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The differences between quality assurance specialists and senior quality assurance 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 specialist and a senior quality assurance analyst. Additionally, a senior quality assurance analyst has an average salary of $93,563, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.
The top three skills for a quality assurance specialist include GMP, patients and FDA. The most important skills for a senior quality assurance analyst are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $63,443 | $93,563 |
| Hourly rate | $30.50 | $44.98 |
| Growth rate | 6% | - |
| Number of jobs | 83,505 | 123,719 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A quality assurance specialist is an individual who is responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and proposing measures to correct and improve a company's product. Quality assurance specialists need to outline quality assurance policies and procedures, making sure that quality standards are assured. It is important that a quality assurance specialist should have strong attention to detail and is excellent in data collection. This work may require a minimum of bachelor's degree and certification to get certified.
Senior quality assurance analysts are responsible for developing and implementing quality assurance standards within an organization. They collect and analyze data to reinforce proposed projects, systems requirements, and business cases. These will include writing scripts and test plans to monitor errors and fixes in product and software development, operational systems, and information systems. Besides, they are also responsible for several tasks, including preparing reports and recommendations, communicating with suppliers and vendors in assessing applications, and conducting internal audits.
Quality assurance specialists and senior quality assurance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average salary | $63,443 | $93,563 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $97,000 | Between $74,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Riot Games |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance specialist and a senior quality assurance analyst in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between quality assurance specialists' and senior quality assurance analysts' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Specialist | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% | Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2% |
| 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% |