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The differences between senior specialist 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 specialist quality assurance and a quality assurance lead. Additionally, a quality assurance lead has an average salary of $94,758, which is higher than the $91,993 average annual salary of a senior specialist quality assurance.
The top three skills for a senior specialist quality assurance include GMP, CAPA and quality system. The most important skills for a quality assurance lead are QA, test cases, and test plan.
| Senior Specialist Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $91,993 | $94,758 |
| Hourly rate | $44.23 | $45.56 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 70,539 | 82,242 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior specialist in quality assurance is responsible for analyzing operational processes and procedures, determining necessary adjustments for the current methodologies that would maximize service efficiency and staff productivity. Senior specialists in quality assurance follow strict quality parameters and write test reports for reference and improvement. They must have excellent technical skills to identify business solutions for successful product launch across various market platforms to increase and generate revenue resources for the business and gain more business partnerships.
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 specialist quality assurances and quality assurance leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Specialist Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average salary | $91,993 | $94,758 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $119,000 | Between $72,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | NBCUniversal | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior specialist quality assurance and a quality assurance lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Specialist Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior specialist quality assurances' and quality assurance leads' demographics:
| Senior Specialist Quality Assurance | Quality Assurance Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 48.2% Female, 51.8% | 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% |