold more than one.
which we receive more than 400 additional responses. For quality professionals in all countries, two path-
From these countries, the largest number of responses ways to a healthy paycheck are having a master’s degree
comes from the United Arab Emirates, where 34 quality (Table 6, p. 142) and a Six Sigma Master Black Belt (MBB)
professionals report working. The rest of the countries (Figure 3, p. 144). As those two exhibits show, holders of
are listed in Table 1 of section 21. a master’s degree command an average annual salary of
Table 1 of this section shows the employment status $64,878, while professionals with the MBB earn an aver-
for the 459 persons who provided usable responses to the age of $75,516.
survey. Responses from persons who are no longer work-
ing were used if they had worked within the six months Exhibits in this section
previous to responding to the survey. In these cases, they Remember that all salaries are expressed in U.S. dollars,
were asked to provide answers based on their last job. converted from other currencies using the exchange rate
This section’s analysis incorporates full-time salaries in effect July 1, 2016.
only, omitting part-time employment and the self-employ- • Table 1 shows the employment status of those who
ment income of the 10 professionals who work as free- responded and how many responses were usable.
lance consultants in addition to their employment with Although we do not analyze income data from self-
another organization. employed consultants, a response from a consultant
Table 2 (p. 140) details the salaries by job
title for respondents in 68 countries. Although
pay scales vary by country, the job titles, when Employment status of international
sorted by average salary, come out in a similar respondents / TABLE 1
order no matter what geographical unit you
review. In other words, the list of job titles in Useable
employee Percentage Mean salary
Figure 1 (p. 143) is in approximately the same responses
order as a similar chart prepared for the United
Regular, full-time employee 436 91.4% $54,305
States, Canada or for any country supplying
Regular, part-time employee 8 1.7 19,639
enough data to allow similar analysis.
Full-time or part-time employee who
The most common job title among the rest of 10 2.1 60,567
also is a self-employed consultant
the world respondents is manager, which is also
Retired within the last six months 1 0.2 n<3
true for other countries. The second-most com-
Unemployed or laid off within the
mon is quality engineer, and this, too, is true 4 0.8 23,254
last six months
almost everywhere there are quality profession-
als who take the survey. Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees,
The most popular ASQ certification in this x International employees except those from China, India and Mexico
group of countries is quality engineer, as shown n < 3 indicates fewer than three respondents. Data is shielded to protect
personally identifiable information.
in Table 3 (p. 141). In a group in which 93 re-
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were computed using the exchange rate in
spondents have the job title of quality engineer effect July 1, 2016.

is deemed usable when it includes enough informa- • Table 4 shows how many respondents hold Exemplar
tion to assign to a country and appears to contain Global certifications and how many they hold.
complete answers with regard to education, certifi- • Table 5 (p. 142) lists the most popular Exemplar Glob-
cation and other qualitative questions. The same is al certifications, with the number holding each.
true of a respondent who reports being retired, laid • Table 6 provides details on salaries broken down by
off or unemployed. the respondent’s highest education level.
• Table 2 breaks down salaries by job title. Although • Table 7 (p. 143) combines two tables, giving average
there may be great variation in pay scales from coun- salaries by gender and age.
try to country, the list of titles held by quality profes- • Figure 1 shows the average salary for each job title
sionals is fairly universal, as is the rough order of the held by any respondents.
titles when sorted by average salary—regardless of • Figure 2 (p. 144) shows average salary by the number
the respondent’s country. of ASQ certifications held by each respondent.
• Table 3 shows how many respondents hold ASQ cer- • Figure 3 shows average salary by the highest level of
tifications. Six Sigma training attained by each respondent.
Salary by job title for international respondents / TABLE 2
Standard
deviation
Analyst 7,584 114,890 33,405 10 42,076 32,177
Associate 13,433 56,000 14,831 7 25,539 20,146
Auditor 6,952 60,000 19,668 12 33,084 32,538
Black Belt 4,126 114,343 30,144 14 47,846 43,860
Champion 13,399 59,415 26,294 3 29,059 14,362
Consultant 14,853 191,158 56,264 14 82,109 76,027
Coordinator 3,337 70,000 16,648 19 29,652 29,361
Director 15,667 290,000 79,132 18 128,788 105,189
Green Belt 6,761 98,040 37,684 5 42,956 37,688
Inspector 3,160 95,524 30,097 9 33,981 24,774
Manager 1,500 260,000 46,132 127 64,232 60,000
Other 18,083 77,593 19,486 8 38,758 34,244
Reliability/safety engineer — — — n<3 — —
Software quality engineer — — — n<3 — —
Specialist 4,192 122,550 31,138 20 51,982 54,693
Statistician 19,952 160,800 60,634 4 94,837 99,297
Supervisor 1,343 144,101 32,435 22 32,261 21,061
Technician 4,988 66,508 22,247 6 31,794 33,036
Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x International employees except those from China, India and
Mexico
QP
2016
After the United States, Canada, SALARY
SURVEY
Mexico, China and India, the
country supplying the greatest
number of survey responses
is the United Arab Emirates—34
quality professionals responded.
ASQ certifications held by Number of

international Exemplar Global
respondents / TABLE 3 certifications held
Number of
by international
respondents respondents / TABLE 4
Quality engineer 72
Number of
Manager of quality/organizational excellence 41 Respondents
certifications held
Quality auditor 35 0 399
Six Sigma Green Belt 34 1 42
Six Sigma Black Belt 32 2 14
Quality improvement associate 15 3 10
Reliability engineer 13 4 8
Quality process analyst 8 5 2
Quality inspector 6 8 1
Calibration technician 5 10 1
Six Sigma Yellow Belt 5
employees, Part‑time employees,
Software quality engineer 3 x International employees except those
HACCP auditor 2 from China, India and Mexico
Biomedical auditor 1
Six Sigma Master Black Belt 1

employees, x International employees except those from China,
India and Mexico
GMP = good manufacturing practices

The most popular Exemplar Global certifications
held by three or more
ASQ certification in international
this group of
Number of
countries is the Quality management systems (QMS) lead auditor
respondents
41
quality engineer QMS auditor 21

Internal auditor 20
certification. In Occupational health and safety lead auditor 7
the group of 93 Management consultant 5
respondents with
QMS provisional auditor 5
ISO 50001 auditor 4
the job title of

Professional trainers 4
Food safety auditor 3
quality engineer, 72 HACCP practitioner/auditor

Information security management systems auditor
3
3
hold this certification. Management system certification body lead auditor

QMS principal auditor
3
3

employees,
x International employees except those from China, India and Mexico
Salary by highest level of education for

international respondents / TABLE 6
Standard
deviation
High school or less $12,952 $150,000 $41,405 9 $49,783 $38,459
Two-year program 7,152 199,143 51,377 34 66,157 54,011
Bachelor's degree 1,343 184,555 32,078 189 41,471 32,752
Master's degree 1,500 290,000 53,917 171 64,878 52,981
Doctorate 3,969 160,800 49,389 25 70,019 66,227
No response 1,002 136,123 33,441 31 42,782 45,447

QP
2016
Salary by gender and age for
international respondents / TABLE 7
SALARY
Minimum Maximum
Standard
deviation
Count Mean Median SURVEY
Women $1,343 $160,800 $33,906 102 $43,637 $31,391
Men 1,567 290,000 48,808 321 58,206 47,170
Gender no given 1,002 151,680 36,665 36 43,637 29,220
25 or younger 3,337 30,000 7,659 11 14,672 14,362
26 to 35 1,343 155,844 24,101 141 32,103 26,136
36 to 45 1,567 290,000 43,681 144 55,097 45,179
46 to 55 6,616 282,880 52,887 85 80,222 68,725
56 to 65 9,969 189,014 49,410 28 92,218 82,502
66 and over 12,651 41,868 16,446 3 22,898 14,174
Age not given 1,002 245,021 47,235 47 55,629 49,720
Table 7 includes results for all international employees except those from China, India
and Mexico.
Salaries are noted in U.S. dollars and were computed using the exchange rate in effect
July 1, 2016.
Salary by job title for international respondents / FIGURE 1

135,438
Vice president/executive (1.8%)
128,788
Director (4%)
94,837
Statistician (0.9%)
92,063
Master Black Belt (1.1%)
83,954
Software quality engineer (0.2%)
82,109
Consultant (3.1%)
66,983
Reliability/safety engineer (0.4%)
64,232
Manager (28.3%)
56,618
Educator/instructor (2.7%)
51,982
Specialist (4.5%)
48,853
Supplier quality engineer/professional (2.2%)
47,846
Black Belt (3.1%)
42,956
Green Belt (1.1%)
42,076
Analyst (2.2%)
40,702
Quality engineer (20.7%)
38,758
Other (1.8%)
35,067
Process/manufacturing/project engineer (3.8%)
33,981
Inspector (2%)
33,084
Auditor (2.7%)
32,261
Supervisor (4.9%)
31,794
Technician (1.3%)
31,449
Calibration technician (0.7%)
29,652
Coordinator (4.2%)
29,059
Champion (0.7%)
25,539
Associate (1.6%)
0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000
Average salary
Figure 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x International employees except those from China, India
and Mexico

Salary by number of ASQ certifications held
by international respondents / FIGURE 2
100,000
$100,000
$80,000 74,554
Average salary
57,472
$60,000 54,777 52,150
48,637
$40,000
21,195
$20,000
0
None One Two Three Four Five Six or
(56%) (32.9%) (7.8%) (2.2%) (0.4%) (0.4%) more
(0.2%)
Figure 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x International employees
except those from China, India and Mexico

for international respondents / FIGURE 3
Highest level
(percentage of
respondents)
None (51.9%) 49,146
Green Belt (20.4%) 55,138
Black Belt (19%) 62,629
Champion (0.2%) 103,977
Executive (0.5%) 33,781
0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

Average salary

QP
2016
Part 4. Culture of Quality SALARY
Section 26. Culture of Quality—Expanded Results SURVEY
ASQ Certifications Key

To Pay, Satisfaction
I
If your employer really is concerned about quality, Neutral answers (neither satisfied nor dissatisfied)
you’re far more likely to be happy in your work than were not noted.
a quality professional whose employer really doesn’t The condition with the best satisfaction scores is
care. That’s the chief finding of QP’s inquiries into or- an employer who believes holding ASQ certifications
ganizational cultures and job satisfaction, and it’s been enhances an employee’s value. Where this is the case,
a consistent result for the three years we’ve inquired 70.6% of respondents are satisfied with their jobs and
about these conditions. 57.8% are satisfied with their salaries. This is the only
The questions addressed in this section were asked condition on this table for which the percentage of re-
of all respondents employed by organizations. We used spondents who are satisfied with all aspects of their
the answers we received from all countries and from jobs reaches 40%.
part-time and full-time employees. The only survey re- The condition with the worst satisfaction scores
spondents who were not asked these questions were in Table 1 is the employer that doesn’t pay the cost
self-employed consultants. of quality-related training. Only 49.2% of respondents
All employee-respondents were asked three ques- where this is the case are satisfied with their jobs and
tions about their satisfaction at work: only 41.3% with their salaries.
1. Are you satisfied with your salary? Table 2 (p. 147) has two sections. The top portion
2. Are you satisfied with the nonsalary aspects of your deals with the original requirements of the job the re-
compensation (that is, benefits)? spondent currently holds. In other words, what was re-
3. Are you satisfied with the noncompensation aspects quired of you before you could be hired into this job?
of your job? As the first green row shows, jobs requiring any ASQ
That third question looks to uncover insight on the certification have satisfaction scores better than the
work itself and work conditions. baseline.
Table 1 (p. 146) shows the results of a set of ques- Especially satisfied, as it appears in this table, are
tions designed to learn whether an employer values the professionals whose jobs required having an ASQ
quality and shows it by compensating employees for quality auditor certification. Those who were required
learning about quality and achieving it. to hold doctorates turned out to be the most satisfied
Tables 1-3 (pp. 146-148) show the percentages satis- (73.8%), something that also has been true in past years.
fied and dissatisfied with their work and work condi- The bottom portion of Table 2 shows that when new
tions (using the shorthand “job” for this variable) and requirements are added to a job after the respondent is
with their salaries, and finally the percentage who are already hired, there is little effect on satisfaction.
satisfied with all three aspects of their jobs: work and To create Table 3 (p. 148), we asked how employ-
conditions, salary and benefits. ers foster a culture of quality. First, we asked whether
The first row of Tables 1-3 shows the percentages the organization uses any recognized quality systems
for all respondents who answered all three satisfaction or methods. This is the third year that using Baldrige
questions. This sets a baseline that can be compared criteria has proven to greatly influence satisfaction. In
with the percentages for other variables. All percent- organizations using Baldrige, satisfaction is notably
ages that are better than the baseline are highlighted: high and dissatisfaction is very low.
green for satisfaction, and orange for dissatisfaction. The top half of Table 3 also shows the largest

influencer of dissatisfaction: Where an organization condition considered in noting whether a person is satis-
does not employ any identifiable quality method or fied with all aspects of his or her job.
approach, respondents are less likely to be satisfied— Tables 4-5 (pp. 149-150) cross tabulate satisfaction and
with either job or salary—than under any other condi- some of culture variables against the industries in which
tion we can identify. respondents work. The culture variables were chosen from
For the bottom part of Table 3, we asked about condi- the ones that are positively correlated with satisfaction.
tions that tend to exist in organizations in which quality The color coding in these tables differs from that in
is instilled from top to bottom and from design to deliv- Tables 1-3. Here, the shaded cells highlight the lowest
ery. Under any of the five conditions covered there, sat- (orange) and highest (green) quartiles for the variable
isfaction scores were high and dissatisfaction was low. shown in each column. We see that when an industry
Especially notable is the third condition: Where indi- tends to have those favorable conditions, respondents
vidual compensation is partly determined by one’s per- tend to report satisfaction. When these conditions don’t
formance on quality metrics, employees are happy with exist, satisfaction tends to be low.
job conditions, salary and it seems benefits—the third There are exceptions, however. In Table 5, for ex-
Satisfaction by employer’s approach to training and

certification / TABLE 1
Satisfied with
Satisfied Dissatisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied
all aspects of
with job3 with job3 with salary1 with salary1
job4
All respondents (6,242) 66.5% 13.3% 53.9% 26.5% 35.7%
Employer pays costs of quality-related training
69.8 10.7 56.8 24 39.5
(4,924)5
Employer does not pay costs of quality-related
49.2 27 41.3 37.7 21.5
training (1,047)5
Employer pays costs of ASQ certifications
70.1 10.5 57 24.3 39.7
(4,345)6
Employer does not pay costs of ASQ
55.8 21.8 46.3 32.2 27.4
certifications (1,623)6
Employer pays cost of respondent’s ASQ
68.7 11.7 55.7 25.1 38.6
membership (4,156)7
Employer does not pay cost of respondent’s ASQ
60.3 17.9 50.1 29.8 30.9
membership (1,763)7
Respondent believes holding ASQ certification
enhances his or her value in the eyes of the 70.6 10.1 57.8 23 40
employer (4,193)8
Respondent does not believe holding ASQ
certification enhances his or her value in the 54.8 22.7 44.6 35.6 26.9
eyes of the employer (1,458)8
Table 1 includes results for full-time and part-time workers in all countries.
Example of how to read this table: Of respondents reporting that their employers pay the costs of quality-related training, 69.8% are
satisfied with their jobs, 56.8% are satisfied with their salaries and 39.5% are satisfied with both and also with their benefits.
The figures for “satisfied with job” and “dissatisfied with job” do not add to 100% because, of people who answered the question about
satisfaction, some gave an answer that was neutral about job satisfaction. The same is true of satisfaction with salary.
Numbers in parentheses in the y axis indicate the number of respondents. Superscript numbers in the y and x axes refer to the key to
the satisfaction question or statement (see Appendix E).
Green-shaded cells indicate better than the baseline. Orange-shaded cells indicate lower than the baseline.
QP
2016
SALARY
ample, in the nonelectric instruments industry high isfaction through the lens of the cultures of quality SURVEY
percentages of employers value ASQ certifications that exist in respondents’ organizations. It’s also the
and compensate employees for the cost of obtaining third time in a row the results have delivered the same
them. Yet the satisfaction scores in this industry are strong message: If you work in quality, your satisfac-
rather poor. tion on the job is very likely to be high if you work for
Conversely, in the service sector (shown in the bot- an organization that values and promotes a culture of
tom part of Table 5), there are some industries where quality.
middle-to-low percentages of organizations value and
pay for ASQ certifications yet satisfaction scores are
EDITOR’S NOTE
in the top quartile. The nuclear services industry is In all tables in this section, superscript numbers indicate the question asked
one notable example. or response chosen. The precise wording of the questions is in Appendix E.
Numbers in parentheses are the numbers of respondents reporting a condi-
This is the third year the survey has explored sat- tion.
Satisfaction by job requirements / TABLE 2
Satisfied with
all aspects
of job4
All respondents (6,242) 66.5% 13.3% 53.9% 26.5% 35.7%
Any ASQ certification (814) 9
68.4 12.7 57.6 24.9 39.1
Quality engineer certification
71.9 10.7 63.3 19.6 44.2
(196)15
Quality auditor certification
72.8 7 65.2 22.2 47.5
(158)15
Manager of quality/
organizational excellence 71.9 10.5 68.4 21.1 56.1
Original certification (57)15
requirements ASQ Six Sigma Black Belt
of job 66.1 15.3 61 25.4 37.3
certification (59)15
Any Exemplar Global certification
60 19.2 46.3 30.1 29.3
(120)10
Two-year program (388)11 59.5 17.5 47.3 30.8 29.9
Bachelor’s degree (3,825) 12
68.3 11.9 58 23.9 39.4
Master’s degree (523)13 67.5 12.7 59 22.1 43.2
Doctorate (84) 14
73.8 10.7 66.7 21.4 50
No new requirement (4,803)¹ 6
66.2 13.7 54.6 26.3 36.7
New Any new requirement (1,090)16 66.2 13.5 51.7 27.6 34.4
requirement
ASQ certification (331) 17
64.4 11.2 47.6 30.2 31.1
added since
starting Exemplar Global certification
79.4 — 45.7 28.6 37.1
current (34)18
position
Other certification or training
67.6 14.4 54.3 26.2 36.9
(660)19
satisfaction question or statement (see Appendix E).

Satisfaction by employer’s quality method
and promotion of quality / TABLE 3
Satisfied with
all aspects4
of job
All respondents (6,242) 66.5% 13.3% 53.9% 26.5% 35.7%
Baldrige criteria (256) 20
79.2 7.5 66.4 19.5 50
ISO 9001 (3,493)21 67 12.1 53.6 26.3 36.4
Lean (2,892) 22
71 10.1 58.6 22.8 41.4
Quality Six Sigma (as method) (2,313)23 71 10.3 59.2 22.2 42.4
system or
Combination of quality methods
methodology
and approaches not indicated 69.4 13.2 54.6 25.5 37.2
above (650)24
Other (823)25 67.2 14.3 54.2 27.6 37.3
None (542) 26
54.0 25.8 46.1 36.0 27.3
My organization’s top manage-
ment actively promotes quality
76.4 6.7 61.6 20.0 45.4
by its statements and actions—
agree or strongly agree (4,008)27
In my organization, quality metrics
are part of how individuals and
73.7 8.8 60.1 21.4 43.5
work groups are evaluated—
agree or strongly agree (3,726)28
In my organization, a part of
How each individual’s compensation
management is determined by his or her 76.9 6.7 65.6 16.5 49.5
instills or achievement of quality—agree
promotes a or strongly agree (2,290)29
quality
In my organization, quality is
culture
promoted throughout the value
chain, from design through
76.8 6.4 62.3 19.6 46.7
delivery of products and
services—agree or strongly
agree (3,475)30
My organization ensures that its
suppliers embrace good quality
practices and deliver quality 73.1 8.9 60.1 21.5 43.8
inputs—agree or strongly agree
(3,706)31
satisfaction question or statement (see Appendix E).
QP
2016
Satisfaction and payment for training SALARY
and job requirements by industry / TABLE 4 SURVEY
ASQ
Satisfied Employer pays
Satisfied certification
with for quality-
with job3 required when
salary1 related training5
new in position9
Manufacturing sector (number of respondents)
All manufacturing industries (4,181) 63.2% 53.3% 82.6% 13.8%
Aerospace vehicles (360) 62.7 53.3 80.1 12.4
Chemicals and related products (556) 63.6 57.9 81.3 10.9
Computers and electronic products (277) 62.6 53.8 83.5 11.9
Defense (102) 66.7 56.9 84.3 11.8
Electrical products (152) 58.7 51.3 79.4 13.5
Fabricated metal products (202) 59.1 47.5 83.3 18.7
Food and related products (296) 65.0 46.6 82.2 11.8
Machinery (271) 66.5 57.2 81.3 9.6
Medical instruments and supplies (873) 67.5 58.9 84.4 19.1
Nonelectric measuring, analyzing and controlling instruments (20) 57.1 35.0 81.0 9.5
Other products (207) 60.3 47.8 83.3 15.3
Paper and related products (90) 62.2 47.8 73.3 7.8
Primary metals (61) 60.7 54.1 95.1 19.7
Rubber and plastic products (240) 56.4 40.0 81.9 8.2
Toys, sporting goods, pens, jewelry and miscellaneous products (60) 63.9 56.7 80.3 13.1
Transportation vehicles (414) 59.6 51.9 84.8 14.5
Service sector (number of respondents)
All service industries (1,739) 68% 54.9% 73.7% 11.8%
Construction services (78) 67.1 55.1 81.0 8.9
Consulting and other professional, scientific and technical services
68.0 54.3 77.9 14.9
(370)
Educational services (108) 74.5 55.6 62.7 7.3
Financial and insurance services (134) 73.3 61.2 74.8 7.4
Government and public administration services (171) 69.6 60.8 74.9 14.6
Healthcare services (300) 67.8 56.3 65.8 10.9
Information services (82) 69.5 52.4 68.3 11.0
Nuclear (21) 76.2 61.9 76.2 9.5
Oil and gas extraction and refining (136) 57.6 45.6 74.1 10.1
Other services (94) 67.0 53.2 69.1 9.6
Retail services (26) 73.1 69.2 65.4 11.5
Social services (23) 65.2 34.8 82.6 8.7
Transportation services (82) 68.7 52.4 80.7 15.7
Utilities (85) 65.9 57.6 85.9 12.9
Wholesale services (29) 58.6 34.5 86.2 20.7
Numbers in parentheses are the number of respondents. Superscript numbers are keyed to the questions we asked. The exact wording
of the questions are found in Appendix E.
Orange denotes the bottom quartile for the column—that is, for all industries. Green denotes the top quartile.

Satisfaction and approach to ASQ certifications
by industry / TABLE 5
Satisfied Employer Employer pays
Satisfied
with values ASQ for ASQ
with job3
salary1 certifications8 certification6
Manufacturing sector (number of respondents)
All manufacturing industries (4,181) 63.2% 53.3% 75.9% 74.8%
Aerospace vehicles (360) 62.7 53.3 77.4 72.1
Chemicals and related products (556) 63.6 57.9 76.4 70.8
Computers and electronic products (277) 62.6 53.8 71.2 73.0
Defense (102) 66.7 56.9 74.7 75.5
Electrical products (152) 58.7 51.3 75.2 73.5
Fabricated metal products (202) 59.1 47.5 71.2 76.4
Food and related products (296) 65.0 46.6 72.4 75.1
Machinery (271) 66.5 57.2 68.5 73.5
Medical instruments and supplies (873) 67.5 58.9 84.7 78.7
Nonelectric measuring, analyzing and controlling instruments (20) 57.1 35.0 84.2 81
Other products (207) 60.3 47.8 75.5 75.1
Paper and related products (90) 62.2 47.8 69.5 67.8
Primary metals (61) 60.7 54.1 73.7 91.8
Rubber and plastic products (240) 56.4 40.0 67.1 74.9
Toys, sporting goods, pens, jewelry and miscellaneous products (60) 63.9 56.7 78.6 82
Transportation vehicles (414) 59.6 51.9 75.4 72.7
Service sector (number of respondents)
All service industries (1,739) 68% 54.9% 70.0% 61.4%
Construction services (78) 67.1 55.1 65.7 72.2
Consulting and other professional, scientific and technical services
68.0 54.3 75.3 70.1
(370)
Educational services (108) 74.5 55.6 56.3 32.7
Financial and insurance services (134) 73.3 61.2 69.1 66.7
Government and public administration services (171) 69.6 60.8 74.2 55.0
Healthcare services (300) 67.8 56.3 74.9 54.9
Information services (82) 69.5 52.4 72.4 59.8
Nuclear (21) 76.2 61.9 38.1 47.6
Oil and gas extraction and refining (136) 57.6 45.6 60.9 62.6
Other services (94) 67.0 53.2 69.8 62.8
Retail services (26) 73.1 69.2 76.0 57.7
Social services (23) 65.2 34.8 35.0 65.2
Transportation services (82) 68.7 52.4 72.4 61.4
Utilities (85) 65.9 57.6 70.0 76.5
Wholesale services (29) 58.6 34.5 67.9 69.0
Numbers in parentheses are the number of respondents. Superscript numbers are keyed to the questions we asked. The exact wording
of the questions are found in Appendix E.
Orange denotes the bottom quartile for the column—that is, for all industries. Green denotes the top quartile.
QP
2016
Appendixes SALARY
SURVEY
Appendix A
Statistical Terms
H
Here are brief descriptions of the statistical terms used ple, if the mean salary is $70,000 with a standard devia-
in the survey report: tion of $15,000, 95% of the cases are between $40,000
• Minimum salary: The lowest salary reported in that and $100,000 in a normal distribution.
particular group. • Count: The number of respondents in a particular
• Maximum salary: The highest salary reported in that group.
particular group. • Mean salary: The average salary for a particular group.
• Standard deviation: A measure of dispersion around • Median salary: The 50th percentile—that is, the sal-
the mean. In a normal distribution, 68% of cases fall ary at which half the cases fall above and half fall be-
within one standard deviation of the mean, and 95% of low. If there is an even number of cases, the median is
cases fall within two standard deviations. For exam- the average of the two middle cases.
Appendix B
Job Titles
I
In each year’s salary survey, QP asks respondents to Black Belt: Six Sigma or quality expert. Often a
choose from a list of job titles the ones that most close- full-time team leader responsible for implementing
ly match their own. Some respondents hold job titles process improvement projects in the organization to
that do not closely match any on the list, and these increase customer satisfaction levels and productivity.
choose “other” and fill in a title. In some cases, the title Calibration technician: Tests, calibrates, main-
provided corresponded to job titles that could have tains and repairs electrical, mechanical, electrome-
been found on the list, and in these cases, QP editors chanical, analytical and electronic measuring, record-
have corrected the record. ing and indicating instruments and equipment for
Following are the suggested definitions for the job conformance to established standards.
titles used in the 2016 survey. Some of the definitions Champion: Business leader or senior manager who
were compiled by an HR expert and have been revised ensures resources are available for quality training and
throughout the years. Based on respondent feedback, projects and is involved in project tollgate reviews.
they will continue to be analyzed and revised periodi- Often an executive who supports and addresses Six
cally. All definitions are intended only as a guide. Sigma organizational issues.
Analyst: Initiates and coordinates quality-related Consultant: Provides advice, facilitation and train-
data from production, service or process improvement ing on the development, administration and technical
activities and reports these data using statistical tech- aspects of an organization’s quality improvement ef-
niques. forts at any or all levels. Has expertise in some or all
Associate: Involved in quality improvement proj- aspects of the quality field. This person can be from
ects but not necessarily full time. Does not necessarily outside the organization or can be an employee of the
have primary responsibility for traditional quality man- organization.
agement, assurance or control activities. Coordinator: Collects, organizes, monitors and
Auditor: Performs and reports on internal or exter- distributes information related to quality and process
nal quality system audits. improvement functions, possibly including but not

limited to compliance to and documentation of qual- procedures. May conduct training on quality assurance
ity management standards, such as ISO 9001. Typically concepts and tools. Interfaces with all other engineer-
generates reports using computer skills and distrib- ing functions within an organization and with custom-
utes those reports to various users in the organization ers and suppliers on quality-related issues.
or among customers and suppliers. Reliability/safety engineer: Uses principles of
Director: Oversees all aspects of an organization’s performance evaluation and prediction to improve the
quality or business improvement efforts, such as de- safety, reliability and maintainability of products and
veloping and administrating the program, training and systems. Plans reliability tests and conducts analyses
coaching employees, and facilitating change through- of field failures. Develops and administers reliability
out the organization. Responsible for establishing information systems for failure analysis and perfor-
strategic plans, policies and procedures at all levels so mance improvement.
quality improvement efforts will meet or exceed inter- Software quality engineer: Applies quality prin-
nal and external customers’ needs and expectations. ciples to the development and use of software and
Educator/instructor: Instructs or trains others on software-based systems. Designs and implements
quality-related topics, tools and techniques. This per- software development and maintenance processes.
son may be an employee of an organization or teach in Designs or specifies test methods for software inspec-
a university or college setting. tion, verification and validation.
Green Belt: Operates in support of or under the Specialist: As the primary assignment, performs a
supervision of a Six Sigma Black Belt, analyzes qual- specific quality-related function within the organiza-
ity problems and is involved in quality improvement tion’s quality program. Examples include management
projects. Has at least three years of work experience. representative and testing expert. Has received direct
Inspector: Inspects, audits and reports on materi- training or has been performing the activity for several
als, processes and products using variable or attribute years.
measuring instruments and techniques to ensure con- Statistician: Specializes in the use of statistical
formance with an organization’s quality standards. techniques for process control and other quality-relat-
Manager: Ensures the administration of an orga- ed methods. May design research and testing methods.
nization’s quality, process or business improvement Reports and interprets statistical data to management.
efforts within a defined segment of the organization. Supervisor: Administers the organization’s quality
Might be responsible for dealing with customers and improvement efforts within a defined department. Has
suppliers on quality or performance issues. Typically direct reports that implement some aspect of the poli-
has direct reports. cies and procedures of the quality functions.
Master Black Belt: Six Sigma or quality expert Supplier quality engineer/professional: Re-
responsible for strategic implementations within an sponsible for all quality improvement issues related to
organization. Qualified to teach other Six Sigma facili- vendors and suppliers of materials, products or servic-
tators the methods, tools and applications in all func- es used in development or manufacture. Assesses po-
tions and levels of an organization. Is a resource for tential new suppliers. Works with suppliers to develop
using statistical methods to improve processes. and improve an entire supply chain. May be involved
Process/manufacturing/project engineer: Per- in purchasing.
forms engineering work to evaluate manufacturing Technician: Follows basic quality techniques, pos-
processes or performance improvement projects for sibly including calibration, to track, analyze and report
optimization. Duties also may include the development on materials, processes and products to ensure they
of processes to ensure quality, cost and efficiency re- meet the organization’s quality standards.
quirements are met. Vice president/executive: Establishes the direc-
Quality engineer: Designs, installs and evaluates tion for the development and administration of the
quality assurance process sampling systems, proce- organization’s quality improvement efforts. Consults
dures and statistical techniques. Designs or specifies with other executives on the attitudes and practices
inspection and testing mechanisms and equipment. of quality throughout an organization to develop an en-
Analyzes production and service limitations and stan- vironment of continual improvement in every aspect
dards. Recommends revision of specifications. Formu- of the organization’s products and services. Acts as a
lates or helps formulate quality assurance policies and champion for quality.
QP
2016
Appendix C SALARY
Two Tiers of Titles SURVEY
A
A perennial problem in analyzing the survey data is that when of statistician was added in 2014.
responses are sliced along several variables, there are instanc- These lists include the titles belonging to each tier:
es in which a cell is populated by so few responses that one or Tier one (top tier)
both of two problems may occur: • Black Belt.
1. The subsample represented by a cell is so small that its sta- • Champion.
tistical significance is doubtful. • Consultant.
2. There may be so few responses that to display the cell con- • Director.
tents would be to disclose personally identifiable informa- • Educator/instructor.
tion about one or more respondents. • Manager.
To address this issue, we looked for ways to view a variable • Master Black Belt.
without dividing it into too many discrete values. Consider the • Process/manufacturing/project engineer.
job title variable: In the questionnaire, 25 titles are included • Reliability/safety engineer.
from which to choose. This creates many buckets into which • Software quality engineer.
responses could be entered. When these are combined with • Statistician.
other variables, such as U.S. state, the populations of individ- • Supplier quality engineer/professional.
ual buckets may be very small. • Vice president/executive.
For this year’s report, we devised a way to divide job titles Tier two (bottom tier)
into two buckets. We sorted by average salary and then desig- • Analyst.
nated as “first tier” the titles, from highest salary downward, • Associate.
that came closest to being populated by half the total respon- • Auditor.
dents. The “second tier” was all the remaining job titles. This • Calibration technician.
gave us a set of titles that largely belonged to the highest paid • Coordinator.
employees and those with the most responsibilities, and a sec- • Green Belt.
ond set consisting of the rest. • Inspector.
The two tiers were created using this year’s salary data • Other.
from the United States. The result was 13 titles in tier one and • Quality engineer.
12 in tier two. We created tiers using data from each of the • Specialist.
previous two surveys, and found the lists were similar. The • Supervisor.
tiers would have comprised 12 titles each before the new title • Technician.
Appendix D
Industry Descriptions
H
Here are descriptions of some of the manufacturing indus- media (manufacturing and reproducing), printed circuit
tries represented in the salary survey: boards, semiconductors and various navigational, mea-
• Chemicals and related products (NAICS code 325): suring, medical and control instruments that contain elec-
Adhesives, biological products, carbon black, cosmetics, tronic components.
explosives, fertilizers, industrial gases, in-vitro diagnostic • Electrical products (NAICS code 335): Batteries (wet
substances, paint, perfumes, pesticides, petrochemicals, and dry), coaxial cable, electric lighting equipment (in-
pharmaceuticals, sealants, soaps, toiletries and vitamins. dustrial and residential), fiber-optic cable, graphite prod-
• Computer and electronic products (NAICS code ucts, light bulbs, refrigerators and other household appli-
334): Audio and video equipment, communications ances, switchboard and switchgear apparatus, vacuum
equipment (for example, telephones and televisions), cleaners and wiring harnesses.
computers and peripheral equipment (for example, moni- • Fabricated metal products (NAICS code 332): Am-
tors, terminals and storage devices), magnetic and optical munition and other ordnance, coatings, electroplating,

engraving, forgings, handheld cutting and edging tools neous products (NAICS code 339): Brooms, brush-
(for example, hand saws), hardware (for example, nails es, burial caskets, fitness equipment, games, jewelry,
and bolts), heat treating, knives, machined parts, pots mops, pens, pencils, musical instruments, staplers and
and pans, solenoid valves, stampings, powdered metal, toys.
powdered metal products, precision turned products • Transportation and aerospace products (NAICS
and small arms. code 336): Aircraft, armored vehicles (for example,
• Food and related products (NAICS code 311): military tanks), automobiles, boats, guided missiles,
Animal and fowl feed, coffee, dairy products, fruit prod- motor homes, motor vehicle parts except tires (for
ucts, grain products, meat products, pet food, seafood example, engines, carburetors, seats, powertrain com-
products, seasonings, tea and vegetable products. ponents and transmission components), railroad equip-
• Machinery (NAICS code 333): Agricultural machin- ment, trucks (light and heavy duty) and utility vehicles.
ery (for example, farm, lawn and garden equipment),
commercial and industrial heating, ventilation and air Examples of services in the
conditioning systems, construction machinery, eleva- service industries
tors, industrial machinery (for example, machinery for Here are descriptions of some of the services provided by
the paper, textile, printing, food and semiconductor in- the service industries represented in the salary survey:
dustries), mining machinery, pneumatic equipment, re- • Construction services (NAICS 23): General con-
frigeration equipment (industrial) and service industry tracting (for example, residential, industrial and com-
machinery (for example, automatic vending machines mercial buildings), heavy construction contracting (for
and dry cleaning machinery). example, highways, bridges and tunnels) and special
• Medical instruments and supplies (NAICS code trade contracting (for example, roofing and siding).
339): Contact lenses, dental equipment and supplies, • Consulting and other professional, scientific and
eye glasses, medical devices and instruments that don’t technical services (NAICS code 54): Accounting,
contain electronic components (for example, medical advertising, certification, computer systems design,
thermometers, stethoscopes, splints and syringes), or- consulting (management, scientific and technical), en-
thopedic devices, prosthetic devices and surgical in- gineering, R&D and testing services.
struments, appliances and supplies that don’t contain • Educational services (NAICS code 61): Computer
electronic components (for example, anesthesia appa- training, colleges and universities, elementary and sec-
ratuses, retractors and sutures). ondary schools, high schools, junior colleges, manage-
• Nonelectronic measuring, analyzing and control- ment training, technical schools and trade schools.
ling instruments (NAICS code 339): Balances, • Financial and insurance services (NAICS code
blood testing apparatus, Bunsen burners, centrifuges, 52): Commercial banks, credit card companies, credit
distilling apparatuses, laboratory incubators, laborato- unions, insurance carriers and agencies, mortgage bro-
ry ovens, laboratory thermometers, sample preparation kers, sales financing companies and savings institu-
apparatus and scales. tions.
• Paper and related products (NAICS code 322): • Government and public administration services
Cardboard boxes, coated and laminated paper and pa- (NAICS code 92): Fire protection services, govern-
per products (for example, gift wrap and plastic-coat- ment (local, state and federal) services, judicial servic-
ed paper bags), diapers, envelopes, file folders, office es, national security services, police services and public
paper, paper bags, paper food containers, paperboard finance services.
products, and pulp, paper and paperboard mills. • Healthcare services (NAICS code 62): Blood and
• Primary metal products (NAICS code 331): Elec- organ banks, dentist offices, diagnostic imaging labora-
tromechanical ferroalloy products, ferrous and nonfer- tories, doctor offices, hospitals, nursing homes, outpa-
rous metal foundries, and ferrous and nonferrous metal tient centers and residential care facilities.
production and processing (for example, alloying, • Information services (NAICS code 51): Book pub-
drawing, extruding, refining, rolling and smelting). lishing, data processing and archiving, database pub-
• Rubber and plastic products (NAICS code 326): lishing, greeting card publishing, newspaper publishing,
Belts, cellophane, foam products (for example, polysty- radio broadcasting, telecommunications (wired and
rene and urethane), hoses, laminate and laminate prod- wireless) services and television broadcasting (includ-
ucts, plastic bags, plastic bottles, plastic containers, ing cable networks).
plastic pipes and pipe fittings, rubber gaskets and tires. • Oil and gas extraction and refining (NAICS codes
• Toys, sporting goods, pens, jewelry and miscella- 211 and 324): Crude petroleum extraction, natural gas
QP
2016
extraction, natural gas liquid extraction and pe- stores and supermarkets.
troleum refining. • Social services (NAICS code 62): Commu-
• Retail services (NAICS codes 44 and 45): nity food services, community housing services, SALARY
Automobile (new and used) dealers, clothing re-
tailers, department stores, furniture stores, gar-
emergency and other relief services, social as-
sistance centers and vocational rehabilitation
SURVEY
den centers, gasoline stations, sporting goods services.
Appendix E
Questions Asked for Culture and Satisfaction
F
For results and analysis in section 30 and in the lead article 14. Doctorate.
of this report, the following list provides the exact wording of 15. The four certifications shown in the results were the
the questions asked. most common ASQ certifications listed in the amplification
of point No. 9.
Satisfaction questions 16. At any time has your organization required you to ob-
For each of the following questions, respondents were asked tain education or training that was not required for your posi-
to strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree tion when you first started in the position? (Yes/No)
or strongly disagree. If the answer to above was yes:
1. I am satisfied with my salary. What requirement was added to your position after you
2. I am satisfied with the nonsalary portions of my compen- started?
sation (health benefits, retirement, profit-sharing and so on). 17. ASQ certification (please indicate which certification).
3. I am satisfied with the noncompensation aspects of my 18. Exemplar Global certification (please indicate which
job. In other words, without considering compensation, I am certification).
satisfied with the job itself. 19. Other certification or training (please indicate).
We regarded a respondent as satisfied if “strongly agree” Questions concerning how employing company promotes
or “agree” was checked, as dissatisfied if “strongly disagree” a culture of quality:
or “disagree” was checked, and as neutral if “neither agree or Which quality method or approach does your organization
disagree” was checked. embrace or promote? (Check all that apply.)
4. Satisfied with all aspects of job. 20. Baldrige criteria.
This was not a question on the survey, but a computed ag- 21. ISO 9001.
gregate answer. We scored a response as positive for this only 22. Lean.
if the respondent gave an answer indicating satisfaction to all 23. Six Sigma.
of questions one to three. 24. Combination of quality methods and approaches not
5. Does your organization pay for quality-related training? indicated above (please specify combinations used).
(Yes/No) 25. Other (please specify).
6. Does your organization pay for your quality-related cer- 26. None.
tifications? (Yes/No) For each of the following questions, the respondent was
7. Does your company pay for your ASQ membership? asked to strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, dis-
(Yes/No) agree or strongly disagree.
8. Do you believe that holding an ASQ certification enhanc- 27. My company’s top management actively promotes qual-
es your value in the eyes of your employer? ity by its statements and actions.
28. In my company, quality metrics are part of how indi-
Questions concerning job requirements
viduals and work groups are evaluated.
For your current position, were any of the following required
29. In my company, a part of each individual’s compensa-
of the candidates? (Check all that apply.)
tion is determined by his or her achievement of quality.
9. ASQ certification (please indicate which certification).
30. In my company, quality is promoted throughout the
10. Exemplar Global certification (please indicate which
value chain, from design through delivery of products and
certification).
services.
11. Associate degree.
31. My company ensures that its suppliers embrace good
12. Bachelor’s degree.
quality practices and deliver quality inputs.
13. Master’s degree.

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Putting Best Practices to Work www.qualityprogress.com | December 2016

Part 2. Self-Employed Consultant Results

Part 3. International Results

Part 4. Culture of Quality

Choosing the right path to career success

Deck goes here

2 QP • www.qualityprogress.com December 2016 • QP 3

Table 2 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

Attributes named by code with Likelihood of satisfaction

Track record of achievement 80 Organization does not pay 44.6 35.6

Most likely to be Medical instruments and supplies 67.5 58.9

Most likely to be Nuclear 76.2 61.9

Least likely to be Wholesale services 58.6 34.5

Table 6 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees,

Effect on satisfaction of degrees and

Table 7 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,

Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees and consultants,

Employment status of respondents / TABLE 2

Salary by employment status / TABLE 3

Average salary Average base revenue

Table 3 includes results for: x Full-time employees, x Part‑time employees, x U.S. employees,

Sign of the Times

“ Quality is always evolving. The medical manufacturing sector is

Statistician (0.6%) 132,468

Director (9.2%) 130,926

Master Black Belt (1.1%) 125,093

Consultant (1.9%) 118,541

Reliability/safety engineer (1.2%) 112,058

Software quality engineer (1.0%) 105,701

Educator/instructor (0.6%) 101,319

Black Belt (2.0%) 98,445

Manager (28.2%) 96,585

Champion (0.2%) 91,333

Supplier quality engineer/professional (2.7%) 90,843

Process/manufacturing/project engineer (2.6%) 85,798

Quality engineer (16.9%) 84,007

Green Belt (0.7%) 79,749

Other (1.5%) 77,847 Figure 1 includes results for:

Coordinator (2.6%) 58,287

Calibration technician (0.5%) 52,921

Technician (4.1%) 49,053

Inspector (2.0%) 48,672

0 $30,000 $60,000 $90,000 $120,000 $150,000

Salary by job title for Canadian respondents / FIGURE 2

0 $40,000 $80,000 $120,000 $160,000 $200,000

Serious About Certifications

held by U.S. respondents / FIGURE 1 Global certifications and the number

Tables 4 (United States respon-

Differences in salary for ASQ certification / TABLE 1

Average Average Salary

Table 1 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time employees,

For managers, holding ASQ’s Six Sigma

Sign of the Times

“ We always need to make sure that our vendors follow quality

Salary by Exemplar Global certifications

Salary by Exemplar Global

Table 5 includes results for: x Full-time employees, Part‑time

Sigma training comes up as a very viable option. $90,000

difference is $12,475. $50,000

Salary by highest level of Six Sigma training

None (48.3%) 82,238

“ ustomers are becoming more specific and wanting better quality