Beta tester vs functional tester

The differences between beta 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 a beta tester and a functional tester. Additionally, a beta tester has an average salary of $104,650, which is higher than the $76,647 average annual salary of a functional tester.

The top three skills for a beta tester include beta test, video games and data verification. The most important skills for a functional tester are java, test cases, and web application.

Beta tester vs functional tester overview

	Beta Tester	Functional Tester
Yearly salary	$104,650	$76,647
Hourly rate	$50.31	$36.85
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	6,855	37,146
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Beta tester vs functional tester salary

Beta testers and functional testers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Beta Tester	Functional Tester
Average salary	$104,650	$76,647
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $148,000	Between $61,000 And $94,000
Highest paying City	-	Bellevue, WA
Highest paying state	-	Washington
Best paying company	-	Cerner
Best paying industry	-	Technology

Differences between beta tester and functional tester education

There are a few differences between a beta tester and a functional tester in terms of educational background:

	Beta Tester	Functional Tester
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Computer Science	Computer Science
Most common college	Stanford University	California State University - Long Beach

Beta tester vs functional tester demographics

Here are the differences between beta testers' and functional testers' demographics:

	Beta Tester	Functional Tester
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 77.3% Female, 22.7%	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%

Differences between beta tester and functional tester duties and responsibilities

Beta tester example responsibilities.

Manage departmental inventory and troubleshoot testing, reporting and inventory issues.
Conduct QA, software maintenance, on-site and off-site customer support.
Communicate numerous glitches to the primary QA team using in-depth reporting and research methodologies.
Understand OCAP specification with focus on DVR API of IO2 and IO3 on subsections.
Used several encryption/decryption protocol modules from a python library.
Test website functionality & usability and make recommendations to site developer.

Functional tester example responsibilities.

Manage UNIX system workstations in ATM test team and troubleshooting system problems.
Develop web page for achieving documentation and developing a multiple user interface with JavaScript and Perl.
Perform end to end testing for the whole project and create any defects find while testing the application in JIRA.
Develop and maintain test data scripts to support regression testing and participate actively in system testing and regression testing.
Perform various test scenarios including positive and negative testing and also execute performance, regression testing to ensure business functionality coverage.
Experience in UAT and involve in UAT testing and setup the UAT environment.

Beta tester vs functional tester skills

Common beta tester skills

Beta Test, 75%
Video Games, 3%
Data Verification, 2%
Windows XP, 2%
IOS, 2%
QA, 2%

Common functional tester skills

Java, 11%
Test Cases, 6%
Web Application, 5%
Selenium, 4%
Test Automation, 4%
C Net, 4%