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The differences between automation test engineers and engineers lead quality assurance lead can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an automation test engineer and an engineer lead quality assurance lead. Additionally, an engineer lead quality assurance lead has an average salary of $110,007, which is higher than the $85,353 average annual salary of an automation test engineer.
The top three skills for an automation test engineer include java, python and jenkins. The most important skills for an engineer lead quality assurance lead are java, jira, and regression.
| Automation Test Engineer | Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $85,353 | $110,007 |
| Hourly rate | $41.04 | $52.89 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 125,816 | 278,178 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Automation Test Engineers are licensed professionals who work with clients on various IT or engineering-related activities. They are part of the growing automation industry. They create software solutions related to the automation of processes, and they work with clients to identify automation opportunities based on the existing software, hardware, and other processes. They have to understand their clients' needs and find the appropriate software solutions based on the clients' needs. Automation test engineers help design these software solutions. The majority of their work is related to testing these software solutions. They conduct quality checks to ensure that the software solution is working properly. They also check whether the software solution truly addresses the clients' needs.
Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Leads are responsible for managing the designing and operations of hardware or software testing. Their duties include developing testing plans, implement risk mitigation strategies, communicate process improvements to cross-teams such as marketing and engineering, resolve the conflict between teams, and ensures product or software adheres to the organization and industry standards. They are also involved in reviewing technical design and specification, setting performance targets, and writing progress reports for management updates.
Automation test engineers and engineers lead quality assurance lead have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Automation Test Engineer | Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $85,353 | $110,007 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $112,000 | Between $85,000 And $142,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between an automation test engineer and an engineer lead quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Automation Test Engineer | Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between automation test engineers' and engineers lead quality assurance lead' demographics:
| Automation Test Engineer | Engineer Lead Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% | Male, 68.8% Female, 31.2% |
| 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% |