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The differences between junior testers and senior quality assurance analysts 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 senior quality assurance analyst. Additionally, a senior quality assurance analyst has an average salary of $93,563, 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 senior quality assurance analyst are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Junior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $70,002 | $93,563 |
| Hourly rate | $33.65 | $44.98 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,154 | 123,719 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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.
Senior quality assurance analysts are responsible for developing and implementing quality assurance standards within an organization. They collect and analyze data to reinforce proposed projects, systems requirements, and business cases. These will include writing scripts and test plans to monitor errors and fixes in product and software development, operational systems, and information systems. Besides, they are also responsible for several tasks, including preparing reports and recommendations, communicating with suppliers and vendors in assessing applications, and conducting internal audits.
Junior testers and senior quality assurance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Junior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average salary | $70,002 | $93,563 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $93,000 | Between $74,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | Arlington, VA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | QSSI | Riot Games |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Finance |
There are a few differences between a junior tester and a senior quality assurance analyst in terms of educational background:
| Junior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | - |
Here are the differences between junior testers' and senior quality assurance analysts' demographics:
| Junior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8% | Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2% |
| 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% |