There is not much difference between a software developer and a software tester as their goals are the same i.e. to improve the quality of a software or application.
It is believed that there is a difference between the salary of a developer and the salary of a software tester.
The salary amount of both the developer and the tester is based on different factors including their duties, responsibilities, company, demand, job role, experience, and skills etc.
In this section, we will try to find out who earns better: a developer or a tester, by taking different factors into consideration. So, if you want to know who earn more salary, continue reading.
Software Developers
A software developer is a professional whose work is mainly concerned with the development of software.
As the name suggests he is responsible to design or develop the new software to fulfill the demand of the end users.
They develop software whether it is a business software, gaming software, mobile software or applications, computers software etc.
A software developer takes care of the whole process including research, design, programming, testing, and launching of the software in the market.
There are two types of software developers i.e. Application Software Developers and System Software Developers.
Application software developer designs both; custom software for a particular business of commercial software for the general public as well.
On the other hand, the system software developer develops the system that takes care of the proper functioning of computers like an operating system for computers.
They also build system’s interface that allows the users to interact with computers.
As online technology is increasing day by day, all businesses are seeking software developers to develop a customized application for their business.
Whether it is a bank, a university, a news channels or a hospital everyone has their own application, and to design the same they need a software developer.
Also Read :The Reasons Why Testbytes has been one of the Leading Software Testing Company!!
Software developers help the companies to update with the latest technology through web or application development.
The applications designed by the developers can be used on computers, tablets, Smartphone etc.
Therefore, a software developer should be able to create or design, manage and maintain new programs and software.
A software developer must possess an excellent knowledge of programming languages such as HTML, Java, JavaScript, C++, c# etc. Prior experience is always a plus point considers in salary.
Qualifications and Skills Required to be a Software Developer
- A bachelor or masters degree in computer science, software engineering or in a related field
- They should have analytical, communication, teamwork, problem-solving skills. Additionally, they should be creative, innovative, and familiar with database management, program testing and other related software.
Tasks Assigned to a Software Developer
- Test and document software
- Write, modify and debug software
- Design and develop application components
- Analyze needs of the user and then develop the software to fulfill that needs
- software up gradation in existing software
- Create diagrams, models, flowchart of different activities
- In charge of the entire development process
- Collaborate with computer programmers for optimum utilization of resources
- Write codes for programming of software
A software developer at the initial stage of his career on an entry level with the experience of 0–5 years can expect to earn an average salary of $61,000.
A software developer after the experience of 5 years, can expect an average salary of $ 80,000 annually. After 10 years of experience, a software developer can get the average salary of $ 87,000 per year.
An experienced software developer who has 20 years of work experience earns an average compensation of $ 97,000 per year.
Software Tester
A software tester is a professional who tests software to ensure that there is no bug, errors, defects or problem in the software that can affect the performance of a software or application before launching it in the market.
They are expert in handling software quality testing tools and techniques. It is the responsibility of a software tester to ensure that software will perform as desired both functionally and non-functionally.
A software tester uses various types of software testing such as black box testing, white box testing, unit testing, system testing, load testing, scalability testing, user acceptance testing, regression testing, smoke testing, integration testing, performance testing, compatibility testing, usability testing, security testing etc.
Whenever a software developer designs software, a software tester plays a key role in the process. He works as a quality assurance and he is the one who gives final approval to launch the software in the market.
He receives the software build at various stages in the process before going into the hands of the end user.
He runs the software programs through various tests and records the response of the software. The key component of software testing is documenting each and every step performed during software testing.
Documentation helps to discover the coding problems. Another significant aspect of testing is to find bugs in the program.
A software tester tests the software or application in different scenarios in order to assure the quality of software. They also provide user feedback and report unnecessary user interface confusions.
Qualifications and Skills Required to be a Software Tester
- A software tester should have a bachelor degree in computer science, mathematics or engineering or in a related field.
- A software tester should be fluent on UNIX, Linux or Windows
- He should be a multi-tasker
- He should have excellent communication skills both verbal and non-verbal
- He should have knowledge of programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, C#, C++, Python etc.
Tasks Assigned to a Software Tester
- Evaluate software applications to check the errors and maintain stability
- Debug scripts and identify flaws in the system
- A software tester applies both manual and automated software testing strategies
- Analyze software programs.
With the increase in the experience, salary is also increasing. A software tester is getting $49,000 at the initial stage of his career; the average compensation includes bonus, incentives, overtime and other allowances.
Hence a software tester can expect a good salary in his career of 0–5 years. After getting the experience of 5 years he can expect $ 68,000 average salary in a working period of 5–10 years.
An experienced software tester means the employee with experience of 10–20 years can expect $ 75,000 average salary per year.
When a software tester complete 20 years of working he will get an average salary of $ 81,000 annually.
Now we have the average salary of both; software developer and the software tester. So, we can compare both the pie charts together and find out the conclusion.
By comparing both the diagrams we can see that the software developers earn more than a software tester.
The initial average salary of a software developer is $ 61,000 on the other hand; the average initial salary of a tester is $49,000 that clearly shows that a developer earns more than a tester.
Also Read : Roles & Responsibilities in a Software Testing Team
