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Senior tester education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a senior tester. Senior testers usually study computer science, electrical engineering, or business. 67% of senior testers hold a bachelor's degree, and 17% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 1,102 real senior tester resumes to see exactly what senior tester education sections show.

The most common colleges for senior testers are the University of Maryland - College Park and the University of Maryland - College Park.

There are also many online senior tester courses to help get the education required to be a senior tester.

What education do you need to become a senior tester?

What degree do you need to be a senior tester?

The most common degree for senior testers is bachelor's degree, with 67% of senior testers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 17% and master's degree degree at 10%.
  • Bachelor's, 67%
  • Master's, 17%
  • Associate, 10%
  • High School Diploma, 2%
  • Other Degrees, 4%

What should I major in to become a senior tester?

You should major in computer science to become a senior tester. 22% of senior testers major in computer science. Other common majors for a senior tester include electrical engineering and business.

Most common colleges for senior testers

Senior testers often get their degrees at University of Maryland - College Park, DeVry University, and University of Phoenix. Here are the most common colleges for senior testers in the US based on their resumes.
Senior tester common collegePercentages
University of Maryland - College Park13.56%
DeVry University6.78%
University of Phoenix6.78%
Purdue University6.78%
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs5.08%

Best majors for senior testers

Best colleges for senior testers

The best colleges for senior testers are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

A senior tester with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for senior testers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become senior testers.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,832

Enrollment

4,550

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

4. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

In-state tuition

$55,695

Enrollment

6,596

5. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$12,424

Enrollment

15,201

7. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$55,188

Enrollment

15,105

8. Georgetown University

Washington, DC • Private

In-state tuition

$54,104

Enrollment

7,089

9. Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH • Private

In-state tuition

$55,453

Enrollment

4,312

10. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

20 best online courses for senior testers

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5. SQL Tutorial For Tester

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Course on SQL query for testers and developers...

6. Python From Scratch & Selenium WebDriver QA Automation 2023

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8. Cloud Developer using Microsoft Azure

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20. Selenium Webdriver with Java Language

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Top 10 most affordable universities for senior testers

The most affordable schools for senior testers are Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, brigham young university, and hunter college of the city university of new york.

If the best universities for senior testers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for senior testers.

1. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

2. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

3. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

4. Clayton State University

Morrow, GA • Private

In-state tuition

$5,419

Cost of attendance

17,697

5. Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN • Private

In-state tuition

$9,992

Cost of attendance

22,430

6. Queens College of the City University of New York

Queens, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,338

Cost of attendance

14,281

7. Brigham Young University - Hawaii

Laie, HI • Private

In-state tuition

$5,560

Cost of attendance

18,043

8. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Arecibo

Arecibo, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,872

Cost of attendance

13,476

9. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce

Mercedita, PR • Private

In-state tuition

$5,914

Cost of attendance

13,564

10. Trident University International

Cypress, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$9,240

Cost of attendance

17,912

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for senior testers

The hardest universities for senior testers to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Vanderbilt University.

Some great schools for senior testers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for senior testers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

4. Amherst College

Amherst, MA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,449

5. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

6. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

7. University of Tulsa

Tulsa, OK • Private

Admissions rate

41%

SAT average

1,321

8. Boston College

Chestnut Hill, MA • Private

Admissions rate

28%

SAT average

1,429

9. Washington University in St Louis

Saint Louis, MO • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,506

10. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

5%

SAT average

1,520

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for senior testers

The easiest schools for senior testers to get into are Nyack College, saint martin's university, and oklahoma wesleyan university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a senior tester without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for senior testers.

1. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

2. Saint Martin's University

Lacey, WA • Private

Admissions rate

96%

SAT average

1,111

3. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Linfield College

McMinnville, OR • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

1,117

6. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

7. Cardinal Stritch University

Milwaukee, WI • Private

Admissions rate

71%

SAT average

1,035

8. Saint Xavier University

Chicago, IL • Private

Admissions rate

74%

SAT average

1,061

9. Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Winona, MN • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,148

10. Longwood University

Farmville, VA • Private

Admissions rate

89%

SAT average

1,065

Average senior tester salary by education level

According to our data, senior testers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $98,143 annually. Senior testers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $97,654.
Senior tester education levelSenior tester salary
Master's Degree$97,654
Bachelor's Degree$88,724
Doctorate Degree$98,143
Some College/ Associate Degree$75,867

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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