As a Quality Assurance Specialist, you will monitor, inspect, and propose various measures aimed to improve or correct the product of a company. You will be outlining quality assurance policies to ensure quality standards. Therefore, you need to be extremely mindful of details.
In addition, you also need to have great analytical skills. You will be dealing with a lot of data and information as a Quality Assurance Specialist, so you should know how to filter these chunks of information and interpret them for your client. Next is communication skills. After studying data and relevant information, you need to be able to communicate your findings efficiently.
With a job growth rate of 6%, you can earn an annual average salary of $72,039 as a Quality Assurance Specialist. You also have the chance to take on other roles as a Quality Assurance Manager, a Quality Manager, and a Director of Quality if this is the path you plan to take.
How to Become a Quality Assurance Specialist
What is a Quality Assurance Specialist
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Quality Assurance Specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $37.44 an hour? That's $77,877 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 90,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Quality Assurance Specialist Do
There are certain skills that many Quality Assurance Specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Analytical skills, Communication skills and Detail oriented.
How To Become a Quality Assurance Specialist
If you're interested in becoming a Quality Assurance Specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 58.3% of Quality Assurance Specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.4% of Quality Assurance Specialists have master's degrees. Even though most Quality Assurance Specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Quality Assurance Specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a Quality Assurance Specialist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Quality Assurance Specialist resumes include Master's Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Quality Assurance Specialist. In fact, many Quality Assurance Specialist jobs require experience in a role such as Customer Service Representative. Meanwhile, many Quality Assurance Specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as Administrative Assistant or Cashier.
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Quality Assurance Specialist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Quality Assurance Specialist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Quality Assurance Manager, progress to a title such as Quality Manager and then eventually end up with the title Director Of Quality.
Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Quality Assurance Specialist
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12 Quality Assurance Specialist Resume Examples
Build a professional quality assurance specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your quality assurance specialist resume.
Alan Mitchell Quality Assurance Specialist |
Billy Hayes Quality Assurance Specialist Experience Quality Assurance Specialist2016 - Present Bank of America•Newark, DE
Quality Assurance Chemist2015 - 2016 HP•Washington, DC
Microbiologist2013 - 2015 BioReliance•Washington, DC
Skills MicroorganismsCompany ProceduresMsData AnalysisLab EquipmentManagement SystemTest MethodsMicrobiologyProduct DevelopmentProduction Processes Education Bachelor's Degree Business2010 - 2013 Strayer University•Washington, DC |
Learn How To Write a Quality Assurance Specialist Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Quality Assurance Specialist resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Quality Assurance Specialist Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Quality Assurance Specialist Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Quality Assurance Specialist templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Quality Assurance Specialist resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Find the best Quality Assurance Specialist job for you
Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs - $107K and Up
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- Entry Level Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
- Part Time Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
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Top Colleges for Quality Assurance Specialists
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Find the best Quality Assurance Specialist job for you
Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs - $107K and Up
- Work From Home Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
- Entry Level Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
- Part Time Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Quality Assurance Specialist Jobs
Online Courses For Quality Assurance Specialist That You May Like
Learn how to Implement and Audit a Quality Management System as per ISO 9001: 2015...
How to audit or implement a Quality Management System as per ISO 9001:2015...
Become Quality Assurance Engineer as a Complete Beginner. QA Masterclass for Junior QA Engineers...
Top Skills For a Quality Assurance Specialist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 20.0% of Quality Assurance Specialists listed Procedures on their resume, but soft skills such as Analytical skills and Communication skills are important as well.
Best States For a Quality Assurance Specialist
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Quality Assurance Specialist. The best states for people in this position are Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, and New Jersey. Quality Assurance Specialists make the most in Connecticut with an average salary of $89,004. Whereas in Maryland and Rhode Island, they would average $88,181 and $87,848, respectively. While Quality Assurance Specialists would only make an average of $85,836 in New Jersey, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Connecticut
$89,004
Avg. Salary
2. Maryland
$88,181
Avg. Salary
3. Rhode Island
$87,848
Avg. Salary
How Do Quality Assurance Specialist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Quality Assurance Specialist Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Quality Assurance Specialists and discovered their number of Quality Assurance Specialist opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that DISH Network was the best, especially with an average salary of $74,879. Pfizer follows up with an average salary of $98,188, and then comes TTEC with an average of $72,588. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Quality Assurance Specialist. The employers include Boston Scientific, Alliance Data, and loanDepot
Quality Assurance Specialist Videos
Becoming a Quality Assurance Specialist FAQs
How much do QA testers make?
QA testers make $33 an hour on average. A quality assurance tester can make anywhere from $27-$35 an hour on average, with the pay rate differing between companies.
Usually, larger software companies are willing to pay more for quality testing services, whereas smaller companies may opt to pay less per hour since they are still in the starting phases of their production.
The experience of a QA tester can greatly impact the amount they are paid, as an entry-level QA tester will not have as much experience in discovering issues as a quality assurance specialist would.
What are the top 3 skills for a quality assurance specialist?
The top 3 skills for a quality assurance specialist are communication, time management, and attention to detail. As a quality assurance specialist, you will be working among a team to guarantee that the final product observes the company's quality standards.
This job is very detail-oriented and requires a person to be diligent and well-disciplined. A quality assurance specialist is responsible for detecting and resolving any issues within the product and communicating those issues to the rest of the team.
Having strong communication abilities is necessary, as you will frequently be cooperating with other quality assurance associates. This work needs to be accomplished within a timely manner to meet release windows.
Quality assurance is usually one of the last interactions a company may have with a product before its finalization, which means the job is extremely important as any undiscovered problem could directly impact the product's quality, sales, and perception post-production.
What degree do you need to work in quality assurance?
To work in quality assurance, you need at least a bachelor's degree. To become a quality assurance specialist, you will need at least a bachelor's degree in computer science or business management. These courses will help hone your troubleshooting and quality testing skills to discover possible flaws in a product.
Some smaller companies may only require an associate's degree or no degree at all, but the majority will expect you to have some amount of software experience or background.
It is possible to become a QA Tester without any formal education, assuming you have somewhere between 3-6 years of software testing experience, though this is not enough to qualify you as a quality assurance specialist.
What does a QA specialist do?
A QA specialist ensures that the final product adheres to the company's quality standards. A quality assurance specialist is responsible for detecting and resolving any issues within a product.
A QA specialist is expected to have significant experience with software development and technology and discover problems and troubleshoot them to apply a solution.
Rather than creating a product, QA's purpose is to guarantee that the final product meets company expectations and will adhere to the company's quality standards. This quality assurance testing will occur both prior to and during a product's deployment to help guarantee that customers are receiving a satisfactory experience.
What education do you need to be a quality assurance tester?
The education you need to be a quality assurance tester is a bachelor's degree in computer science or engineering. Other standard degree programs for a quality assurance tester include information systems technology and software engineering.
While getting the right degree is essential, typically, companies look for a person with qualifications in three categories. These are educational requirements, technical skill sets, and personality traits.
In the second category, a quality assurance tester should ensure they understand quality assurance methodologies. They should know SQL and SDLC, as well as possess the ability to use source code repositories. A person should know how to use the Agile method and have the ability to perform research and risk analysis.
The third category is personality traits. These are qualifications that a person typically possesses naturally, though some can be developed through practice. A good quality assurance tester should have an analytical and curious mindset. Quality assurance testers should also be adaptable and creative in their approach to problems.
What should I study to become a QA specialist?
You should study business management or computer science to become a QA specialist. To become a quality assurance specialist, you will need at least a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Business Management.
Since a quality assurance specialist mainly consists of software problem-solving, a background in technology is beneficial.
It is possible to get started in quality assurance without a degree. However, to attain the role of a quality assurance specialist, you will need a bachelor's degree. The requirements for a QA position will vary by company, with the biggest factor being prior QA experience.
If you can find a simple QA testing job while pursuing a bachelor's degree or decide to continue within the QA field for 3-6 years, the prior experience will benefit you significantly in future job applications.