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The differences between quality assurance team leaders and quality assurance consultants 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 team leader and a quality assurance consultant. Additionally, a quality assurance team leader has an average salary of $97,476, which is higher than the $86,486 average annual salary of a quality assurance consultant.
The top three skills for a quality assurance team leader include QA, regression and manual test cases. The most important skills for a quality assurance consultant are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $97,476 | $86,486 |
| Hourly rate | $46.86 | $41.58 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 131,886 | 91,395 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A quality assurance (QA) team leader is an individual who is responsible for managing a team of engineers from the quality assurance department of an organization to participate in the overall QA planning and activities. QA team leaders are required to play the key role as a member of the project management team to ensure that the product exceeded user expectations. They must develop and implement QA processes and supervise daily QA activities to maximize quality and productivity. QA team leaders must also prepare and report audited results to the organization's site senior management.
A quality assurance consultant specializes in recommending and optimizing quality-control procedures ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically conduct research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of current quality control operations, implement solutions on problem areas, review policies and regulations, and coordinate with other staff to gather necessary data, analyzing them to find new opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, as a quality assurance consultant, it is essential to recommend solutions in adherence to the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Quality assurance team leaders and quality assurance consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average salary | $97,476 | $86,486 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $126,000 | Between $67,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Southern California Edison |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance team leader and a quality assurance consultant in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 63% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance team leaders' and quality assurance consultants' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Quality Assurance Consultant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% |
| 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% |