Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between principal test engineers and quality assurance specialists 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 assurance specialist. Additionally, a principal test engineer has an average salary of $116,493, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.
The top three skills for a principal test engineer include python, C++ and java. The most important skills for a quality assurance specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $116,493 | $63,443 |
| Hourly rate | $56.01 | $30.50 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 96,539 | 83,505 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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.
A quality assurance specialist is an individual who is responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and proposing measures to correct and improve a company's product. Quality assurance specialists need to outline quality assurance policies and procedures, making sure that quality standards are assured. It is important that a quality assurance specialist should have strong attention to detail and is excellent in data collection. This work may require a minimum of bachelor's degree and certification to get certified.
Principal test engineers and quality assurance specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average salary | $116,493 | $63,443 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $159,000 | Between $41,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a principal test engineer and a quality assurance specialist in terms of educational background:
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| 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 assurance specialists' demographics:
| Principal Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.8% Female, 10.2% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| 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% |