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The differences between software testers and data analysts can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a software tester and a data analyst. Additionally, a software tester has an average salary of $78,580, which is higher than the $74,342 average annual salary of a data analyst.
The top three skills for a software tester include test results, regression and test scripts. The most important skills for a data analyst are data analysis, python, and power bi.
| Software Tester | Data Analyst | |
| Yearly salary | $78,580 | $74,342 |
| Hourly rate | $37.78 | $35.74 |
| Growth rate | - | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 208,853 | 167,520 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Data analysts are responsible for interpreting the company's statistics and providing sound recommendations to the organization. They manage the organization's data sets, usually related to market performance, finance, or human resources. They are in charge of studying the available data, spotting trends, interpreting what the data and the trends mean, and recommending suggestions that will help the organization perform better. Their recommendations should also be relevant and backed up with strong analyses. Data analysts are expected to have a good grasp of the current market trends in the industry.
Software testers and data analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Tester | Data Analyst | |
| Average salary | $78,580 | $74,342 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $100,000 | Between $53,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Nordstrom | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a software tester and a data analyst in terms of educational background:
| Software Tester | Data Analyst | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between software testers' and data analysts' demographics:
| Software Tester | Data Analyst | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% | Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8% |
| 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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 14.5% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 12% |