Manual QA Tester
Impact: Indirect
Conducts systematic testing of software applications to identify defects, verify functionality, and ensure quality by executing test cases, documenting bugs, and collaborating with development teams to resolve issues prior to release.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- Team-oriented
- Client facing
- Rarely
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- Low
- Schedule flexibility
- Rigid
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $65,000
- Entry-level
- $45,000
- Senior
- $90,000
- Growth by 2033
- 5%
- Demand
- Stable
- Freelance potential
- Moderate
- Salary growth potential
- High
- Typical student debt
- $20,000 - $40,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Test Case Design
- Bug Tracking Software (e.g.
- Jira)
- Regression Testing
- Functional Testing
- SQL Basics
Soft skills
- Attention to Detail
- Communication
- Problem-Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Patience
Technical complexity: Moderate
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Associate's degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 7-10 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- QA Tester
- Senior QA Tester
- QA Lead
- QA Manager
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- Medium
- AI disruption risk
- Low
- Demand trend
- Stable
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.5/10
- Meaning
- 3.5/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.5/10
- Prestige
- 5.5/10
- Social perception
- Moderate