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The differences between associate testers and quality assurance engineers 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 quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $82,215, 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 quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.
| Associate Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $74,863 | $82,215 |
| Hourly rate | $35.99 | $39.53 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 35,159 | 243,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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 Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Engineer must also ensure that the product adheres to the government regulations and market guidelines.
Associate testers and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Associate Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $74,863 | $82,215 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $102,000 | Between $61,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between an associate tester and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Associate Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between associate testers' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Associate Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| 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% |