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Create CVIf you’re searching for “software tester UK salary”, you’re likely trying to answer one of three questions:
What should I be earning right now?
Why are some testers earning £35K while others earn £80K+?
How do I increase my salary in a highly competitive tech market?
Here’s the truth: in software testing, salary is not driven by experience alone. It’s driven by technical depth, automation capability, and how closely your work impacts product quality and delivery speed.
This guide breaks down real UK salary ranges, how hiring managers evaluate testers, and how to position yourself for top-tier compensation.
Software testing salaries vary widely depending on skillset and specialisation.
Junior Software Tester: £25,000 – £35,000
Mid-Level Tester: £35,000 – £50,000
Senior Tester / QA Engineer: £50,000 – £70,000
Lead QA / Test Manager: £65,000 – £90,000+
The true average salary sits around £40,000 – £50,000, but this hides a major divide between manual testers and automation-focused engineers.
Mid-Level: £45,000 – £60,000
Senior: £60,000 – £80,000+
Mid-Level: £35,000 – £50,000
Senior: £50,000 – £70,000
Tech company concentration
Higher demand for automation testers
This is the single most important factor affecting salary.
Salary range: £25,000 – £50,000
Focus: test execution, bug reporting
Limited scalability
Salary range: £45,000 – £80,000+
Focus: frameworks, CI/CD integration, scripting
High demand and scalability
Strategic Insight:
The moment you move from manual testing to automation, your salary ceiling increases by £20K–£30K.
Greater exposure to complex systems
London roles expect testers to contribute beyond execution into quality engineering and delivery velocity.
Hiring managers don’t pay for “testing”. They pay for risk reduction and delivery acceleration.
Automation capability (Selenium, Cypress, Playwright)
Programming knowledge (Java, Python, JavaScript)
CI/CD integration (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
Agile/Scrum experience
API testing (Postman, REST Assured)
Performance testing (JMeter, LoadRunner)
A tester who writes scripts and integrates into pipelines is valued far higher than one who executes test cases manually.
Recruiters quickly classify candidates into two categories:
Execution-focused tester
Engineering-focused QA
Weak Example:
Executed manual test cases and reported bugs.
Good Example:
Developed Cypress automation suite reducing regression testing time by 65% and enabling CI/CD integration.
What changed: The second example shows impact on speed and scalability.
That’s the difference between £40K and £70K.
Fintech: £50,000 – £85,000
SaaS: £55,000 – £80,000
Cybersecurity: £60,000 – £90,000
Public sector: £30,000 – £55,000
Education: £30,000 – £50,000
Traditional corporate IT: £35,000 – £60,000
Strategic Insight:
Industry shift is one of the fastest ways to increase salary without changing role.
Two testers with the same job title can earn vastly different salaries.
Test automation frameworks
Programming and scripting
DevOps integration
Cloud testing (AWS, Azure)
Security testing basics
The more your role overlaps with software engineering, the higher your value.
ISTQB Foundation / Advanced
Agile certifications
Certifications help early in your career, but they do not significantly increase salary without practical application.
Hiring managers prioritise:
Real-world automation experience
Demonstrated problem-solving
Technical contributions
Bonus: 5% – 10%
Private healthcare
Flexible working
Training budgets
Unlike sales or leadership roles, bonuses are smaller, so base salary matters more.
Hiring managers want testers who:
Prevent defects early, not just detect them
Improve delivery speed
Collaborate with developers
Contribute to engineering discussions
If you’re only testing after development, you are seen as lower value.
Manual-only testers hit a salary ceiling quickly.
Lack of coding knowledge limits progression.
Describing duties instead of impact.
No measurable improvements shown.
Learn automation tools (Cypress, Selenium)
Gain basic programming skills
Understand CI/CD pipelines
Move into higher-paying industries
Contribute to test strategy, not just execution
The fastest way to jump from £40K to £65K+ is:
Transition into QA Engineer / Automation role
Demonstrate real-world automation projects
Top testers don’t position themselves as testers.
They position themselves as quality engineers.
Show impact on delivery speed
Quantify efficiency improvements
Demonstrate technical contributions
Align with engineering teams
They don’t say “I tested software.”
They show “I improved system reliability and deployment speed.”
Keywords: Selenium, Cypress, API testing, CI/CD
Clear job titles (QA Engineer vs Tester)
Technical skills section
Measurable achievements
If your CV lacks these, you won’t reach top-paying roles.
Name: Daniel Foster
Location: London, UK
Job Title: Senior QA Engineer
Professional Summary:
Detail-oriented QA Engineer with 7+ years of experience specialising in test automation and CI/CD integration. Proven ability to reduce testing cycles, improve product quality, and support rapid software delivery.
Key Skills:
Test Automation (Cypress, Selenium)
API Testing (Postman, REST Assured)
CI/CD (Jenkins, GitHub Actions)
Programming (JavaScript, Python)
Agile & Scrum
Professional Experience:
Senior QA Engineer – Fintech Company (London)
2021 – Present
Built Cypress automation framework reducing regression testing time by 70%
Integrated automated tests into CI/CD pipeline improving release frequency
Collaborated with developers to implement shift-left testing approach
QA Engineer – SaaS Company (Birmingham)
2018 – 2021
Automated 60% of manual test cases using Selenium
Improved defect detection rate by 35% through API testing
Contributed to test strategy and quality processes
Education:
Strong automation focus
Technical skillset aligned with engineering
Measurable impact on speed and quality
Integration with development processes
This is not a £45K tester.
This is a high-value QA engineer.
The role is evolving rapidly.
Automation-first testing
AI-driven testing tools
DevOps integration
Cloud-based systems
Manual-only testing roles
Isolated QA teams
Lack of technical skills
Your salary as a software tester is not defined by your job title.
It’s defined by:
How technical your role is
How much you impact delivery speed
How well you integrate with engineering
Two testers can differ by £30K+ in salary.
The difference is technical capability and positioning.
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