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The differences between junior testers and quality assurance leads 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 a quality assurance lead. Additionally, a quality assurance lead has an average salary of $94,758, 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 a quality assurance lead are QA, test cases, and test plan.
| Junior Tester | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $70,002 | $94,758 |
| Hourly rate | $33.65 | $45.56 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,154 | 82,242 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| 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.
A quality assurance lead, also known as QA Lead, is responsible for conducting necessary quality tests and analyses for software program and development. As a quality assurance lead, they must take the lead in ensuring quality during development by proactively performing critical evaluations, troubleshooting, and providing precise documentation. It is also essential to identify issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Furthermore, a quality assurance lead must maintain an active line of communication and coordination as most of the work will be in a team setting.
Junior testers and quality assurance leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Tester | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $70,002 | $94,758 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $93,000 | Between $72,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Arlington, VA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | QSSI | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Retail |
There are a few differences between a junior tester and a quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Junior Tester | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between junior testers' and quality assurance leads' demographics:
| Junior Tester | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8% | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% |
| 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% |