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The differences between release engineers and quality assurance engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a release engineer and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a release engineer has an average salary of $97,777, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.
The top three skills for a release engineer include GIT, python and jenkins. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.
| Release Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $97,777 | $82,215 |
| Hourly rate | $47.01 | $39.53 |
| Growth rate | 21% | - |
| Number of jobs | 257,869 | 243,536 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Release engineers are skilled professionals who ensure that all hardware and software components are correctly working together through the use of their knowledge in coding and programming languages. To make sure that products are configured and implemented successfully, these engineers are required to work with production members, software engineers, and quality assurance (QA) professionals. They must assess the quality and risk of the new products as well as troubleshoot any issues pertaining to the software's performance. Release engineers must also organize a release schedule for a software product by using data analysis and production progress reports.
A Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Engineer must also ensure that the product adheres to the government regulations and market guidelines.
Release engineers and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Release Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $97,777 | $82,215 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $130,000 | Between $61,000 And $109,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Mateo, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a release engineer and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Release Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between release engineers' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:
| Release Engineer | Quality Assurance Engineer | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.7% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |