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The differences between quality assurance engineers 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 engineer and a quality assurance lead. Additionally, a quality assurance lead has an average salary of $94,758, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a quality assurance engineer include java, python and regression. The most important skills for a quality assurance lead are QA, test cases, and test plan.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $82,215 | $94,758 |
| Hourly rate | $39.53 | $45.56 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 243,536 | 82,242 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Engineer must also ensure that the product adheres to the government regulations and market guidelines.
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 engineers and quality assurance leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $82,215 | $94,758 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $109,000 | Between $72,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance engineer and a quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between quality assurance engineers' and quality assurance leads' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% | 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% |