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The differences between senior test engineers and performance engineers 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 test engineer and a performance engineer. Additionally, a performance engineer has an average salary of $101,647, which is higher than the $82,775 average annual salary of a senior test engineer.
The top three skills for a senior test engineer include test cases, python and java. The most important skills for a performance engineer are java, linux, and performance issues.
| Senior Test Engineer | Performance Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,775 | $101,647 |
| Hourly rate | $39.80 | $48.87 |
| Growth rate | - | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 245,814 | 95,652 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A senior test engineer is an individual who is responsible for developing and implementing cost-effective methods of testing and troubleshooting computer systems and equipment. Senior test engineers must assist junior engineers in developing test plans and conducting testing activities on complex systems to meet program requirements. They aid in the areas of predictability, manufacturing processing, and improvement in the equipment and process. Senior test engineers must also develop proposal inputs and reviews documents generated by junior engineers.
A Performance Engineer validates system stability and its performance by carrying out load tests. They analyze test outcomes and work diligently with different engineers and developers to deliver excellent bug fix results. These professionals improve system capacity, scalability, reliability, and performance by offering technical assistance. Besides undertaking root cause evaluation of the system's performance problems and giving corrective actions, a performance engineer also recommends system improvements after evaluating the system performance. Also, they oversee the performance lifecycle and then recommend the right improvements.
Senior test engineers and performance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Test Engineer | Performance Engineer | |
| Average salary | $82,775 | $101,647 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $107,000 | Between $76,000 And $134,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a senior test engineer and a performance engineer in terms of educational background:
| Senior Test Engineer | Performance Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior test engineers' and performance engineers' demographics:
| Senior Test Engineer | Performance Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 79.1% Female, 20.9% | Male, 83.4% Female, 16.6% |
| 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, 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% |