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The differences between functional 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 a functional tester and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $82,215, which is higher than the $76,647 average annual salary of a functional tester.
The top three skills for a functional tester include java, test cases and web application. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.
| Functional Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $76,647 | $82,215 |
| Hourly rate | $36.85 | $39.53 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 37,146 | 243,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A functional tester's main responsibility is to validate the behavior of an application and analyzed the requirements of the clients. They are skilled in Java and database design for software development. The tasks they do are complex, including scanning IDs of the receiver and serial numbers on each unit, testing the units to make sure they work properly, and checking for any defects and damages. They are also trained in using numerical codes for passing or failing each unit and writing serial numbers on the production tracker.
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.
Functional testers and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $76,647 | $82,215 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $94,000 | Between $61,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Cerner | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a functional tester and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Functional Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 62% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between functional testers' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Functional Tester | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% | 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% |