Test specialist vs quality assurance analyst

The differences between test specialists and quality assurance 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 test specialist and a quality assurance analyst. Additionally, a test specialist has an average salary of $76,761, which is higher than the $73,532 average annual salary of a quality assurance analyst.

The top three skills for a test specialist include test results, test cases and java. The most important skills for a quality assurance analyst are QA, regression, and manual test cases.

Test specialist vs quality assurance analyst overview

	Test Specialist	Quality Assurance Analyst
Yearly salary	$76,761	$73,532
Hourly rate	$36.90	$35.35
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	58,423	108,078
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

What does a test specialist do?

A test specialist is responsible for evaluating and running diagnostic tests for system networks and applications to ensure stability and efficiency according to the quality standards. Test specialists analyze the system's features and write findings reports for improvement and technical resolutions. They also help system engineers in developing infrastructures and designing servers to support business operations and maximize productivity. A test specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in identifying malfunctions and inconsistencies before the actual launch of deliverables.

What does a quality assurance analyst do?

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.

Test specialist vs quality assurance analyst salary

Test specialists and quality assurance analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Test Specialist	Quality Assurance Analyst
Average salary	$76,761	$73,532
Salary range	Between $61,000 And $96,000	Between $57,000 And $93,000
Highest paying City	Columbia, MD	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	California
Best paying company	Sony Interactive Entertainment America	Meta
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between test specialist and quality assurance analyst education

There are a few differences between a test specialist and a quality assurance analyst in terms of educational background:

	Test Specialist	Quality Assurance Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Test specialist vs quality assurance analyst demographics

Here are the differences between test specialists' and quality assurance analysts' demographics:

	Test Specialist	Quality Assurance Analyst
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9%	Male, 48.9% Female, 51.1%
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%

Differences between test specialist and quality assurance analyst duties and responsibilities

Test specialist example responsibilities.

Create weekly drive routes and work with RF engineers to achieve desire coverage.
Manage defects and finalize testing documents to meet standards of IBM's QA process.
Validate the UI and backend of web base applications that are used to manage medical information.
Lead UAT testing for the local project, as well as maintained test activity logs, reporting status to management.
Deal with clients or their representatives during the entire SDLC, UAT and post releases.
Defect reporting and tracking using ALM.

Quality assurance analyst example responsibilities.

Develop processes within JIRA to manage the testing and weekly releases of new content for the Ralph Lauren content management system.
Work with providers and Medicare or Medicaid entities to validate EDI transaction sets.
Design test cases to rigorously test complex Medicare reimbursement funding and co-pay scenarios dealing with prescriptions.
Prepare test documents such as test scenarios, test conditions and test scripts on TFS with respect to the requirements.
Involve in preparation of API test plan and test data for all the return values base on the input data.
Perform testing of pharmaceutical industry web application for functionality develop in Java and HTML.

Test specialist vs quality assurance analyst skills

Common test specialist skills

Test Results, 7%
Test Cases, 7%
Java, 6%
Test Data, 4%
Test Scripts, 4%
Regression, 4%

Common quality assurance analyst skills

QA, 9%
Regression, 5%
Manual Test Cases, 5%
Test Scripts, 5%
Test Results, 4%
Java, 4%

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Test Specialist vs Quality Assurance Analyst

Updated January 8, 2025

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