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Manager, software quality assurance vs quality assurance engineer

The differences between managers, software quality assurance 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 manager, software quality assurance and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a manager, software quality assurance has an average salary of $122,736, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.

The top three skills for a manager, software quality assurance include software quality, software development and test cases. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.

Manager, software quality assurance vs quality assurance engineer overview

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance Engineer
Yearly salary$122,736$82,215
Hourly rate$59.01$39.53
Growth rate21%-
Number of jobs108,570243,536
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a manager, software quality assurance do?

Software Quality Assurance Managers are responsible for overseeing the entire development process of software in ensuring they comply with the organization's standards. Their duties include implementing test case documentation, conducting a document risk analysis, recording test results, perform automated test coding, determine product quality benchmarks, and streamlining testing processes. Besides that, they are involved in identifying software bugs, discovering user problems, assessing product features, analyzing user interface functionality, and researching new technologies.

What does a quality assurance engineer do?

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.

Manager, software quality assurance vs quality assurance engineer salary

Managers, software quality assurance and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance Engineer
Average salary$122,736$82,215
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $163,000Between $61,000 And $109,000
Highest paying CityNapa, CASan Mateo, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleThe Citadel
Best paying industryRetailTechnology

Differences between manager, software quality assurance and quality assurance engineer education

There are a few differences between a manager, software quality assurance and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeStanford UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Manager, software quality assurance vs quality assurance engineer demographics

Here are the differences between managers, software quality assurance' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 73.0% Female, 27.0%Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between manager, software quality assurance and quality assurance engineer duties and responsibilities

Manager, software quality assurance example responsibilities.

  • Lead white box testing for the voice driven Java portal, integrate with a C++ VoiceXml engine
  • Develop JAVA program to automate status and configuration data collection from test-beds to support root cause analysis process.
  • Use JIRA defect tracking tool to track defects from QA testing to ensure defects are successfully manage throughout the testing life-cycle.
  • Manage software security assessment effort to identify products' security vulnerabilities throughout SDLC.
  • Manage all documentation and equipment require for QA to effectively complete testing tasks.
  • Replace a paper/pencil driven reporting process with a SQL database to automate data collection and reporting for entire customer facing organization.
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Quality assurance engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage individual sprints user stories and tasks using TFS as tracking tool.
  • Create and maintain a test suite in ruby to automate a new events and notifications application.
  • Manage all ALM relate issues, user requests and customize the defect templates to cater to various project needs.
  • Provide overarching strategic recommendations for productivity improvements and achieve QMS - ISO certification.
  • Develop UI automation for PWM product using WinRunner, Java, PL/SQL, Transact-SQL and other technologies.
  • Review and approve the defects open by the testers for each regression and assign to the Dev.
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Manager, software quality assurance vs quality assurance engineer skills

Common manager, software quality assurance skills
  • Software Quality, 7%
  • Software Development, 7%
  • Test Cases, 4%
  • Test Automation, 4%
  • SQA, 4%
  • Java, 3%
Common quality assurance engineer skills
  • Java, 7%
  • Python, 7%
  • Regression, 5%
  • Jira, 4%
  • API, 4%
  • Scrum, 3%

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