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Tester education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a tester. Testers usually study computer science, business, or electrical engineering. 46% of testers hold a bachelor's degree, and 18% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 13,293 real tester resumes to see exactly what tester education sections show.

The most common colleges for testers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online tester courses to help get the education required to be a tester.

There are certain tester certifications that you should consider. These tester certifications include Commercial Driver License (CDL) and ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL).

What education do you need to become a tester?

What degree do you need to be a tester?

The most common degree for testers is bachelor's degree, with 46% of testers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 18% and high school diploma degree at 17%.
  • Bachelor's, 46%
  • High School Diploma, 18%
  • Associate, 17%
  • Master's, 10%
  • Other Degrees, 9%

What should I major in to become a tester?

You should major in computer science to become a tester. 17% of testers major in computer science. Other common majors for a tester include business and electrical engineering.

Most common colleges for testers

Testers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, DeVry University, and El Paso. Here are the most common colleges for testers in the US based on their resumes.
Tester common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix14.22%
DeVry University10.05%
El Paso6.62%
University of Washington6.62%
George Mason University5.88%

Best majors for testers

20 best online courses for testers

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1. Software Engineering Immersive (Full-time)

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Meet the global demand for technical problem-solvers by developing your coding skills to create full-stack web applications across multiple frameworks, incorporating functionality from third-party APIs, executing software engineering projects in an Agile development workflow, and more...

2. Intro to Coding

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Discover if coding is a career fit for you In this free, two-hour livestream, explore the building blocks of the web — HTML and CSS — and learn how you can apply these programming languages to develop your own simple sites. All in real time, taught by an industry professional. Come learn the basics and gain the skills you need to write your first line of code!...

3. Full Stack Web Developer

udacity

Design and develop modern web applications.Students will also learn how to deploy a Flask-based web application to the cloud using Docker and Kubernetes...

4. Agile Software Development

udacity

Learn best practices for using the Agile methodology to build better products faster and more efficiently...

5. SQL Tutorial For Tester

udemy
4.2
(918)

Course on SQL query for testers and developers...

6. SDET Training: Selenium WebDriver, Java Project & Code Tests

udemy
4.1
(1,650)

Complete SDET Training course on Selenium Web Driver with Java Framework, API & Automation Testing, Coding Interview etc...

7. Full Stack JavaScript Developer

udacity

Meet the growing demand for full stack developers and learn to build rich web experiences using a modern architecture and technology stack...

8. Cloud Developer using Microsoft Azure

udacity

The Developer for Microsoft Azure Nanodegree program teaches students how to deploy, build, migrate, and monitor applications on Azure, thereby preparing learners for success on Microsoft’s AZ-204 Azure Developer Associate Expert certification...

9. Python From Scratch & Selenium WebDriver QA Automation 2023

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4.5
(3,118)

Bundle Course, Python and Selenium Web Driver from scratch for Automation Testing, SQL, Framework Design, Robot Framework...

10. Selenium WebDriver with C# for Beginners + Live Testing Site

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4.4
(3,837)

Selenium is the most popular tool to test websites! Join me and hundreds of students to learn Selenium Webdriver!...

11. Intermediate Python

udacity

Gain practitioner-level skills with Python and learn the language powering transformation in Data Science, Machine Learning, and beyond...

12. Selenium WebDriver: Selenium Automation Testing with Python

udemy
4.5
(722)

Learn Selenium Web Driver Python Course for professional Selenium Web Driver browser testing and automation...

13. Selenium WebDriver and Java - Learn Automation with Selenium

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4.5
(2,137)

Selenium webdriver and Java. Learn Automation Testing with Selenium & Java. Build Automation - Selenium, Junit & Test NG...

14. PL/SQL by Example - Beginner to Advanced PL/SQL

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4.5
(13,982)

Using PL/SQL learn how to combine the efficiency of SQL & Procedural Language(PL) to build a powerful PL/SQL Application...

15. User Experience Design & User Interface Design Fundamentals

udemy
4.5
(879)

Learn the basics of successful User Experience Design and User Interface Design...

16. Learn Basic to Advance JIRA for Testers/QA/Test Manager-2023

udemy
4.6
(273)

Setup Jira Trial Account Bug Tracking, Task Management & Agile/Scrum Project Management using JIRA Realtime Examples...

17. Selenium Webdriver with Java Language

udemy
4.5
(253)

This course will help you in learning advanced techniques for testing web applications with Webdriver (Selenium 2.0)...

18. Selenium WebDriver with Java & Cucumber BDD

udemy
4.5
(7,874)

Build a start to finish web automation testing framework and simulate user behavior on a web application + LIVE TEST APP...

19. The Complete User Interface Design Bootcamp - Sketch UI/UX

udemy
4.3
(429)

Master Sketch software to get a job in UI Design, User Interface, User Experience design, Web Design & UX design...

20. Linux(Unix) Command with Shell Scripting-Must for Testers/QA

udemy
4
(457)

Learn Linux Shell Commands, Shell Scripting with Practical Implementation File Processing using SED, AWK & Advance GREP...

Average tester salary by education level

According to our data, testers with a Doctorate degree earn the highest average salary, at $79,928 annually. Testers with a Master's degree earn an average annual salary of $79,379.
Tester education levelTester salary
Master's Degree$79,379
Bachelor's Degree$69,554
Doctorate Degree$79,928
Some College/ Associate Degree$56,058

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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