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The differences between principal test engineers and quality analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a principal test engineer and a quality analyst. Additionally, a principal test engineer has an average salary of $116,493, which is higher than the $71,957 average annual salary of a quality analyst.
The top three skills for a principal test engineer include python, C++ and java. The most important skills for a quality analyst are customer service, QA, and patients.
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $116,493 | $71,957 |
| Hourly rate | $56.01 | $34.59 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 96,539 | 110,980 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Principal Test Engineers test automation tools and frameworks like Selenium, Appium, and Ranorex. They make sure that the software their companies offer is safe and reliable for consumer use. Being a principal test engineer requires testing to influence better software design, promoting good engineering practice, security, testability, scalability, drafting bug prevention strategies, and reliability. They are responsible for defining test goals, preparing and executing system-level functional tests, providing new project forecasts based on the provided information, and improving the current test solutions by reducing the test time, repeat tests, and yield analysis.
Pumpers are individuals who take responsibility for setting the pumping system controls for product maximization. Their job requires them to set density, concentration, rate, and pressure. They do the operation and maintenance of the auxiliary equipment pumping oil. It is their duty to set the wells so they will function based on the production schedules and switch the oil flow between tanks. They even install the pumping systems.
Principal test engineers and quality analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Analyst | |
| Average salary | $116,493 | $71,957 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $159,000 | Between $55,000 And $92,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a principal test engineer and a quality analyst in terms of educational background:
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between principal test engineers' and quality analysts' demographics:
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% | Male, 40.3% Female, 59.7% |
| 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% |