Careers and salaries: a radioscopy of the QSE function
At Afnor, we love QSE functions. Quality (Q), safety (S), environment (E ): these three subjects are at the heart of major international voluntary standards ( ISO 9001, 45001 and 14001 respectively). But who exactly are the people who work in this world? What do they do, where do they come from, how much do they earn? A study carried out by Time to Be for AFNOR Compétences and Parcours Croisés, based on 1,462 questionnaires. You can obtain the full report by listening again to the webinar presentation of September 18, 2025, available here .
First of all, the position seems to be becoming more feminized: QSE managers account for 63% of respondents, compared with 54% in 2018. A fairly feminized profession, therefore, contrary to certain preconceived ideas, but one that is less and less so as one climbs the ladder of managerial responsibilities(read more below). Our study concludes that the profession is becoming increasingly feminized, but that it is also ageing: the average age is 42, compared with 39 in 2018. There are more seniors than juniors: 22% are over fifty and 13% under thirty, a much more marked imbalance than seven years ago.
Men and women in this field are all graduates, most of them from initial university QSE courses leading to bac + 5. The QSE diploma seems to structure more specialized career paths, oriented towards the core functions of the business, standards and professional development,” comments Anne-Laure Mauduit-Devillers, a consultant specializing in this field and AFNOR Parcours Croisés’ partner for this study. Once in post, QSE managers are staying there, and for longer: they have almost twelve years’ seniority on the counter, compared with nine and a half years in 2018. This experience is gained in an average of three organizations (2.9 to be exact). As this mobility figure was two seven years ago, it may be seen as an effect of the relative ageing of this population.
What kind of organizations do QSE professionals work for? The answer is clear: 91% of them are in the private sector. 6% work in the public sector. One out of three private-sector jobs is in the manufacturing industry. The second largest sector is services (13%). Half of these companies are SMEs with between 10 and 249 employees. They are followed by mid-sized companies (250 to 4,999 employees), large groups (over 5,000) and VSEs (fewer than 10). All these companies are more likely to be headquartered than to be based at a site or subsidiary.
The study also shows that the QSE function is well established within the company: 94% of professionals have permanent contracts, with 58% holding the title of “manager”. Next come the titles of “engineer”, “coordinator” and “director” (both masculine and feminine, of course). Executive status is dominant: 69%. One in three sits on the management committee: 30% to be exact. With what scope? “QSE” at 41%, “quality” alone at 28%, “HSE” at 6%, the H standing for “hygiene”. The combined QSE function is growing significantly, with professionals taking on more responsibilities and broadening the scope of their missions “, comments Anne-Laure Mauduit-Devillers, noting that instead of the 41% of QSEs in 2025, they were 33% in 2018. Subtlety: the scope of their work does not necessarily coincide with the department to which they report, since of the 41% who work on a so-called QSE scope, with quality, safety and environmental issues, 57% do so from a box on the organizational chart that actually bears the QSE heading. In 20% of cases, this department is called “Quality”, in 19% “CSR”, and in 14% “General Management”. This department is usually staffed by a single person (29% of cases) or by two or three people (also 29% of cases). Obviously, the larger the company, the more QSE staff there are: 93 QSE specialists in large groups!
Service and ad hoc team mean management. In this respect, 45% of professionals describe themselves as managers. Gender inequality is in full play here: those who manage the most are men (53% manage vs. 42% of women), even though they are not in the majority among all respondents, as we saw at the outset. Budget-wise, one professional in three manages a budget, and for almost two-thirds of these, the amount managed is less than 100,000 euros. In terms of missions, the international aspect is not dominant (only 30% mention this dimension); it is audit missions that stand out massively: 80% of professionals have, or at least are involved in, both internal and supplier audits. Logically, the standards they audit are those of QSE: ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. ISO 26000 and ISO 50001 are far behind, cited by 8% and 7% respectively.
AFNOR Compétences, a subsidiary of the AFNOR group, offers a wide range of training courses for QSE professionals, covering QSE standards , the various dimensions of quality , and auditing methodologies . The study includes a section on skills, grouped into six major families:
- governance and strategy
- steering and indicators
- agility and innovation
- communication and education
- team leadership and management
- systemic and collaborative vision.
The 18 skills studied show that the priorities are: integrating the QSE manager into governance, embodying cross-functional leadership, steering change, mobilizing collective intelligence and knowing how to communicate. This represents a cultural change: the QSE manager is becoming a strategic player in overall performance, going beyond mere compliance and technical matters,” comments Anne-Laure Mauduit-Devillers, who also notes the stronger link between the QSE function and CSR.
Bridge with CSR, global performance… The study of skills confirms the analysis made above of the rise of the QSE title, i.e. that the missions of the QSE manager have been enriched. Two-thirds agree with this idea. But despite this, recognition is not always forthcoming. According to Anne-Laure Mauduit-Devillers, 56% of working professionals feel they are paid less or much less than their peers. Even if this rate is significantly lower than in 2018, when it was 74%, there is still a gap between real contribution and recognition. And not just in terms of salary: a place in decision-making and strategic visibility are also sources of frustration.
What’s the salary like? On average, the fixed salary is 47,400 euros gross per annum, including the 13th and 14th months if applicable, and the variable salary is 4,600 euros. In seven years, the fixed salary has risen by 6,400 euros. This is an average, as the most commonly quoted fixed salary bracket is between 50 and 59,000 euros, depending on the size of the company. Obviously, this salary varies according to whether the person is a director, project manager, consultant or other. The title of director stands out with an average fixed salary of 77,900 euros, 11,700 euros more than in 2018.
Let’s end on a note that inspires relative enthusiasm: the QSE professional is a rather fulfilled professional. The average job satisfaction score is 7 out of 10 (compared with 6.4 in 2018), with the top four satisfaction criteria being the interest of the job, the work atmosphere, work-life balance and relations with the manager. We have added the adjective “relative” to the word “enthusiasm”, as we note a small warning about prospects for internal development, a criterion that only scores 5 out of 10. Yet 47% of professionals see themselves in another position in three years’ time, ideally at a higher job level (26%). This generates a slight frustration, which is reflected in the answers to the question about dreaded situations: one professional in two says they fear staying at their current salary. This answer is cited first by a quarter of the sample. Quest for hierarchical progression, search for meaning, life balance, reconversion… In the background, we are dealing with a function still in search of recognition and projection. concludes Anne-Laure Mauduit-Devillers.
