What Is a Quality Assurance Analyst? 2025 Career Guide

Quality assurance (QA) is vital for selling products, from software to medical devices. In this article, you can take a closer look at what QA analysts do, the different career paths you can take, and how to get started. 

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What is a quality assurance analyst?

Quality assurance analysts are responsible for testing, analyzing, and ensuring the quality of software, products, and systems. They confirm that products or services meet the standards set by the company or the industry in which they’re working. QA has become synonymous with the software development process and technology products. However, jobs in quality assurance are available in various sectors in and outside of the tech industry, including manufacturing, food and beverage, and health care.

What does a quality assurance analyst do?

In technical QA analyst jobs such as software quality assurance, you’ll develop and implement testing plans, create test cases and test scripts, and document your findings. You’ll also report defects and track resolutions. This may involve focus groups with customers and monitoring ongoing customer feedback to identify product issues. The main goal of quality assurance is to ensure products meet functional requirements before they make it to the user.

QA analyst job description

Daily responsibilities can vary depending on the industry or company you work for. Here are a few tasks you can expect to manage in most QA roles:

• Planning and implementing product testing

• Establishing procedures and scenarios for quality control

• Reviewing products for defects and errors

• Regression testing

• Conducting software compatibility tests and software design reviews

• Analyzing test results

• Assisting with product designs

• Tracking progress on product issue resolutions

• Ensuring that the final product is fit for its purpose

• Evaluating software for release readiness and reporting defects to software developers

• Driving product improvements

• Analyzing competitors and the current market

Quality assurance analyst salary

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual quality assurance analyst salary in the US is $131,450 [1]. The job outlook for quality assurance analyst jobs is expected to grow 15 percent from 2024 to 2034, which is much faster than average. This figure translates into an estimated 1,895,500 jobs in 2024 and 2,183,400 by 2034 [1].

How to become a quality assurance analyst

To become a QA analyst, you will need to complete your education, gain skills, and add certifications to demonstrate your abilities to potential employers. Explore each of these steps in more detail.

QA analyst degrees and graduate certificates

Sixty-five percent of QA analysts have a bachelor’s degree, 15 percent have a master’s degree, and 11 percent have an associate degree [2]. Typically, QA analysts study computer science, business, or electrical engineering. Examples of relevant degrees and graduate certificates for QA analysts to pursue include:

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of London

• MBA in Business Analytics from OP Jindal Global University (MBA BA)

Professional certificates and certifications

Whether you’re looking to transition into a new career or are graduating from college, certifications or certificates are a great way to enhance your resume and increase your earning potential. When considering your certification options, it is a good idea to look at the competencies required in your target jobs and to determine which certifications best convey those skills. LinkedIn can be a good source of information and for networking.

Here are a few credentials that QA analyst employers may prefer:

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)

• ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL)

• Certified Quality Assurance Professional (CQAP)

• Google Project Management Professional Certificate

• Certified Software Tester (CSTE)

• Certified Instrumentation Specialist (CIS)

• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)

• Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE)

• Requirements Engineering: Secure Software Specifications Specialization from the University of Colorado

Quality assurance analyst skills

You can develop various skills that may help you perform well in a quality assurance role. Here are some key skills and traits for QA analysts to master:

• Expertise in a wide range of software applications, as well as hardware and networking

• Extensive experience in quality control

• Strong programming skills

• High regard for safety standards and quality control

• Good understanding of business

• Ability to think abstractly and see how small details relate to the bigger picture

• Creative and innovative thinking

• Interpersonal skills to collaborate with development teams

• Knowledge of operating systems and network environments

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Strong IT skills

• Keen attention to detail

• Diligence and meticulousness

• Strong analytical skills

• Problem-solving skills

Read more: 7 In-Demand Skills Needed for Quality Assurance Engineer Jobs

Is quality assurance a good career?

A career in quality assurance can be rewarding for several reasons. The salary is above average, the job outlook is promising, and QA analysts play an essential role in businesses. Here are five reasons quality assurance is so important:

1. QA helps protect brand reputation. Protecting your brand and reputation is the most important reason to invest in quality assurance. If your products or services don’t meet customer expectations, it can damage your brand and make it harder to attract new business. Quality assurance can help ensure your products or services meet or exceed customer expectations.

2. QA ensures compliance with ISO standards. Complying with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is another vital reason to invest in quality assurance. ISO 9001 is the world’s most widely used quality management system standard, and compliance can be a requirement for doing business in some sectors. Quality assurance can help you meet all relevant ISO standards, opening partnership and sales opportunities.

3. QA analysts help identify what customers want. Knowing what customers want is key to quality assurance. Understanding customer needs and expectations ensures that your company designs its products or services to meet them, which can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty and help increase sales.

4. QA can enhance productivity and team performance. By streamlining processes and eliminating waste, quality assurance can help boost efficiency and productivity levels across your organization. This can save you time and money and free up resources for other priorities. Quality assurance can also help you develop training programs, implement process changes, and identify areas where team members need improvement. By improving the performance of your teams, you can improve the quality of your product while reducing costs.

5. Businesses plan more efficiently and realistically with QA analysts. By investigating potential risks early in the product or project life cycle, quality assurance can help you plan more efficiently for contingencies. With a quality assurance plan, you can help efficiently and realistically allocate your resources to get the best results from your team.

Where do QA analysts work?

QA analysts work in various industries, including health care, manufacturing, and software development. You’ll typically work in an office setting but may travel to different locations to conduct inspections or audits. You may also find work in these types of organizations:

• Independent testing and QA consultancies

• IT departments in large companies

• Software development companies

• Web development agencies

QA career paths

After working in a QA role and learning skills such as attention to detail and problem-solving, you may be able to move on to management positions or find opportunities in consulting or auditing. Here are some related roles and their median annual salaries:

All US salary information was sourced from Glassdoor in September 2025. It includes the median salary and the reported annual additional pay. Additional pay may include profit sharing, bonuses, and commissions.

• Project manager: $105,000

• DevOps engineer: $141,000

• Customer experience leader: $151,000

• Enterprise architect: $199,000 

• IT manager: $129,000

• Quality engineer: $102,000

• Quality assurance manager: $134,000 

• Director of quality: $206,000

• Vice president of quality: $327,000

Alternative titles for quality assurance analyst jobs

Many different job titles fall under the term quality assurance, each with its own set of responsibilities and requirements. Here are some additional QA roles and their median annual US salaries: 

All US salary information was sourced from Glassdoor in September 2025. It includes the median salary and the reported annual additional pay. Additional pay may include profit sharing, bonuses, and commissions.

• Quality technician: $57,000

• Quality auditor: $63,000

• Quality coordinator: $73,000

• Quality assurance tester: $69,000

• Quality control supervisor: $85,000

• Quality analyst: $67,000

Explore Coursera’s free resources for quality assurance analysts

Get help navigating your career options and decide if a QA analyst career is right for you with our Career Resources Hub. Additionally, you can start building job-ready skills to enhance your resume today for free with these resources: 

• Take a quiz: What Career Is Right for Me?

• Prep for a job: How to Prepare for an Interview

• Watch on YouTube: 5 Entry-level Jobs You Can Get with a Computer Science Degree

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