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The differences between senior associate quality assurances and quality leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a senior associate quality assurance, becoming a quality lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a quality lead has an average salary of $90,301, which is higher than the $77,556 average annual salary of a senior associate quality assurance.
The top three skills for a senior associate quality assurance include QA, GMP and oversight. The most important skills for a quality lead are continuous improvement, product quality, and quality standards.
| Senior Associate Quality Assurance | Quality Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $77,556 | $90,301 |
| Hourly rate | $37.29 | $43.41 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 64,796 | 62,018 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
The quality assurance associate works alongside the production team to ensure and maintain the quality of products and services provided by the company. The senior QA associate works with the production team and gives critical evaluations of the company's products and services. The senior QA associate works with the entire quality assurance team to make sure that customers get the best and, in return, create trust and confidence. The QA associate is one of the vital positions in a company.
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.
Senior associate quality assurances and quality leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Associate Quality Assurance | Quality Lead | |
| Average salary | $77,556 | $90,301 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $98,000 | Between $63,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Biogen | |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior associate quality assurance and a quality lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Associate Quality Assurance | Quality Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Biology | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior associate quality assurances' and quality leads' demographics:
| Senior Associate Quality Assurance | Quality Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.2% Female, 62.8% | Male, 58.7% Female, 41.3% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 9.1% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |