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The differences between quality assurance engineers and senior 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 quality assurance engineer and a senior quality analyst. Additionally, a senior quality analyst has an average salary of $89,722, 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 senior quality analyst are data analysis, test cases, and QA.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $82,215 | $89,722 |
| Hourly rate | $39.53 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 243,536 | 126,363 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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 senior quality assurance analyst specializes in inspecting and assessing the quality of software and systems in a company, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include developing specific test structures, coordinating with different departments to gather data, troubleshooting, and studying client complaints to prevent issues from happening again. They may also perform regular maintenance checks, recommending solutions as needed. Furthermore, as a senior quality assurance analyst, it is essential to lead the quality assurance efforts on systems, all while serving as a mentor and role model to junior analysts.
Quality assurance engineers and senior quality analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Average salary | $82,215 | $89,722 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $109,000 | Between $71,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Delaware |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance engineer and a senior quality analyst in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance engineers' and senior quality analysts' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% | 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% |