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The differences between performance test engineers 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 performance test engineer and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a performance test engineer has an average salary of $97,965, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a performance test engineer include java, test results and jmeter. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $97,965 | $82,215 |
| Hourly rate | $47.10 | $39.53 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,502 | 243,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A performance test engineer is responsible for conducting performance testing to ensure system capacity, reliability, and scalability. Typical duties that you will perform include working closely with the testing team in developing performance test cases and plans, analyzing test results, and handling bug fixes in collaboration with development teams. Additionally, you will be responsible for evaluating the root causes of performance problems and resolve them. You will also be responsible for developing automated test scenarios for performance testing.
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.
Performance test engineers and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $97,965 | $82,215 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $127,000 | Between $61,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Technology |
There are a few differences between a performance test engineer and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between performance test engineers' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| 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% |