Quality assurance engineers ensure the software they manufacture is free from defects. They also supervise the production process to ensure that it runs smoothly. When procedures need to be improved, they will notice and alert the appropriate department.
Being a QA engineer is a lucrative career. This guide will provide essential information on what industry hires the most quality assurance engineers. You’ll learn about where you should apply and what responsibilities you can expect once hired.
What Do Quality Assurance Engineers Do?
QA Engineers are responsible for assessing the documents bearing their project’s technical design and specification quality. They’re also involved in planning, developing, and polishing strategies for quality testing and management. Here are their respective specific responsibilities regardless of the industry they belong to.
Responsibilities of a Quality Assurance Engineer
- They suggest innovative and smart solutions to solve identified problems with the product they’re testing.
- They thoroughly investigate the quality of products to suggest improvements to keep customers satisfied.
- They design, build, and manage the company’s planning strategies.
- They work with different product development teams to implement consistent product execution policies.
- Pinpoint QA process bottlenecks and raise measures to solve the problem and improve the process.
How Much Can You Earn as a Quality Assurance Engineer?
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), quality assurance engineers earn an average salary of $110,140 per year. The seniors and experts in this field earn more than those who have less practical experience. This job pays well, but you must have the necessary skills and qualifications to fulfill the job requirements.
Demand for Quality Assurance Engineers in 2022
This career enjoys a growth rate of 22 percent, according to BLS. This means you should have plenty of career opportunities. The demand is high because the supply of experts with hands-on experience is low. If you want to be chosen, you must have the relevant experience, skills, background.
Which Industries Use Quality Assurance Engineers the Most?
Several industries use quality assurance engineers, including software, ecommerce, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. As a QA engineer, you will play an essential role in ensuring the success of a project. This regularly necessitates overseeing stringent quality control to meet QA requirements.
They must possess analytical skills, the ability to operate quality management systems, meet industry standards, and adhere to quality standards due to their critical role in the organization. Overall, they must ensure customer satisfaction. Being a team player capable of implementing corrective action within internal teams is another prized trait of a great QA engineer.
Top Industries With Quality Assurance Engineer Jobs
Software Industry
- In-demand jobs: Backend software engineer, front end software engineer, web developer
A quality assurance engineer in the software industry performs such functions as management process release, software integration, program testing, change management, source code control, and configuration management. They also review code and software design. They must also ensure that these products reach the market by the company’s deadline.
QA engineers must collaborate with other departments to ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget. A QA engineer will often divide the process into smaller tasks and goals to stay on track with their project, regardless of its scope. It also enables them to deal with process variation while adhering to quality standards.
QA engineers in the software industry must also ensure that the output or final product they are working on complies with governmental and company guidelines. Software QA engineers are often misidentified as software testers. While both perform quality checks, QA engineers oversee the entire software development process, including testing the software from start to finish.
The financial success of the tested product is highly dependent on the product quality and timeliness of market entry. Both of these responsibilities are best left to the software quality assurance engineer.
Top Attractive Employers for Quality Assurance Engineers in the Software Industry
| Company | Global Headcount | Hiring In | Hiring For |
| Apple | 147,000 | Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino), California | Software QA Engineer |
| WEX | 4,900 | Brazil, Remote | Software QA Engineer, QA Automation Engineer |
| ASML | 28,000 | San Jose, California | Senior Software QA Engineer |
| Siemens | 293,000 | Multiple locations | Software QA Engineer |
| Boeing | 145,000 | Huntsville, Alabama | Mid-Level Software Test Engineer |
Pharmaceutical Industry
- In-demand jobs: quality assurance engineer, quality assurance specialist, quality design assurance engineer, health software QA engineer
Ensuring quality policies are implemented and quality inspectors perform their duties is especially essential in this industry. Quality assurance experts aim to ensure that nothing in the drug product would reduce its efficacy. The QA engineer’s responsibility is to determine the statutes and standards required for efficient drug production and order fulfillment.
Quality engineers make sure the drugs produced are safe for consumption. QA is used in the marketing, development, and clinical cycles of pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical care, and therapeutic tool manufacturing. The role is critical because it is a process that leads to life-saving cures and game-changing instruments.
In this case, most quality engineers are responsible for maintaining and approving documentation, method supervision, and review. Most of these QA operations are also performed outside the office.
Top Attractive Employers for Quality Assurance Engineers in the Pharmaceutical Industry
| Company | Global Headcount | Hiring In | Hiring For |
| EG Life Sciences | 200 | Seattle, Washington | Quality Assurance Engineer |
| Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | 500 | Lexington, Massachusetts | Quality Assurance Specialist |
| Heraeus Medical Components | 1,000 to 5,000 | Fridley, Minnesota | Quality Design Assurance Engineer |
| Apple | 147,000 | Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino), California | Health Software QA Engineer |
| TransMedics, Inc. | 51 to 200 | Andover, Massachusetts | Senior Quality Engineer Medical Device |
eCommerce Industry
- In-demand jobs: quality assurance engineer, QA lead, ecommerce QA manager, Shopify QA engineer
The ecommerce industry has been thriving for a long time, thanks to the dedicated quality engineers who work behind the scenes. They create processes to ensure increased and improved system performance, usability, and functionality. Their primary goal is to prevent product defects and deliver products that meet customer requirements.
They provide a wide range of services that cannot be ignored because they are an essential part of the industry. Their role in the ecommerce industry is to maintain a positive reputation for a company by ensuring quality requirements are met in the manufacturing process before products are distributed.
A satisfied and happy customer means a thriving business for the company. This is the area that a QA engineer adds the most value. Customers nowadays have access to a wealth of information, making it extremely difficult to mislead them. They’ll give a quick thumbs down to products that don’t live up to their expectations.
Top Attractive Employers for Quality Assurance Engineers in the eCommerce Industry
| Company | Global Headcount | Hiring In | Hiring For |
| TikTok | 10,001 | Mountain View, California | Quality Assurance Engineer, Global E-commerce |
| Qualitest | 5,001 to 10,000 | Chicago, Illinois, and Remote | QA Lead (Remote) |
| Oscar Technology | 51 to 200 | Austin, TX, USA and Remote | ecommerce QA Manager |
| Dice | 1,001 to 5,000 | Remote | ecommerce QA Manager |
| Jarvis Cole | 11 to 50 | United States | Shopify QA Engineer |
Manufacturing Industry
- In-demand jobs: manufacturing test engineer, QA engineer, senior quality assurance engineer
In the manufacturing industry, quality engineers are responsible for developing and designing high-quality control products that meet the industry standards. They develop strategies to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their current systems and programs. They also identify the needs of the workforce and the manufacturing plant.
They improve the current system, making it more efficient for those who work on it. They also address various concerns and issues, implement collective measures, and conduct regular inspections to ensure a safe working environment for everyone.
Quality assurance engineers in this industry will do everything from reviewing technical design documents to communicating with the development team to make sure the company is creating a quality product that will meet with customer expectations.
Top Attractive Employers for Quality Assurance Engineers in the Manufacturing Industry
| Company | Global Headcount | Hiring In | Hiring For |
| Sun Technologies | 1,001 to 5,000 | Greenville, South Carolina | Manufacturing Test Engineer |
| CultureStaff | N/A | Phoenix, Arizona | QA Engineer |
| Arrow International, Inc. | 1,001 to 5,000 | Cleveland, Ohio | Quality Assurance Engineer |
| Flowserve Corporation | 16,000+ | Vernon, California | Senior QA Engineer |
| Danaher | 10,000+ | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Senior Quality Assurance Engineer |
Legal Industry
- In-demand jobs: senior software QA engineer, QA engineer, software test engineer, QA automation engineer
Quality engineers are also needed in the legal industry, and their job is to lead product testing, product development, and various DevOps processes. They also advocate quality throughout their organization, improving systems when needed.
Quality engineers collaborate with the product and development teams to create, develop, and deliver production-ready tools and features of the highest quality. They help improve the delivery speed and quality of company software and develop and design automation solutions across product teams. They also test, analyze, and report on security, usability, and performance.
Top Attractive Employers for QA Engineers in the Legal Industry
| Company | Global Headcount | Hiring In | Hiring For |
| ServiceNow | 10,001+ | Kirkland, Washington | Sr Software QA Engineer |
| Litify | 171 | New York, New York | QA Engineer |
| Berry Appleman & Leiden | 1,134 | Dallas, Texas | Software Test Engineer |
| Notarize | 201-500 | Remote | QA Automation Engineer |
| Boundless Immigration | 51-200 | Remote | Senior Test Engineer |
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What Education Do You Need to Be a Quality Assurance Engineer?
The education you need to be a quality assurance engineer is a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Systems, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field. These are the most popular credentials employers look for when hiring a QA engineer today.
You become more adept and proficient with the tech world and coding by obtaining a four-year university degree. After earning your bachelor’s degree, you can continue your education and earn a master’s degree in the same field. With a master’s degree, you can prepare for more senior positions in the company and industry.
The advantage of being a QA engineer is that you can pursue various educational paths to achieve success. These paths may require a short-term or long-term commitment. If you don’t want to gain advanced degrees, you can gain additional skills to help you progress in your career by attending a coding bootcamp.
Can You Become a Quality Assurance Professional with a Coding Bootcamp?
You can become a quality assurance engineer with a coding bootcamp. While traditional university education is the long-term path to earning a degree that qualifies you to work as a quality assurance engineer, enrolling in a bootcamp is a shorter path. Shorter does not always imply a less rigorous and effective route.
A bootcamp is less expensive than a four-year university education. You’ll gain the skills you need as a quality assurance engineer within a few months and be qualified to apply for jobs at the world’s best companies. Bootcamps often include on-the-job training, flexible schedules, and affordable payment options.
What Skills Do You Need to Be a Quality Assurance Engineer?
Coding
Coding is a huge part of a QA engineer’s life. You must be conversant with popular coding languages and implement them seamlessly. The programming language you will work on is determined by the industry and team you belong to. However, the most common are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Automation Software
A huge part of the QA engineer’s work life is invested in testing software. Code automation is often used for this task. This allows them to conduct industry-standard product testing. This means they should understand software automation and create automation scripts to track software quality and bugs.
Database Knowledge
QA engineers are expected to work on big data while testing progress and results in these huge databases. They must complete this task efficiently, so the QA engineer must be proficient in big data. It will be easier if you know how to use databases such as MySQL and Oracle.
What’s the Best Industry for Me as a Quality Assurance Engineer?
The best industry for you as a quality assurance engineer is dependent on your personal preferences and interests. QA engineers’ roles are similar across industries, but the products and processes they examine, research, and improve differ. Therefore, it’s best to choose the industry products you enjoy.
For example, if you’re savvy in ecommerce software products and processes, you could put that knowledge to good use as a QA engineer in the ecommerce industry. If you want to improve systems and processes in the legal industry, become a QA engineer for a law company.
What Industries Hire the Most Quality Assurance Engineers FAQ
While hard skills are important, you also need soft skills to function effectively in an organization. These soft skills include excellent communication skills, innate curiosity, unwavering discipline, flexibility, and empathy. These skills will help you in developing stronger relationships with your stakeholders.
The first step is to decide which educational path you want to take. These paths could require either a short-term or long-term commitment. You will want to gain a degree or enroll in a bootcamp program that is relevant to the field you want to work in.
Coding bootcamps and university degrees address different needs. If you have the time and resources to pursue a college degree, the best course of action is to obtain a bachelor’s degree from a reputable institution. However, if you’re considering a career change you can acquire the necessary skills by enrolling in a coding bootcamp.
Yes, it is a good choice to be a QA engineer if you want to earn a good living while also pursuing your passion for coding, process and software automation, and process improvement. QA engineers that work at GM, Boeing, and Google make great salaries.
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