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The differences between senior quality assurance analysts and test 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 senior quality assurance analyst and a test analyst. Additionally, a senior quality assurance analyst has an average salary of $93,563, which is higher than the $70,997 average annual salary of a test analyst.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance analyst include QA, manual test cases and regression. The most important skills for a test analyst are test scripts, test plan, and regression.
| Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | Test Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $93,563 | $70,997 |
| Hourly rate | $44.98 | $34.13 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 123,719 | 91,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
The duties of a test analyst depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. In the information technology setting, a test analyst is responsible for testing computer software or hardware to ensure its quality before being released in the market. They participate in the development process to monitor the product specifications, review and analyze documentation, and create test systems, implementing them promptly and efficiently. As a test analyst, it is essential to produce progress reports, prepare presentations, and even give recommendations.
Senior quality assurance analysts and test analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | Test Analyst | |
| Average salary | $93,563 | $70,997 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $117,000 | Between $56,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Riot Games | General Motors |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance analyst and a test analyst in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | Test Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | - | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurance analysts' and test analysts' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance Analyst | Test Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2% | Male, 55.2% Female, 44.8% |
| 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% |