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The differences between quality assurance analysts and quality assurance leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a quality assurance analyst and a quality assurance lead. Additionally, a quality assurance lead has an average salary of $94,758, which is higher than the $73,532 average annual salary of a quality assurance analyst.
The top three skills for a quality assurance analyst include QA, regression and manual test cases. The most important skills for a quality assurance lead are QA, test cases, and test plan.
| Quality Assurance Analyst | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $73,532 | $94,758 |
| Hourly rate | $35.35 | $45.56 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 108,078 | 82,242 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Quality Administrators are responsible for managing the quality processes of an organization. Their duties include creating data collection processes, conducting data cleansing, tracks quality milestones, and develop training programs for internal teams. They undertake daily audits, work with the quality coordinator to determine root cause, and assist with feedback and complaints. Quality administrators also write daily reports for purchase orders that are overdue, open service jobs, quotations needing to follow up, unconfirmed hires, and processed sales orders.
A quality assurance lead, also known as QA Lead, is responsible for conducting necessary quality tests and analyses for software program and development. As a quality assurance lead, they must take the lead in ensuring quality during development by proactively performing critical evaluations, troubleshooting, and providing precise documentation. It is also essential to identify issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Furthermore, a quality assurance lead must maintain an active line of communication and coordination as most of the work will be in a team setting.
Quality assurance analysts and quality assurance leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Analyst | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $73,532 | $94,758 |
| Salary range | Between $57,000 And $93,000 | Between $72,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance analyst and a quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Analyst | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between quality assurance analysts' and quality assurance leads' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Analyst | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1% | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% |
| 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% |