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The differences between junior testers and automation test 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 junior tester and an automation test engineer. Additionally, an automation test engineer has an average salary of $85,353, which is higher than the $70,002 average annual salary of a junior tester.
The top three skills for a junior tester include test results, test scripts and manual test cases. The most important skills for an automation test engineer are java, python, and jenkins.
| Junior Tester | Automation Test Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $70,002 | $85,353 |
| Hourly rate | $33.65 | $41.04 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,154 | 125,816 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A junior tester has strong critical thinking skills and is very much familiar with automation. They must be a team player; they work with others to create and test out a software program. They monitor and report issues, like system bugs, and help to fix them. Most of the time, a junior tester works at a company that is related to software, web application, java games, or video games.
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.
Junior testers and automation test engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Tester | Automation Test Engineer | |
| Average salary | $70,002 | $85,353 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $93,000 | Between $64,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Arlington, VA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | QSSI | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a junior tester and an automation test engineer in terms of educational background:
| Junior Tester | Automation Test Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | California State University - Long Beach |
Here are the differences between junior testers' and automation test engineers' demographics:
| Junior Tester | Automation Test Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8% | Male, 73.8% Female, 26.2% |
| 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% |