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The differences between functional test engineers and quality assurance 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 functional test engineer and a quality assurance tester. Additionally, a functional test engineer has an average salary of $77,780, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a functional test engineer include test cases, test equipment and test results. The most important skills for a quality assurance tester are manual test cases, regression, and test scripts.
| Functional Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $77,780 | $74,140 |
| Hourly rate | $37.39 | $35.64 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,452 | 82,396 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Functional test engineers and quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $77,780 | $74,140 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $98,000 | Between $55,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Apple | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a functional test engineer and a quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Functional Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Georgia Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between functional test engineers' and quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Functional Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% |
| 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% |