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The differences between senior quality assurances and associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior quality assurance has an average salary of $98,182, which is higher than the $69,556 average annual salary of an associate.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance include QA, java and test cases. The most important skills for an associate are customer service, sales floor, and patients.
| Senior Quality Assurance | Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $98,182 | $69,556 |
| Hourly rate | $47.20 | $33.44 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 79,947 | 569,041 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
The senior quality assurance or QA agent is in charge of ensuring all products and services are up to the company's standards and customer expectations. The role is vital as it helps the company fine-tune its products and services, resolve issues, and satisfy customer experience. Through the quality assurance team headed by its senior leaders, a company grows, expands, and improves. A quality assurance agent needs to have an eye for detail, be highly organized, and provide insights and advice for continual improvement.
Associates are typically entry-level positions for employees who are taking on their first job or organizational role. They are assigned to teams or departments that are related to their skills or educational background. They usually start with smaller tasks that may not seem as impactful but are still essential to the department. Associates are trained by more tenured team members on the ins and outs of the department and the organization. As they grow with the organization, they are given more responsibilities that directly impact the results of the department's initiatives as they work towards their goals.
Senior quality assurances and associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance | Associate | |
| Average salary | $98,182 | $69,556 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $128,000 | Between $34,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | New York |
| Best paying company | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | |
| Best paying industry | Retail | - |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance and an associate in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance | Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | - |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurances' and associates' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance | Associate | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6% |
| 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, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |