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The differences between senior quality assurance engineers and software quality 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 senior quality assurance engineer and a software quality engineer. Additionally, a senior quality assurance engineer has an average salary of $106,802, which is higher than the $99,902 average annual salary of a software quality engineer.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance engineer include QA, java and python. The most important skills for a software quality engineer are software quality, java, and python.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Software Quality Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $106,802 | $99,902 |
| Hourly rate | $51.35 | $48.03 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 254,258 | 279,437 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 Software Quality Engineer ensures that the software of a company meets all quality standards. They are responsible for software development, inspection, implementation, testing, and verification.
Senior quality assurance engineers and software quality engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Software Quality Engineer | |
| Average salary | $106,802 | $99,902 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $138,000 | Between $73,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Mateo, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance engineer and a software quality engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Software Quality Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurance engineers' and software quality engineers' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance Engineer | Software Quality Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.0% Female, 32.0% | Male, 67.3% Female, 32.7% |
| 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% |