Roles › Chief Executive Officer › Chief Technology Officer › Quality Assurance / Test

Technology / Engineering

What does a QA Engineer do?

Makes sure releases work before customers see them.

Steady demand Team: Quality Assurance / Test Reports into: Chief Technology Officer

What they actually do

Write automated and manual tests; run regression suites.
Track defects; gate releases.
Performance and accessibility testing.

Hiring demand

Steady demand. Regular postings, but fewer than the busiest roles. Expect a longer search or more specialization.

Ad space

Who they work with

Software engineeringProduct

Typical tools

Test frameworksBug trackers (Jira)

Skills to get there

Attention to detail
Scripting
Systems thinking

Title ladder

Common titles for this role at each level. Companies vary; see Role titles decoded.

Level	Typical titles
Entry	Junior / Associate QA Engineer · QA Engineer I
Mid	QA Engineer · QA Engineer II
Senior	Senior QA Engineer · Lead QA Engineer
Expert (IC track)	Staff / Principal QA Engineer
Management track	Manager, Quality Assurance / Test → Director of Quality Assurance / Test → VP

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How to get here

Salary (US) as of 2026-11

Median$104K

Typical range$65K–$132K

Senior / manager$160K

Sources:

Mapped to BLS 15-1253. Manual-only testers sit at the low end; automation engineers (Playwright/Cypress + TypeScript) at the top.

Experience to get here

Entry level0-2 years

Typical title3-5 years

BLS lists a bachelor's as typical; postings commonly say bachelor's in CS/engineering 'or equivalent'. Manual QA is a frequent on-ramp without a degree, but automation roles expect coding ability.

Typical prior roles

Manual QA TesterSupport Engineer / IT SupportJunior Software EngineerBusiness Analyst (acceptance testing)

Must have

Test automation framework experience (Playwright, Cypress, or Selenium)
JavaScript/TypeScript or Python for test code
API testing (Postman or code)
Running automated suites in CI
Agile/Scrum defect workflow (Jira)

Milestones people hit first

Built and maintained an automated regression suite running in CI
Owned release sign-off for a product area
Converted a manual test plan into automated coverage
Found and documented a critical defect before it reached customers

Certifications

ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL)ISTQB via ASTQB (US)

Preferredin postings: sometimes

Exam fee	$229
Training	free syllabus and sample exams; prep courses $100-500
Renewal	none (lifetime)
Typical total	$229-700

Time: 3-6 weeks
Prerequisites: None

Only widely recognized testing cert; required on a current offshore QA posting (Blink22) and in consulting/banking, absent from US product-company postings.

CompTIA Security+CompTIA

Preferredin postings: rarely

Exam fee	$349
Training	self-study $0-200
Renewal	valid 3 years; 50 CEUs
Typical total	$350-700

Time: 1-2 months
Prerequisites: None

Only relevant for QA on US government contracts, where DoD 8140 baseline certs are listed as preferred for engineering staff.

Training & learning

ISTQB Foundation Level syllabus and sample exams FREE ASTQB · course · free (exam $229) · 20-30 hoursOfficial free study material covering test design techniques and vocabulary interviewers use.
Microsoft Learn FREE Microsoft · learning path · free (self-paced modules) · self-pacedFree modules on JavaScript/TypeScript, Playwright-style testing, and CI with GitHub Actions.
AWS Skill Builder FREE Amazon Web Services · learning path · free tier (900+ courses); $29/mo or $449/yr for exam prep · self-pacedCloud basics help QA engineers test deployed services and understand CI environments.
HashiCorp Terraform tutorials FREE HashiCorp · course · free · a few hoursUseful for QA engineers who spin up test environments as code.

Sources & notes

US product-company QA postings cited named no certification and required Playwright/Cypress/Selenium plus TypeScript; ISTQB was required on an offshore (Egypt) listing and appears in staffing/banking listings, so it is rated 'sometimes'. Playwright/Cypress vendor docs are not listed, so the training list leans on vendor learning platforms.

Figures are US, from the sources listed, and change often; verify before deciding.

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