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The differences between senior quality assurances and quality assurance leads 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 and a quality assurance lead. Additionally, a senior quality assurance has an average salary of $98,182, which is higher than the $94,758 average annual salary of a quality assurance lead.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance include QA, java and test cases. The most important skills for a quality assurance lead are QA, test cases, and test plan.
| Senior Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $98,182 | $94,758 |
| Hourly rate | $47.20 | $45.56 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 79,947 | 82,242 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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.
A quality assurance lead, also known as QA Lead, is responsible for conducting necessary quality tests and analyses for software program and development. As a quality assurance lead, they must take the lead in ensuring quality during development by proactively performing critical evaluations, troubleshooting, and providing precise documentation. It is also essential to identify issues and resolve them as soon as possible. Furthermore, a quality assurance lead must maintain an active line of communication and coordination as most of the work will be in a team setting.
Senior quality assurances and quality assurance leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $98,182 | $94,758 |
| Salary range | Between $74,000 And $128,000 | Between $72,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Redwood City, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance and a quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| 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 assurances' and quality assurance leads' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3% | Male, 63.0% Female, 37.0% |
| 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% |