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The differences between performance test engineers and quality assurance testers 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 tester. Additionally, a performance test engineer has an average salary of $97,965, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a performance test engineer include java, test results and jmeter. The most important skills for a quality assurance tester are manual test cases, regression, and test scripts.
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $97,965 | $74,140 |
| Hourly rate | $47.10 | $35.64 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 44,502 | 82,396 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 tester, also known as QA tester, has different responsibilities depending on the line of work or industry involved. In a computer development setting, they are in charge of working and coordinating with technical engineers. They have to conduct regular tests for new software and programs, identify inconsistencies, and find areas for improvement. Furthermore, a quality assurance tester must produce reports from the tests, which can be the basis of progress for further developments.
Performance test engineers and quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $97,965 | $74,140 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $127,000 | Between $55,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Apple | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Finance |
There are a few differences between a performance test engineer and a quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 testers' demographics:
| Performance Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 81.1% Female, 18.9% | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% |
| 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% |