Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between associate testers and functional testers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an associate tester and a functional tester. Additionally, a functional tester has an average salary of $76,647, which is higher than the $74,863 average annual salary of an associate tester.
The top three skills for an associate tester include test results, test data and java. The most important skills for a functional tester are java, test cases, and web application.
| Associate Tester | Functional Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $74,863 | $76,647 |
| Hourly rate | $35.99 | $36.85 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 35,159 | 37,146 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An associate tester is in charge of performing quality assurance tests on materials, ensuring the quality adheres to the company's standards and regulations. In the information technology industry, it is their duty to develop software test structures, maintain records of all results, gather and analyze data, review documents, troubleshoot issues, and prepare comprehensive reports according to the company's protocols. Furthermore, an associate tester must maintain an active communication line with teams, coordinating for a smooth and efficient workflow.
A functional tester's main responsibility is to validate the behavior of an application and analyzed the requirements of the clients. They are skilled in Java and database design for software development. The tasks they do are complex, including scanning IDs of the receiver and serial numbers on each unit, testing the units to make sure they work properly, and checking for any defects and damages. They are also trained in using numerical codes for passing or failing each unit and writing serial numbers on the production tracker.
Associate testers and functional testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Tester | Functional Tester | |
| Average salary | $74,863 | $76,647 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $102,000 | Between $61,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | Cerner |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an associate tester and a functional tester in terms of educational background:
| Associate Tester | Functional Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between associate testers' and functional testers' demographics:
| Associate Tester | Functional Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |