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The differences between lead software quality assurances and quality assurance consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lead software quality assurance and a quality assurance consultant. Additionally, a lead software quality assurance has an average salary of $107,134, which is higher than the $86,486 average annual salary of a quality assurance consultant.
The top three skills for a lead software quality assurance include QA, python and java. The most important skills for a quality assurance consultant are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Lead Software Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $107,134 | $86,486 |
| Hourly rate | $51.51 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 265,749 | 91,395 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Lead Software Quality Assurance is responsible for the management and organization of quality testing. Their job is to ensure that a project will have a successful promotion by providing quality software and testing a different product to ensure that it is according to the guidelines. They are also involved in finding a solution to conflicts between two other teams, creating a strategy that will eventually give way to more opportunities for the company, give motivational advice to the team, and then evaluate them.
A quality assurance consultant specializes in recommending and optimizing quality-control procedures ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically conduct research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control operations, implement solutions on problem areas, review policies and regulations, and coordinate with other staff to gather necessary data, analyzing them to find new opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, as a quality assurance consultant, it is essential to recommend solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Lead software quality assurances and quality assurance consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Software Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average salary | $107,134 | $86,486 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $138,000 | Between $67,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Apple | Southern California Edison |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead software quality assurance and a quality assurance consultant in terms of educational background:
| Lead Software Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between lead software quality assurances' and quality assurance consultants' demographics:
| Lead Software Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.1% Female, 31.9% | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% |
| 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% |