Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior quality assurance testers 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 tester and a test analyst. Additionally, a senior quality assurance tester has an average salary of $93,770, which is higher than the $70,997 average annual salary of a test analyst.
The top three skills for a senior quality assurance tester include test cases, QA and regression. The most important skills for a test analyst are test scripts, test plan, and regression.
| Senior Quality Assurance Tester | Test Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $93,770 | $70,997 |
| Hourly rate | $45.08 | $34.13 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 81,916 | 91,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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 testers and test analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Quality Assurance Tester | Test Analyst | |
| Average salary | $93,770 | $70,997 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $118,000 | Between $56,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Sagarsoft | General Motors |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior quality assurance tester and a test analyst in terms of educational background:
| Senior Quality Assurance Tester | Test Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior quality assurance testers' and test analysts' demographics:
| Senior Quality Assurance Tester | Test Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% | 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% |