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The differences between quality leads and quality assurance testers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a quality lead, becoming a quality assurance tester takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a quality lead has an average salary of $90,301, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a quality lead include continuous improvement, product quality and quality standards. The most important skills for a quality assurance tester are manual test cases, regression, and test scripts.
| Quality Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $90,301 | $74,140 |
| Hourly rate | $43.41 | $35.64 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 62,018 | 82,396 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A quality assurance (QA) lead is responsible for organizing and managing the testing of products prior to its release. Your duties will include defining testing standards and strategies, establishing formal QA processes, and overseeing all aspects of QA, such as using best practices and establishing metrics. Additionally, you are responsible for supervising and mentoring QA team members, and developing and implementing scripts, test cases, and procedures. You are also responsible for managing off quality products and developing and institutionalizing ISO complaints.
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.
Quality leads and quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Quality Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $90,301 | $74,140 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $127,000 | Between $55,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Finance |
There are a few differences between a quality lead and a quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Quality Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between quality leads' and quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Quality Lead | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3% | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.5% 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 | 8% | 11% |