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The differences between quality assurance testers and quality assurance specialists 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 tester and a quality assurance specialist. Additionally, a quality assurance tester has an average salary of $74,140, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.
The top three skills for a quality assurance tester include manual test cases, regression and test scripts. The most important skills for a quality assurance specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $74,140 | $63,443 |
| Hourly rate | $35.64 | $30.50 |
| Growth rate | - | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 82,396 | 83,505 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
Quality assurance testers and quality assurance specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average salary | $74,140 | $63,443 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $99,000 | Between $41,000 And $97,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Apple | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance tester and a quality assurance specialist in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance testers' and quality assurance specialists' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Quality Assurance Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2% |
| 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% |