Test supervisor vs test manager

The differences between test supervisors and test managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a test supervisor, becoming a test manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a test manager has an average salary of $92,297, which is higher than the $68,046 average annual salary of a test supervisor.

The top three skills for a test supervisor include test procedures, direct supervision and lean manufacturing. The most important skills for a test manager are QA, project management, and java.

Test supervisor vs test manager overview

	Test Supervisor	Test Manager
Yearly salary	$68,046	$92,297
Hourly rate	$32.71	$44.37
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	43,134	27,489
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Average age	46	44
Years of experience	2	4

Test supervisor vs test manager salary

Test supervisors and test managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Test Supervisor	Test Manager
Average salary	$68,046	$92,297
Salary range	Between $36,000 And $126,000	Between $71,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	Clifton, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	California
Best paying company	Lucid Motors	Meta
Best paying industry	Construction	Automotive

Differences between test supervisor and test manager education

There are a few differences between a test supervisor and a test manager in terms of educational background:

	Test Supervisor	Test Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 65%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Test supervisor vs test manager demographics

Here are the differences between test supervisors' and test managers' demographics:

	Test Supervisor	Test Manager
Average age	46	44
Gender ratio	Male, 79.4% Female, 20.6%	Male, 71.7% Female, 28.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 4.8% White, 60.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	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	6%	11%

Differences between test supervisor and test manager duties and responsibilities

Test supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage offshore/onshore resources for UAT testing.
Manage execution of manual and automate test cases for functional, performance, load, integration, UAT and infrastructure testing.
Preform security checks on USAF physical resources.
Facilitate large scale meetings for UAT timelines and information for testers.
Implement SDLC standards and guidelines and enforce these rules within the departments.
Work in an ESD environment, responsible for clean room compliance and requirements.

Test manager example responsibilities.

Lead test team in delivery of the NAS windows product within the project schedule.
Manage and implement a successful peer-base HIV counseling & testing program for gay/bisexual men.
Lead weekly integration testing status meetings with testing team, PMO, CIO, and CFO.
Manage execution of manual and automate test cases for functional, performance, load, integration, UAT and infrastructure testing.
Create XML billing input files for the expected products in UNIX environment.
Verify the requirements in JIRA and assign test cases to the team base on the release.

Test supervisor vs test manager skills

Common test supervisor skills

Test Procedures, 13%
Direct Supervision, 11%
Lean Manufacturing, 9%
Test Equipment, 8%
Quality Standards, 5%
Direct Reports, 5%

Common test manager skills

QA, 5%
Project Management, 5%
Java, 5%
Test Plan, 4%
UAT, 4%
Test Cases, 4%