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The differences between firmware test engineers 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 a firmware test engineer and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a firmware test engineer has an average salary of $84,319, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a firmware test engineer include python, firmware and test automation. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.
| Firmware Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $84,319 | $82,215 |
| Hourly rate | $40.54 | $39.53 |
| Growth rate | 5% | - |
| Number of jobs | 25,699 | 243,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Firmware engineers are technical experts who work on programming various devices. They have extensive knowledge of coding and software development. Firmware engineers must understand several programming languages, with the specifics depending on their industry. Designing code and testing proper functionality are additional job responsibilities.
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.
Firmware test engineers and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Firmware Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $84,319 | $82,215 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $114,000 | Between $61,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a firmware test engineer and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Firmware Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between firmware test engineers' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Firmware Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% | 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% |