What Is a QA Tester? Skills, Requirements, and Jobs in 2024

A website crash can be chaotic. Software glitches can drive users away. You have probably experienced firsthand the frustration of flawed technology. As a quality assurance (QA) tester, you can ensure websites and applications run smoothly. In this article, learn more about what a QA tester does and earns.

What is a QA tester?

A QA tester is someone who works with software or a website to ensure it runs properly. They try to prevent faulty apps or other technology from getting to the customer. QA testers accomplish this by running a variety of manual and automated tests while the product is in development. The goal is to try and break the product or force it to malfunction. This empowers developers with the knowledge they need to make product adjustments before it goes to market.

What do QA testers do?

QA testing is an essential part of the software development life cycle. It ensures that an organization's product is as high-quality as possible. The list below outlines a few ways QA testers contribute to the organizations they work for:

• QA saves time and increases efficiency. QA testing throughout the development process can help you can identify issues early on. It can be much less complicated to fix bugs and other issues early in a product’s life cycle. It is also easier for developers to adjust code they have worked on recently.

• QA testers help protect brand reputation. QA testers use their skills to anticipate what might go wrong and prevent those things from happening. This saves a business from releasing a product that glitches, crashes when too many people use it at once, or otherwise provides a negative user experience (UX).

• QA testing makes it possible for products to grow safely. Scalability is important to QA testers. A key part of their role is to ensure added features won't compromise security or UX. With effective testing, you'll have a product that can be launched now and scaled later.

• QA is essential to product safety. QA testers not only ensure user expectations are met but also government and industry guidelines too. They follow specific procedures to test, document, evaluate, and report their findings.

A day in the life of a QA tester

QA testing is typically done in cycles throughout the product’s development. Your job as a tester involves several responsibilities. First, whether you're doing manual or automated testing, you’ll need to know how to plan to test, develop and execute test cases, and evaluate and document test results. Along with reviewing test procedures and developing scripts, you’ll research new technologies, tools, and testing procedures. Working closely with the product and development team and other stakeholders in QA processes, you'll ensure a product is of excellent quality and low risk.   

Job outlook for QA testers

The QA tester has an important role with all industries developing products and providing services online. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts job growth of 25 percent between 2022 and 2032. This figure translates into about 411,400 new jobs [1].

How much do QA testers make?

The average total yearly wage for QA testers in the US is $72,662 [2]. This number includes an average base salary of $66,955 per year combined with the median reported additional pay of $5,707 annually. Additional pay may include commissions, profit sharing, or bonuses.