What skills should a QA Engineer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a QA Engineer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, A programming language APL, ABC Compiler, ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ, and Acresso InstallAnywhere. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover QA Engineer work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Quality Assurance Analyst, QA Analyst, Software Quality Assurance Engineer, and SQA Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a QA Engineer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a QA Engineer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

QA Engineer resume example

Built from the O*NET occupation Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Tester, which is how this job is recorded officially.

A resume for a QA Engineer needs to show the work itself: develop and execute software tests to identify software problems and their causes. Day to day that means work like this: identify, analyze, and document problems with program function, output, online screen, or content; document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Quality Assurance Analyst
QA Analyst
Software Quality Assurance Engineer
SQA Engineer
Software Quality Engineer
Software Test Engineer
Automation Tester
Information Technology Analyst
IT Analyst
Quality Assurance Engineer
QA Engineer
Quality Engineer
Software Quality Assurance Analyst
SQA Analyst
Test Engineer
Applications QA Specialist
IT Consultant
IT Performance Analyst

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Information Technology Analyst (IT Analyst)
Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst)
Quality Assurance Engineer (QA Engineer)
Software Quality Assurance Analyst (SQA Analyst)
Software Quality Assurance Engineer (SQA Engineer)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Identify, analyze, and document problems with program function, output, online screen, or content.
Document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers.
Develop testing programs that address areas such as database impacts, software scenarios, regression testing, negative testing, error or bug retests, or usability.
Design test plans, scenarios, scripts, or procedures.
Document test procedures to ensure replicability and compliance with standards.
Provide feedback and recommendations to developers on software usability and functionality.
Install, maintain, or use software testing programs.
Test system modifications to prepare for implementation.
Create or maintain databases of known test defects.
Develop or specify standards, methods, or procedures to determine product quality or release readiness.
Monitor bug resolution efforts and track successes.
Update automated test scripts to ensure currency.

30 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Identify, analyze, and document problems with program function, output, online screen, or content, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop testing programs that address areas such as database impacts, software scenarios, regression testing, negative testing, error or bug retests, or usability, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Design test plans, scenarios, scripts, or procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

3M Post-it App
A programming language APL
ABC Compiler
ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ
Acresso InstallAnywhere
Ada
ADO.NET
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe ActionScript
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Creative Cloud software
Adobe Dreamweaver
Adobe Flex
Adobe Illustrator

425 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Application servers
Computer network routers
Computer servers
Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Directory servers
Flash disks
Graphics processing unit GPU
In circuit emulators ICE
Laptop computers
Logic analyzers
Mainframe computers

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

AWS
Apache JMeter
Jira
C#
C++
Git
JavaScript
Jenkins CI
Linux
Microsoft Azure DevOps Services

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Listening
03Critical Thinking
04Speaking
05Writing
06Monitoring
07Programming
08Complex Problem Solving
09Quality Control Analysis
10Systems Evaluation

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Computers and Electronics
English Language
Mathematics
Engineering and Technology
Design

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

50%Bachelor's Degree
26%Associate's Degree
9%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a QA Engineer do?: Develop and execute software tests to identify software problems and their causes. Day to day that includes work like identify, analyze, and document problems with program function, output, online screen, or content and Document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers.
What skills should a QA Engineer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a QA Engineer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes 3M Post-it App, A programming language APL, ABC Compiler, ABC: the AspectBench Compiler for AspectJ, and Acresso InstallAnywhere. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover QA Engineer work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Quality Assurance Analyst, QA Analyst, Software Quality Assurance Engineer, and SQA Engineer. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a QA Engineer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 50% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a QA Engineer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.