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Test automation lead vs quality assurance engineer

The differences between test automation leads and quality assurance engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a test automation lead and a quality assurance engineer. Additionally, a test automation lead has an average salary of $89,324, which is higher than the $82,215 average annual salary of a quality assurance engineer.

The top three skills for a test automation lead include java, scrum and jira. The most important skills for a quality assurance engineer are java, python, and regression.

Test automation lead vs quality assurance engineer overview

Test Automation LeadQuality Assurance Engineer
Yearly salary$89,324$82,215
Hourly rate$42.94$39.53
Growth rate--
Number of jobs43,456243,536
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

Test automation lead vs quality assurance engineer salary

Test automation leads and quality assurance engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Test Automation LeadQuality Assurance Engineer
Average salary$89,324$82,215
Salary rangeBetween $69,000 And $115,000Between $61,000 And $109,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Mateo, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyCitiThe Citadel
Best paying industryUtilitiesTechnology

Differences between test automation lead and quality assurance engineer education

There are a few differences between a test automation lead and a quality assurance engineer in terms of educational background:

Test Automation LeadQuality Assurance Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Test automation lead vs quality assurance engineer demographics

Here are the differences between test automation leads' and quality assurance engineers' demographics:

Test Automation LeadQuality Assurance Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 78.0% Female, 22.0%Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between test automation lead and quality assurance engineer duties and responsibilities

Test automation lead example responsibilities.

  • Enter the defects into JIRA and manages the resolution and documentation of these defects.
  • Perform inter-departmental audits documenting ISO compliant results with associate corrective action requests in order to achieve company-wide certification.
  • Used JIRA for creating and tracking defects.
  • Establish connection between automation scripts and PostgreSQL / DB2 to validate UI applications.
  • Involve in writing functional test cases in java language for every feature of product.
  • Coordinate communication between QA, development, BA's, UAT, and upper management throughout the entire QA cycle.
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Quality assurance engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage individual sprints user stories and tasks using TFS as tracking tool.
  • Create and maintain a test suite in ruby to automate a new events and notifications application.
  • Manage all ALM relate issues, user requests and customize the defect templates to cater to various project needs.
  • Provide overarching strategic recommendations for productivity improvements and achieve QMS - ISO certification.
  • Develop UI automation for PWM product using WinRunner, Java, PL/SQL, Transact-SQL and other technologies.
  • Review and approve the defects open by the testers for each regression and assign to the Dev.
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Test automation lead vs quality assurance engineer skills

Common test automation lead skills
  • Java, 8%
  • Scrum, 5%
  • Jira, 5%
  • QA, 4%
  • Automation Framework, 4%
  • API, 4%
Common quality assurance engineer skills
  • Java, 7%
  • Python, 7%
  • Regression, 5%
  • Jira, 4%
  • API, 4%
  • Scrum, 3%

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