I am presently working as an EMC engineer in a test lab environment for the past 5 years. In my current position I am almost in the last stage of product development – certification / compliance before it can be sold in the market. I’m looking to move up the chain of product development – working on a product before it reaches the test lab. I think being a Quality Engineer / QA engineer would help me do this.

How would you suggest I make this transition into the Quality field?

I am thinking of doing my Masters in Quality Assurance program from Southern Polytechnic State University. But I am confused as to what I should specialize in – reliability engineering, quality supplier engineer etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

I am presently working as an EMC engineer in a test lab environment for the past 5 years. In my current position I am almost in the last stage of product development – certification / compliance before it can be sold in the market. I’m looking to move up the chain of product development – working on a product before it reaches the test lab. I think being a Quality Engineer / QA engineer would help me do this.

How would you suggest I make this transition into the Quality field?

I am thinking of doing my Masters in Quality Assurance program from Southern Polytechnic State University. But I am confused as to what I should specialize in – reliability engineering, quality supplier engineer etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

My opinion on this subject matter is:

The transition from product development to quality should not be that difficult in my opinion. I would continue my education by attending both the Educational System, and seminars.

I believe there might be a "General" degree in the quality field, but you may want to look at a reliability engineer as you minor.

I am presently working as an EMC engineer in a test lab environment for the past 5 years. In my current position I am almost in the last stage of product development – certification / compliance before it can be sold in the market. I’m looking to move up the chain of product development – working on a product before it reaches the test lab. I think being a Quality Engineer / QA engineer would help me do this.

How would you suggest I make this transition into the Quality field?

I am thinking of doing my Masters in Quality Assurance program from Southern Polytechnic State University. But I am confused as to what I should specialize in – reliability engineering, quality supplier engineer etc.

Any help would be appreciated.Welcome to the Cove!:bigwave:One of the things I hope colleges and universities are teaching today is the idea (concept) Quality should be part and parcel of EVERY stage of product development - from initial ideation to finished product in the end user's hands.

Deming propounded a theory of a System of Profound Knowledge (SoPK) which many interpret to mean organizations work best when the right hand knows what the left is doing - the elimination of silos jealously guarded by departments or individuals.

Folks who ascribe to SoPK would therefore have a free and easy flow of knowledge and physical activity between areas formerly guarded against intruders. The former sentinels and gatekeepers who practice SoPK would thus trade power they had to limit access in order to gain a more efficient process which would benefit the entire organization, not just their own little silo. The theory posits the synergy of the efficiency thus gained benefits ALL the former silos more than the sums of the individual silo benefits gained before SoPK went into effect.

In summary, you, personally, might benefit more from helping your organization move to a SoPK process rather than finding a way to educate yourself to get access to one of the other, current, silos.

Welcome to The Cove! :bigwave:

Good responses so far.

I think one make-or-break factor is people skills, specifically getting things across and dealing with people strategically.

If you are interested in pursuing the quality management field (Wes is right in that the field is being absorbed into all areas of operation, and rightly so) but are not keen about the politicking that can come with it, I suggest you look into reliability engineering. Career Planner has a job description (http://www.careerplanner.com/DOT-Job-Descriptions/RELIABILITY-ENGINEER.cfm) you can read.

In my opinion, EMC Engineers are much more in demand than Quality Engineers. If you were interested in a move up, I would suggest trying to get into EMC Engineering, being involved in the design up front. Another area would be to get involved in Project Management.


Danny