SDET vs QA Tester: Which Career Path is Right for You?

Table of Contents

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• What is a QA Tester?
• What Is an SDET?
• Job Responsibilities and Salary Potential
• How Companies Use These Titles Differently
• Which Role Is Right for You?
• How to Learn QA Testing

If you’re exploring a career in software testing, quality assurance, or software engineering, you’ve probably seen two job titles come up again and again: QA Tester and SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test).

At first glance, they can sound interchangeable. Both roles focus on software quality. Both work closely with developers. And in some job listings, companies even seem to use the titles interchangeably. But in practice, QA Tester and SDET (Software Development Engineer in Test) often represent very different skill sets, expectations, and long-term career paths.

This guide breaks down the differences between both, what each job actually involves day to day, how technical each path is, and how to decide which one makes sense for your background and goals.

What is a QA Tester?

A QA Tester (sometimes called a Quality Assurance Tester or Manual QA Tester) focuses on finding bugs, usability issues, and edge cases before software reaches users.

QA Testers act as advocates for the end user. Their job is to ask, “What could go wrong here?” – and then try to break the product in realistic ways.

What QA Testers Do Day to Day

• Manually testing new features and updates

• Writing and executing test cases

• Performing exploratory testing to uncover unexpected issues

• Reproducing and documenting bugs clearly for developers

• Verifying bug fixes before release

• Collaborating with developers, product managers, and designers

Many QA Testers spend a lot of time inside the product itself – clicking through workflows, testing edge cases, and thinking about how real users might interact with the software.

While QA Testers may follow structured test plans, much of their value comes from exploratory testing – going beyond scripted steps to uncover issues that automated tests might miss. This is especially important for visual bugs and accessibility problems, where human judgment still matters a lot. David, a Careerist graduate now working as a QA Tester, explains that while AI tools are increasingly part of the testing workflow, they can’t be relied on blindly:

“We’re using AI tools alongside us to help us do more work faster, but you always have to double-check AI because there are issues and errors everywhere. AI can handle a lot of the mundane checking and testing, so we can focus on higher-level tasks that are harder to automate."

Breaking into QA? Start as a Manual QA Tester

For many career changers, QA testing offers a practical entry point into tech with room to grow. Guzal, a TestPro graduate who went on to work at Meta, says that "QA is a great place to start because you don't need to know coding. You can always learn later if you want but it's not necessary."

What Is an SDET?

An SDET, or Software Development Engineer in Test, sits at the intersection of testing and software engineering.

While QA Testers primarily test software manually, SDETs focus on building automated testing systems and integrating testing directly into the development process.

What SDETs Do Day to Day

• Writing automated tests (unit, integration, end-to-end)

• Building and maintaining test frameworks

• Writing production-level code in languages like Java, Python, JavaScript, or C#

• Working closely with developers to improve testability

• Integrating tests into CI/CD pipelines

• Reviewing code and test coverage

In many teams, SDETs write as much code as software engineers – just with a focus on quality, reliability, and testing infrastructure.

What it’s like to work as an SDET

David Heidkamp, a Careerist graduate who transitioned into software QA engineering, describes how his role blends automation, collaboration, and problem-solving across teams:

“What we learned in the Careerist course is very helpful – how to write incidents, how to communicate with developers, and how to operate within a scrum team. Every company does things differently, but the bootcamp gave me a solid foundation to adapt and know what to expect in a real-world QA environment.”

How SDETs Differ from QA Testers and Software Engineers

SDETs are not simply “senior QA Testers,” and they’re not quite the same as traditional software engineers either.

• Compared to QA Testers, SDETs are far more code-focused. SDETs are expected to write, maintain, and debug complex code

• QA Testers may not code at all, or may use light scripting for test cases

• Compared to software engineers, SDETs focus less on features and more on testing systems and quality tooling

In some organizations, SDETs are embedded directly within engineering teams rather than sitting on separate QA teams.

Job Responsibilities and Salary Potential

QA tester and SDET salaries will vary depending on your experience, location, and skill levels as well as knowledge of manual testing and automation. Roman, a Careerist graduate who worked as a QA Tester at Nike and Tesla, describes the impact of making the switch:

“When I started the Manual QA job, my salary jumped 1.6x. Now that I’m in automation, it’s more than twice what I made before joining any IT company.”

Because SDET roles demand stronger engineering skills, they usually have higher salary caps – though that also means increased expectations and greater responsibility.

How Companies Use These Titles Differently

One complicating factor: job titles aren’t standardized.

Some companies label automation-focused QA roles as “QA Engineer” instead of SDET. Others use SDET only at large tech companies. In smaller companies, the same person may handle both manual and automated testing.

That’s why it’s important to read job descriptions carefully and focus on skills and responsibilities, not just titles.

Which Role Is Right for You?

The right path depends on your background, interests, and goals.

If You’re a Non-Technical Career Changer

QA Tester roles are often more accessible if you’re:

• New to tech

• Coming from a non-coding background

• Looking for a faster entry point

Manual QA emphasizes product thinking, attention to detail, and communication – skills many career changers already have.

If You’re a QA Tester Who Wants to Level Up Technically

Moving toward SDET can make sense if you:

• Enjoy automation more than manual testing

• Want deeper technical challenges

• Are comfortable investing time in learning to code

Many SDETs start their careers in manual QA and gradually take on more automation work.

If you enjoy coding and problem-solving at a technical level, SDET roles tend to be a better fit.

If You Want to Be a Software Engineer (But Care About Quality)

If your long-term goal is software engineering, SDET roles can be a strong stepping stone – especially if you enjoy building systems and improving reliability rather than shipping features.

Neither path is inherently “better.” The right choice depends on your technical interests, learning style, and long-term goals.

If you value speed of entry and user-focused testing, QA Tester roles can be a great fit. If you enjoy coding and building systems, SDET roles may offer a higher technical ceiling.

In the end, the best career path is the one that aligns with your skills – not just the trendiest job title.

How to Learn QA Testing

While you may be able to self-teach or pick up QA skills on the job, learning QA testing at a bootcamp will ensure you receive the foundational knowledge you need to successfully launch a career in quality assurance. At a QA testing bootcamp, you will learn how to test software, and effectively communicate with and work on a dev team!

Check out the 9 QA Bootcamps selected for Course Report's Top 2025 list below:

• Careerist – QA Bundle
• TripleTen – QA Engineering Bootcamp
• Codemify – Automation QA or Manual QA Course
• Chroma Tech Academy – QA Test Automation With AI
• Astoria Lab Bootcamp – Software Testing Bootcamp
• NeoTech Academy – Software Testing Bootcamp
• Techtorial Academy – SDET Course
• Clarusway – Software Development Engineer in Test
• Test Pro – Software Development Engineer in Test or Quality Assurance Engineer