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What Is a QA Analyst? How to Become One, Salary, Skills.

QA analysts handle the quality control step of the software development lifecycle. They test new and existing software to catch bugs and make improvements. Here’s what to know about a QA analyst’s needed skills, salary and how to become one.

 

What Is a QA Analyst?

A QA analyst applies a combination of programming expertise, data analysis and research experience to software testing. The job involves detecting, reporting and creating databases of bugs to be fixed so that software products work correctly.

 

What Do QA Analysts Do?

A QA analyst’s duties include testing software, fixing bugs and reporting their findings. They must develop and manage databases of known bugs and use that tracking system to make recommendations for ways to avoid similar mistakes in future products.

QA Analyst Responsibilities

  • Test software to identify and fix bugs.
  • Document and report bugs to software development teams.
  • Compile databases of reports and software issues.
  • Conduct research and prepare testing plans.
  • Make recommendations for product improvements.

QA Analysts Within a Company

QA analysts work within quality assurance teams, which also include QA testers and engineers. They collaborate closely with other teams involved in the software development process.

Importance of QA Analysts

QA analysts identify software issues that need to be corrected, but also make suggestions to prevent bugs in future software products. In doing so, they help the software development process become more efficient.

QA analyst expectations vs. reality. | Video: Madeline Elaine

 

What Skills Are Needed to Be a QA Analyst?

Qualifications to Be a QA Analyst

  • Software and coding knowledge.
  • Data analysis and research experience.
  • Understanding of how to organize datasets using Structured Query Language (SQL).
  • Familiarity with types of software testing.
  • Ability to use necessary tools.

QA Analyst Prerequisites

  • A bachelor’s degree in a field like computer science or data science.
  • Bootcamps and courses can enhance necessary coding and programming knowledge.

QA Analyst Hard Skills

  • Knowledge of coding languages like Java, C++ and HTML.
  • Conducting different types of testing and understanding the differences between them.
  • Experience identifying, logging and troubleshooting software defects.
  • Research capabilities.
  • Experience with relevant tools and software.
  • Compiling databases and working with SQL.

QA Analyst Soft Skills

  • Problem solving mindset.
  • Communication and collaboration across teams.
  • Attention to detail.

Tools and Programs QA Analysts Use

  • Kobiton
  • Testim
  • Selenium
  • TestRail
  • XRay
  • Testpad
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How to Become a QA Analyst

QA Analyst Education and Experience

A QA analyst typically holds a four-year degree in a field like computer science or a related area of study. Because they need knowledge of coding and programming, QA analysts can also benefit from bootcamps and courses to hone their skillsets. The QA analyst role is an entry-level position, but it can be helpful to have at least a year of experience gained through an internship or working as a QA tester.

QA Analyst Certificates and Courses

QA Analyst Career Path

Aspiring QA analysts may begin their careers gaining experience in an internship or as a QA tester. As they advance in their career, a QA analyst can move up into a team coordinator or management position.

 

QA Analyst Salary and Job Outlook

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor shows employment for software quality assurance analysts and testers is expected to grow by 21 percent from 2021 through 2031. That’s just over four times the growth projected for occupations overall.

The full compensation package for a QA analyst depends on a variety of factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s experience and geographic location. See below for detailed information on the average QA analyst salary.

Courses

Expand Your QA Analyst Career Opportunities

Learn development and engineering skills with Udemy’s online courses to add more depth to your tool belt. 

Udemy

Everything you need to learn Software Testing, all combined in one resource.

Course objective is to provide you with all required knowledge that you need in order to land your first software testing job…

Udemy

Welcome to the Complete Software Testing Masterclass.

 

Learn software testing with this course and become a successful software tester/agile Tester. Obtain the core Mobile Testing,…

Udemy

Course last Updated - March 31st - QA Behavioral Interview Questions & Test Plan Prep videos
   Gain  7+ Years  Real time  experience as a ( Team/QA Lead) level by just following through this…

Udemy

By the end of the course you will:

  •     Be able to confidently to create your own Automation tool to increase your productivity and Career.
  •     Be able to start automating various day to day Unix related tasks to reduce the…
Certifications

QA Analyst Certifications + Programs

Master Udacity’s online development and engineering certifications to take a major leap along your career journey.

General Assembly’s Data Analytics Immersive is designed for you to harness Excel, SQL, and Tableau to tell compelling stories with a data driven strategy. This program was created for analysts, digital marketers, sales managers, product managers, and data novices looking to learn the essentials of data analysis. 

 

What you'll accomplish

You will learn to use industry tools, Excel, and SQL to analyze large real world data sets and create data dashboards and visualizations to share your findings. The Data Analytics Accelerator culminates in a.

Throughout this expert-designed program, you’ll:

  • Use Excel, SQL, and Tableau to collect, clean, and analyze large data sets.
  • Present data-driven insights to key stakeholders using data visualization and dashboards.
  • Tell compelling stories with your data.
  • Graduate with a professional portfolio of projects that includes a capstone project applying rigorous data analysis techniques to solve a real-world problem

 

Why General Assembly

Since 2011, General Assembly has graduated more than 40,000 students worldwide from the full time & part time courses. During the 2020 hiring shutdown, GA's students, instructors, and career coaches never lost focus, and the KPMG-validated numbers in their Outcomes report reflect it. *For students who graduated in 2020 — the peak of the pandemic — 74.4% of those who participated in GA's full-time Career Services program landed jobs within six months of graduation. General Assembly is proud of their grads + teams' relentless dedication and to see those numbers rising. Download the report here.

 

Your next step? Submit an application to talk to the General Assembly Admissions team


 

Note: reviews are referenced from Career Karma - https://careerkarma.com/schools/general-assembly

 

General Assembly

General Assembly’s Data Analytics Immersive is a transformative course designed for you to get the necessary skills for a data analyst role in three months. 

The Data Analytics bootcamp is led by instructors who are expert practitioners in their field, supported by career coaches that work with you since day one and enhanced by a career services team that is constantly in talks with employers about their tech hiring needs.

 

What you'll accomplish

As a graduate, you’ll have a portfolio of projects that show your knowledge of data analytics skills, as well as experience with visualization tools and frameworks that employers demand. Throughout this expert-designed program, you’ll:

  • Acquire, analyze, and visualize data sets in real time.
  • Master industry-standard tools like SQL, Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, and Python.
  • Turn data into stories that can influence and inform important decisions.
  • Ask the right questions and answer them with data-informed insights.
  • Demonstrate what you’ve learned with a solid professional portfolio.

 

Why General Assembly

Since 2011, General Assembly has graduated more than 40,000 students worldwide from the full time & part time courses. During the 2020 hiring shutdown, GA's students, instructors, and career coaches never lost focus, and the KPMG-validated numbers in their Outcomes report reflect it. *For students who graduated in 2020 — the peak of the pandemic — 74.4% of those who participated in GA's full-time Career Services program landed jobs within six months of graduation. General Assembly is proud of their grads + teams' relentless dedication and to see those numbers rising. Download the report here.

 

Your next step? Submit an application to talk to the General Assembly Admissions team


 

Note: reviews are referenced from Career Karma - https://careerkarma.com/schools/general-assembl

 

General Assembly
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