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The differences between quality assurance consultants and software 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 quality assurance consultant and a software tester. Additionally, a quality assurance consultant has an average salary of $86,486, which is higher than the $78,580 average annual salary of a software tester.
The top three skills for a quality assurance consultant include QA, manual test cases and regression. The most important skills for a software tester are test results, regression, and test scripts.
| Quality Assurance Consultant | Software Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $86,486 | $78,580 |
| Hourly rate | $41.58 | $37.78 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 91,395 | 208,853 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A quality assurance consultant specializes in recommending and optimizing quality-control procedures ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically conduct research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control operations, implement solutions on problem areas, review policies and regulations, and coordinate with other staff to gather necessary data, analyzing them to find new opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, as a quality assurance consultant, it is essential to recommend solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
The responsibility of software testers involves the quality assurance of software development and deployment. Software testers conduct manual and automated tests to make sure that the software is developed for its purpose. They remove the issues and bugs within a product before deployment to users. Their responsibilities include software and systems analysis, risk mitigation, and software-related issue prevention. They should have skills in automation, programming, social networking, logical thinking, and mobile and web technology.
Quality assurance consultants and software testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Consultant | Software Tester | |
| Average salary | $86,486 | $78,580 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $110,000 | Between $61,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Southern California Edison | Nordstrom |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance consultant and a software tester in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Consultant | Software Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between quality assurance consultants' and software testers' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Consultant | Software Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% |
| 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% |