Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior quality assurance engineers and senior quality assurance testers 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 engineer and a senior quality assurance tester. Additionally, a senior quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $106,802, which is higher than the $93,770 average annual salary of a senior quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance engineer include QA, java and python. The most important skills for a senior quality assurance tester are test cases, QA, and regression.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $106,802 | $93,770 |
| Hourly rate | $51.35 | $45.08 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 254,258 | 81,916 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior quality assurance engineer oversees the testing procedures conducted in software development, ensuring technical accuracy and efficiency. They are primarily responsible for working alongside software designers and quality engineers, reviewing quality control reports, inspecting specifications, and devising particular test procedures. Moreover, it is also essential to troubleshoot issues and identify any inconsistencies or bugs. As someone with more experience in the team, they must supervise and serve as a mentor to the younger quality assurance engineers in the joint effort to develop efficient software.
A senior quality assurance tester manages junior quality assurance staff. They test documents, lead testing procedures, and ensure customer satisfaction. They also work with an engineering development team to make updates to software.
Senior quality assurance engineers and senior quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $106,802 | $93,770 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $138,000 | Between $73,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Sagarsoft |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance engineer and a senior quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurance engineers' and senior quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% |
| 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% |