What is a quality assurance and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
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A quality assurance professional is an individual responsible for ensuring that products or services meet the established standards of quality before they are released to the public. They perform various tests, inspections, and audits to identify any defects or issues that need to be addressed.They work closely with other departments within a company to ensure that all processes are consistent and effective. Their ultimate goal is to improve the overall quality of products and services.

ScoreQuality AssuranceUS Average
Salary
4.0

Avg. Salary $51,313

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity
4.1
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.99%

Black or African American 6.24%

Hispanic or Latino 8.82%

Unknown 4.70%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 44.16%

male 55.84%

Age - 43
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43
Stress Level
5.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level
6.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance
6.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Quality Assurance?

Pros

  • Job security as quality assurance is a vital part of any industry

  • Competitive salary and benefits packages

  • Strong attention to detail skills are developed

  • Opportunities for career advancement and growth

  • Work-life balance is often prioritized

Cons

  • High pressure to ensure quality standards are met consistently

  • Strict deadlines can lead to high stress levels

  • Constantly adapting to new technologies, processes, and standards can be demanding

  • -Fast-paced environments that require quick thinking and decision making

  • May need to enforce unpopular decisions or protocols.

Quality Assurance career paths

Key steps to become a quality assurance

  1. Explore quality assurance education requirements

    Most common quality assurance degrees

    Bachelor's

    46.9 %

    Associate

    17.2 %

    High School Diploma

    15.9 %
  2. Start to develop specific quality assurance skills

    Skills
    ascdesc
    Percentages
    ascdesc
    Test Cases6.30%
    Food Handling6.22%
    Java4.52%
    Selenium4.37%
    Data Entry4.28%
  3. Complete relevant quality assurance training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New quality assurances learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a quality assurance based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real quality assurance resumes.
  4. Research quality assurance duties and responsibilities

    • Participate in weekly scrum meetings with project leads and the QA team to track and report overall progress.
    • Manage the logistics requirements, handling, processing, and repairing of avionics equipment and avionics support equipment.
    • Champion use of detail bug tracking (JIRA) and strict release methodology to achieve field stability and maintainability.
    • Experience in working with product teams, product owners and scrum masters to compose and manage integrate project plans.
  5. Prepare your quality assurance resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your quality assurance resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a quality assurance resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose From 10+ Customizable Quality Assurance Resume templates

    Build a professional Quality Assurance resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Quality Assurance resume.
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    Quality Assurance Resume
  6. Apply for quality assurance jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a quality assurance job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How Did You Land Your First Quality Assurance Job

Zippi

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Average quality assurance salary

The average Quality Assurance salary in the United States is $51,313 per year or $25 per hour. Quality assurance salaries range between $28,000 and $92,000 per year.

Average Quality Assurance Salary
$51,313 Yearly
$24.67 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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How do quality assurances rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Quality Assurance reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2021
Pros

Pride on myself making sure the quality is in the product for releasel


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019
Pros

New field to work with compassion.

Cons

Low pay structure as compared to the efforts put in.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019
Pros

Very repetitive work schedule, so no huge surprises or having to carve out time in addition to the regular work week. Little supervision, which could be a plus if you are looking for a job where there is no micromanagement.


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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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