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What does a software tester do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted expert
Oliver Bonham-Carter Ph.D.
What does a software tester do

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.

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Software tester responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real software tester resumes:

  • Involve in the SDLC of an online payment manage website, draft the test case and execute the test case.
  • Execute and manage defects using JIRA extensively.
  • Support for UNIX and Linux base servers.
  • Utilize UNIX and Linux base servers and an Informix RDBMS to host Perl and java-base application features.
  • Perform regression and environment checkout activities for multiple front and back-end test environments of web-base applications.
  • Perform black box testing of applications written in XML, HTML with SQL connectivity.
  • Involve in backend testing by verifying and validating DB2 tables by executing SQL queries.
  • Develop an application in Java (APK) which would insert select number of contacts and messages.
  • Work on UNIX platform to pull the log files and report them to the developers using FTP.
  • Involve in daily scrum meeting and involve in writing test plan and test cases as per the functional documents.
  • Used extensively QTP checkpoints for checking web pages, images, texts, tables, and various UI elements.
  • Used UNIX to verify the credit card transaction file is stored in correct location and in the proper format.
  • Plan and schedule SDLC time frame, giving the best advice as when each section of the application should be create.
  • Implement user interface guidelines and standards throughout the development and maintenance of the website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Follow agile scrum methodology to develop the application.

Software tester skills and personality traits

We calculated that 7% of Software Testers are proficient in Test Results, Regression, and Test Scripts.

We break down the percentage of Software Testers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Test Results, 7%

    Conducted variance management by analyzing and verifying test results, providing status and progress reports, using TestLink test management utility.

  • Regression, 7%

    Based on framed scenarios, wrote and manually executed detailed functional and regression test cases using documented functional and technical requirements.

  • Test Scripts, 5%

    Developed and executed automated test scripts utilizing Rational Robot for functional and regression testing of various modules of the application.

  • Jira, 5%

    Executed and managed defects using JIRA extensively.

  • Manual Test Cases, 4%

    Developed manual test cases using Rational TestManger.

  • QA, 4%

    Tested Design or QA Engineering certification or equivalent work experience.

"test results," "regression," and "test scripts" are among the most common skills that software testers use at work. You can find even more software tester responsibilities below, including:

Most common software tester skills

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Software tester vs. Quality assurance analyst

Quality Administrators are responsible for managing the quality processes of an organization. Their duties include creating data collection processes, conducting data cleansing, tracks quality milestones, and develop training programs for internal teams. They undertake daily audits, work with the quality coordinator to determine root cause, and assist with feedback and complaints. Quality administrators also write daily reports for purchase orders that are overdue, open service jobs, quotations needing to follow up, unconfirmed hires, and processed sales orders.

The annual salary of quality assurance analysts is $5,048 lower than the average salary of software testers.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both software tester and quality assurance analyst positions are skilled in test results, regression, and test scripts.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a software tester are more likely to require skills like "c++," "selenium," "bug reports," and "test reports." On the other hand, a job as a quality assurance analyst requires skills like "selenium webdriver," "data warehouse," "data validation," and "web services." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Quality assurance analysts tend to make the most money working in the retail industry, where they earn an average salary of $82,227. In contrast, software testers make the biggest average salary, $85,662, in the technology industry.quality assurance analysts tend to reach similar levels of education than software testers. In fact, quality assurance analysts are 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

Software tester vs. Quality assurance engineer

A Quality Assurance Engineer's role is to oversee the overall production and ensure that the product is cost-efficient and aligns with the company's standards. The responsibility mainly revolves around conducting activities that examine and scrutinize the condition of a product or service to identify issues and come up with possible solutions to resolve the issue or attain stronger customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the Quality Assurance Engineer must also ensure that the product adheres to the government regulations and market guidelines.

A career as a quality assurance engineer brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a software tester. In fact, quality assurance engineers salary is $3,635 higher than the salary of software testers per year.A few skills overlap for software testers and quality assurance engineers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "test results," "regression," and "test scripts. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real software tester resumes. While software tester responsibilities can utilize skills like "qa," "selenium," "status reports," and "bug reports," quality assurance engineers use skills like "python," "api," "git," and "selenium web."

Quality assurance engineers may earn a higher salary than software testers, but quality assurance engineers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $100,740. On the other hand, software testers receive higher pay in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $85,662.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Quality assurance engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than software testers. In fact, they're 3.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for software testers in the next 3-5 years?

Oliver Bonham-Carter Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Allegheny College

In the next few years, technologies related to artificial intelligence, data analytics, cloud computing, container-orchestration systems, and cybersecurity will continue to become more important and prominent. These technologies have the foundation to improve the quality of life in terms of health, education, fighting misinformation, creating better connections, fighting climate change, etc. IoT with smart devices connected online will continue to rise, thus producing more data, which will necessitate AI, data analytics, and security solutions. Additionally, I foresee 5G technology to play an essential role in the next few years, as e-commerce expands into autonomous delivery services. In the software engineering field, to enable fast, secure, and connected software development, technologies allowing to automate a part of that process, such as version control, containerization, and Kubernetes, will also become increasingly important.

Software tester vs. Quality assurance tester

A quality assurance tester, also known as QA tester, has different responsibilities depending on the line of work or industry involved. In a computer development setting, they are in charge of working and coordinating with technical engineers. They have to conduct regular tests for new software and programs, identify inconsistencies, and find areas for improvement. Furthermore, a quality assurance tester must produce reports from the tests, which can be the basis of progress for further developments.

On average scale, quality assurance testers bring in lower salaries than software testers. In fact, they earn a $4,440 lower salary per year.software testers and quality assurance testers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "test results," "regression," and "test scripts," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, software testers are more likely to have skills like "qa," "c++," "c #," and "selenium." But a quality assurance tester is more likely to have skills like "selenium webdriver," "data warehouse," "etl," and "alm."

Quality assurance testers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $86,999. On the other hand, software testers are paid the highest salary in the technology industry, with average annual pay of $85,662.When it comes to education, quality assurance testers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to software testers. In fact, they're 2.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Software tester vs. Software engineer-consultant

A software engineer consultant develops and recommends strategies to optimize a company's software engineering operations. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis to find new opportunities, performing software evaluations and risk assessments, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes, and developing solutions against problem areas. Through the findings of their research, a software engineer consultant draws conclusions and recommendations that will help the company to reach their short and long-term goals and resolve issues or concerns.

Software engineers-consultant typically earn higher pay than software testers. On average, software engineers-consultant earn a $35,407 higher salary per year.According to resumes from software testers and software engineers-consultant, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "regression," "test scripts," and "jira. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A software tester uses "test results," "manual test cases," "c #," and "test data." Software engineers-consultant are more likely to have duties that require skills in "python," "architecture," "software development," and "api. "software engineers-consultant enjoy the best pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $118,185. For comparison, software testers earn the highest salary in the technology industry.software engineers-consultant reach higher levels of education compared to software testers, in general. The difference is that they're 6.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of software tester

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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