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The differences between staff test engineers and 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 staff test engineer and a quality assurance tester. Additionally, a staff test engineer has an average salary of $115,935, which is higher than the $74,140 average annual salary of a quality assurance tester.
The top three skills for a staff test engineer include C++, data analysis and test results. The most important skills for a quality assurance tester are manual test cases, regression, and test scripts.
| Staff Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Yearly salary | $115,935 | $74,140 |
| Hourly rate | $55.74 | $35.64 |
| Growth rate | 3% | - |
| Number of jobs | 123,176 | 82,396 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A staff test engineer is responsible for setting guidelines for a test plan. They also monitor technicians and other expert engineers. They frequently collaborate with other engineering staff to develop comprehensive testability requirements. They review and suggests testability modules.
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.
Staff test engineers and quality assurance testers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Staff Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average salary | $115,935 | $74,140 |
| Salary range | Between $87,000 And $153,000 | Between $55,000 And $99,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Apple | |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a staff test engineer and a quality assurance tester in terms of educational background:
| Staff Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Northeastern University | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between staff test engineers' and quality assurance testers' demographics:
| Staff Test Engineer | Quality Assurance Tester | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.6% Female, 16.4% | Male, 61.2% Female, 38.8% |
| 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, 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% |