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The differences between senior testers and senior quality assurance 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 tester and a senior quality assurance tester. Additionally, a senior quality assurance tester has an average salary of $93,770, which is higher than the $84,660 average annual salary of a senior tester.
The top three skills for a senior tester include java, test results and linux. The most important skills for a senior quality assurance tester are test cases, QA, and regression.
| Senior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $84,660 | $93,770 |
| Hourly rate | $40.70 | $45.08 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 36,535 | 81,916 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Senior testers are professionals who supervise junior-level testers that conduct testing for computer software for errors or any problems faced by end-users. These testers must attend discussion meetings to review and analyze business requirements and technical specifications with developers and business users. They must work with the quality assurance (QA) team to identify discrepancies and test the new application. Senior testers must also gather test results and document all defects to create the test completion document as per the requirement of end-users.
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.
Senior testers and senior quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $84,660 | $93,770 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $114,000 | Between $73,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Sagarsoft |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior tester and a senior quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Senior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior testers' and senior quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Senior Tester | Senior Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5% | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% |
| 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% |