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Manager, software quality assurance vs test manager

The differences between managers, software quality assurance and test managers 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 test manager. Additionally, a manager, software quality assurance has an average salary of $122,736, which is higher than the $92,297 average annual salary of a test manager.

The top three skills for a manager, software quality assurance include software quality, software development and test cases. The most important skills for a test manager are QA, project management, and java.

Manager, software quality assurance vs test manager overview

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceTest Manager
Yearly salary$122,736$92,297
Hourly rate$59.01$44.37
Growth rate21%-
Number of jobs108,57027,489
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
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 test manager do?

A test manager is responsible for supervising the content of test activities and ensuring that the scope meets the test requirements. Test managers monitor the test process and determine the accurate strategies to establish efficient methods for the success of test deliveries. They also identify the resources according to quality standards and budget limitations. A test manager oversees the technical controls of the test processes and measures the quality of tools and applications for optimal automation.

Manager, software quality assurance vs test manager salary

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

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceTest Manager
Average salary$122,736$92,297
Salary rangeBetween $92,000 And $163,000Between $71,000 And $119,000
Highest paying CityNapa, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleMeta
Best paying industryRetailAutomotive

Differences between manager, software quality assurance and test manager education

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

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceTest Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Manager, software quality assurance vs test manager demographics

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

Manager, Software Quality AssuranceTest Manager
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 73.0% Female, 27.0%Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
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 test manager 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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Test manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead test team in delivery of the NAS windows product within the project schedule.
  • Manage and implement a successful peer-base HIV counseling & testing program for gay/bisexual men.
  • Lead weekly integration testing status meetings with testing team, PMO, CIO, and CFO.
  • Manage execution of manual and automate test cases for functional, performance, load, integration, UAT and infrastructure testing.
  • Create XML billing input files for the expected products in UNIX environment.
  • Verify the requirements in JIRA and assign test cases to the team base on the release.
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Manager, software quality assurance vs test manager skills

Common manager, software quality assurance skills
  • Software Quality, 7%
  • Software Development, 7%
  • Test Cases, 4%
  • Test Automation, 4%
  • SQA, 4%
  • Java, 3%
Common test manager skills
  • QA, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%
  • Java, 5%
  • Test Plan, 4%
  • UAT, 4%
  • Test Cases, 4%

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