Test system manager vs quality assurance specialist

The differences between test system managers and quality assurance specialists 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 system manager and a quality assurance specialist. Additionally, a test system manager has an average salary of $111,460, which is higher than the $63,443 average annual salary of a quality assurance specialist.

The top three skills for a test system manager include system test, system integration and test cases. The most important skills for a quality assurance specialist are GMP, patients, and FDA.

Test system manager vs quality assurance specialist overview

	Test System Manager	Quality Assurance Specialist
Yearly salary	$111,460	$63,443
Hourly rate	$53.59	$30.50
Growth rate	-	6%
Number of jobs	32,803	83,505
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	4	4

Test system manager vs quality assurance specialist salary

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

	Test System Manager	Quality Assurance Specialist
Average salary	$111,460	$63,443
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $145,000	Between $41,000 And $97,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Zoox	Apple
Best paying industry	Transportation	Pharmaceutical

Differences between test system manager and quality assurance specialist education

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

	Test System Manager	Quality Assurance Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Electrical Engineering	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Stanford University

Test system manager vs quality assurance specialist demographics

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

	Test System Manager	Quality Assurance Specialist
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 81.8% Female, 18.2%	Male, 42.8% Female, 57.2%
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 system manager and quality assurance specialist duties and responsibilities

Test system manager example responsibilities.

Construct and manage a complete VMware environment for testing multiple Openstack instances of different configurations.
Key contributor in getting CMMI level 3 and ISO 9001 certification for 4D.
Spearhead QA process changes in transitioning from hard copy to soft copy test case development/execution process.
Develop business processes for quality assurance software lifecycle, customer software problem resolution and software bug tracking.
Perform accessibility testing for Hewlett-Packard's HTML pages.
Develop, document, and implement improved software validation processes and documentation system in accordance with the FDA guidelines.

Quality assurance specialist example responsibilities.

Manage all NDT relate gauges to ensure calibrations requirements are meet.
Provide employee training and manage all NDT certification records per ASNT SNT-TC-1A.
Lead the HACCP team to ensure full compliance with regulatory and industrial food safety standards.
Manage product and environmental sampling for chemical and microbial analysis to meet HACCP requirements.
Lead cross functional project team to build user-friendly windows base customer support applications which interface with the OmniPlan/OmniPlus mainframe application.
Execute quality processes in tissue banking and medical device, FDA requirements 21 CFR 1271 and 21 CFR 820.

Test system manager vs quality assurance specialist skills

Common test system manager skills

System Test, 9%
System Integration, 6%
Test Cases, 5%
Test Procedures, 5%
QA, 5%
Test Scripts, 5%

Common quality assurance specialist skills

GMP, 6%
Patients, 5%
FDA, 5%
CAPA, 4%
Corrective Action, 4%
CFR, 4%

Test System Manager vs. similar jobs

Test System Manager related careers

Test System Manager related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Computer and Mathematical Industry
Test System Manager
Test System Manager vs Quality Assurance Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse computer and mathematical jobs