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The differences between quality assurance testers and senior quality 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 tester and a senior quality analyst. Additionally, a senior quality analyst has an average salary of $89,722, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a quality assurance tester include manual test cases, regression and test scripts. The most important skills for a senior quality analyst are data analysis, test cases, and QA.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $74,140 | $89,722 |
| Hourly rate | $35.64 | $43.14 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 82,396 | 126,363 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| 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 senior quality assurance analyst specializes in inspecting and assessing the quality of software and systems in a company, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities include developing specific test structures, coordinating with different departments to gather data, troubleshooting, and studying client complaints to prevent issues from happening again. They may also perform regular maintenance checks, recommending solutions as needed. Furthermore, as a senior quality assurance analyst, it is essential to lead the quality assurance efforts on systems, all while serving as a mentor and role model to junior analysts.
Quality assurance testers and senior quality analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Average salary | $74,140 | $89,722 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $99,000 | Between $71,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Delaware |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance tester and a senior quality analyst in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between quality assurance testers' and senior quality analysts' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Analyst | |
| 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% |