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The differences between quality assurance leads and quality assurance 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 lead and a quality assurance tester. Additionally, a quality assurance lead has an average salary of $94,758, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a quality assurance lead include QA, test cases and test plan. The most important skills for a quality assurance tester are manual test cases, regression, and test scripts.
| Quality Assurance Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $94,758 | $74,140 |
| Hourly rate | $45.56 | $35.64 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 82,242 | 82,396 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A quality assurance tester, also known as QA tester, has different responsibilities depending on the line of work or industry involved. In a computer development setting, they are in charge of working and coordinating with technical engineers. They have to conduct regular tests for new software and programs, identify inconsistencies, and find areas for improvement. Furthermore, a quality assurance tester must produce reports from the tests, which can be the basis of progress for further developments.
Quality assurance leads and quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $94,758 | $74,140 |
| Salary range | Between $72,000 And $123,000 | Between $55,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Meta | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance lead and a quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 leads' and quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% |
| 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% |