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The differences between quality assurance testers 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 tester and a senior quality assurance analyst. Additionally, a senior quality assurance analyst has an average salary of $93,563, 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 assurance analyst are QA, manual test cases, and regression.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $74,140 | $93,563 |
| Hourly rate | $35.64 | $44.98 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 82,396 | 123,719 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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.
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 testers and senior quality assurance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average salary | $74,140 | $93,563 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $99,000 | Between $74,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Riot Games |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality assurance tester and a senior quality assurance analyst in terms of educational background:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | - |
Here are the differences between quality assurance testers' and senior quality assurance analysts' demographics:
| Quality Assurance Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% | 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% |