Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior software specialists and software 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 software specialist and a software tester. Additionally, a senior software specialist has an average salary of $99,874, which is higher than the $78,580 average annual salary of a software tester.
The top three skills for a senior software specialist include java, C++ and python. The most important skills for a software tester are test results, regression, and test scripts.
| Senior Software Specialist | Software Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $99,874 | $78,580 |
| Hourly rate | $48.02 | $37.78 |
| Growth rate | 21% | - |
| Number of jobs | 272,592 | 208,853 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Senior software specialists and software testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Software Specialist | Software Tester | |
| Average salary | $99,874 | $78,580 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $124,000 | Between $61,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | BNY Mellon | Nordstrom |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior software specialist and a software tester in terms of educational background:
| Senior Software Specialist | Software Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior software specialists' and software testers' demographics:
| Senior Software Specialist | Software Tester | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.5% Female, 24.5% | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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 | 8% | 11% |