“The Classic Q Jobs Are Dying Out!”

Why It Matters

Yes, jobs come and go—it’s been that way for millennia. Quality-related professions are no exception: they evolve, disappear, and re-emerge in new forms. But what makes these changes relevant? For most outsiders, probably not much. The global economy won’t rise or fall on the fate of Q roles alone. But for those working in these professions, the stakes are high. They need to know:

• Does my job title still have a future?
• How valuable will it remain?
• What development paths are open to me?

The second group that should care: organizations whose customers work in quality-related roles—like DGQ, CAQ software vendors such as Babtec, or IMS vendors like Modell Aachen. Their communities might shift, shrink, or evolve in ways that could threaten their business models. For DGQ, this challenge could be existential. For software vendors, quality-related data and process management are likely to remain relevant—just possibly driven by different roles.

About the Study

The study is based on job title data from XING, Germany’s largest professional social media platform with over 16 million users. The premise: changes in job title frequency on XING offer a snapshot of trends in the German-speaking job market. To make the results meaningful, the data was normalized: from the start of the study in July 2019 to late 2021, the number of XING users grew by 10.5% [2].

One other factor: some job titles are distinctly German. For example, terms like QMB (Quality Management Representative) are almost exclusively used in Germany and barely appear in Austria or Switzerland.

The Losers

• “Quality Management” as a job title remained stable (-0.2%).
• “Quality Manager” even grew by +4.5% over two years.

So no, quality management isn’t disappearing. But some specific titles are shrinking fast:

• “QMB” and “Quality Management Representative” declined by 28.1% and 25.2% respectively—roughly 900 roles lost in two years.
  Likely reason: ISO 9001 no longer mandates a designated QMB role. The responsibilities remain, but the title is vanishing.

If the trend continues, these titles could disappear entirely within eight years—possibly even sooner, given delays in how users update their profiles.

• “Q-Manager” shows the sharpest drop: -45.6%, though it was never a very widespread title.
• Leadership roles in QM are also on the decline:
  • “Leader of Quality Management”: -15.7%
  • “QM-Lead: -26.0%
  • Meanwhile, the more modern “Head of Quality” has held steady.

This suggests a trend toward flattened hierarchies in QM and a shift toward embedded quality roles in operational departments. English-language job titles are also gaining ground. Additional losers: terms like KVP, EFQM, Six Sigma, and TQM—indicating these frameworks are losing relevance, at least as standalone job titles.

The Winners

Interestingly, quality assurance roles are growing:

• “Quality assurance worker”: +1.8%
• “Quality Assurance Specialist”: +8.7%

This suggests a shift away from abstract quality management toward hands-on quality assurance.

The biggest winner: “Compliance”, with a +15.2% increase. Given rising regulatory pressure, this was expected. But it raises a deeper question: Will compliance absorb QM in the future, relegating it to a subset of risk management?

Another surprise: “Organizational Development” saw a 139% increase. However, this spike likely stems from XING algorithm changes that began grouping “Organizational Development” and “HR Development” under the same umbrella—so take this figure with caution.

There are also clearly typically German job titles:

• QMB is 98% German
• Information Security Officer: 97%
• Data Protection Officer: 95%

These roles are almost non-existent in Austria and Switzerland. Apparently, Germans love their Beauftragte (appointed officers).

Conclusion

The DGQ can breathe easy—for now. The Q-munity is stable, and CAQ vendors still have a robust audience in growing quality assurance roles.

However, some job titles—especially QMB, QM-Leiter, KVP, EFQM, Six Sigma, and TQM—are clearly fading. For professionals in those positions, pivoting toward compliance, QA, or organizational development may be a smart move.

For Modell Aachen, the results underscore that the core topic of management systems remains highly relevant. What's changing is who drives it. Roles are shifting—but the need for process-oriented systems is only increasing, especially with the ongoing pressure of digital transformation.

Sources:
[1] QZ 9/2019: “Raus aus der Komfortzone!”
[2] Statista: https://de.statista.com/themen/746/xing/