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The differences between quality assurance team leaders and test 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 team leader and a test analyst. Additionally, a quality assurance team leader has an average salary of $97,476, which is higher than the $70,997 average annual salary of a test analyst.
The top three skills for a quality assurance team leader include QA, regression and manual test cases. The most important skills for a test analyst are test scripts, test plan, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Test Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $97,476 | $70,997 |
| Hourly rate | $46.86 | $34.13 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 131,886 | 91,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| 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.
The duties of a test analyst depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. In the information technology setting, a test analyst is responsible for testing computer software or hardware to ensure its quality before being released in the market. They participate in the development process to monitor the product specifications, review and analyze documentation, and create test systems, implementing them promptly and efficiently. As a test analyst, it is essential to produce progress reports, prepare presentations, and even give recommendations.
Quality assurance team leaders and test analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Test Analyst | |
| Average salary | $97,476 | $70,997 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $126,000 | Between $56,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Netflix | General Motors |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance team leader and a test analyst in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Test Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between quality assurance team leaders' and test analysts' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Team Leader | Test Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% | Male, 55.2% Female, 44.8% |
| 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% |