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The differences between senior testers 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 tester and a software tester. Additionally, a senior tester has an average salary of $84,660, which is higher than the $78,580 average annual salary of a software tester.
The top three skills for a senior tester include java, test results and linux. The most important skills for a software tester are test results, regression, and test scripts.
| Senior Tester | Software Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $84,660 | $78,580 |
| Hourly rate | $40.70 | $37.78 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 36,535 | 208,853 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| 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.
The responsibility of software testers involves the quality assurance of software development and deployment. Software testers conduct manual and automated tests to make sure that the software is developed for its purpose. They remove the issues and bugs within a product before deployment to users. Their responsibilities include software and systems analysis, risk mitigation, and software-related issue prevention. They should have skills in automation, programming, social networking, logical thinking, and mobile and web technology.
Senior testers and software testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Tester | Software Tester | |
| Average salary | $84,660 | $78,580 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $114,000 | Between $61,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | Portland, OR | Sunnyvale, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Nordstrom |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior tester and a software tester in terms of educational background:
| Senior Tester | Software Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between senior testers' and software testers' demographics:
| Senior Tester | Software Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5% | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% |
| 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% |