Average Quality Assurance Specialist Salary in South Africa for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Quality Assurance Specialist salary for 2024 in South Africa and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the South African rand. To keep things simple, we are using the ZAR currency code instead of the currency symbol R.

How Much Does a Quality Assurance Specialist Make in South Africa?

A Quality Assurance Specialist working in South Africa will typically earn around 399,900 ZAR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 208,600 ZAR to the highest average salary of 615,000 ZAR.

Average Annual Salary
399,900 ZAR
Average Monthly Salary
33,325 ZAR

Lowest Annual Salary
208,600 ZAR
Lowest Monthly Salary
17,383 ZAR

Highest Annual Salary
615,000 ZAR
Highest Monthly Salary
51,250 ZAR

These are average salaries for a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Quality Assurance Specialist to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Quality Assurance Specialist salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Quality Assurance Specialist Salaries in South Africa

So we've looked at the average salaries a Quality Assurance Specialist will earn in South Africa. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Quality Assurance Specialist can earn between 208,600 ZAR and 615,000 ZAR on average in South Africa. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa is 384,500 ZAR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 384,500 ZAR, and 50% of the population earn more than 384,500 ZAR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Quality Assurance Specialist salary in South Africa, 25% of the population are earning less than 267,100 ZAR while 75% of the population earn more than 267,100 ZAR.

75% of the population earn less than 478,000 ZAR, and 25% of the population earn more than 478,000 ZAR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Quality Assurance Specialist Salary by Experience Level in South Africa

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average quality assurance specialist salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 237,400 ZAR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Quality Assurance Specialist salary would increase to 318,800 ZAR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Quality Assurance Specialist, the average salary would be 414,000 ZAR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 500,100 ZAR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Quality Assurance Specialist with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 548,800 ZAR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Quality Assurance Specialist with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 575,100 ZAR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
237,400 ZAR
2-5 Years +34%
318,800 ZAR
5-10 Years +30%
414,000 ZAR
10-15 Years +21%
500,100 ZAR
15-20 Years +9%
548,800 ZAR
20+ Years +5%
575,100 ZAR

Quality Assurance Specialist Salary by Education Level in South Africa

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 332,100 ZAR.

  • Master's Degree. A Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 464,400 ZAR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree
332,100 ZAR
Master's Degree +39%
464,400 ZAR

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in South Africa is around 156,000 to 467,000 ZAR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Quality Assurance Specialist Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In South Africa, a male quality assurance specialist will earn an average of 417,100 ZAR, while a female quality assurance specialist will earn around 389,200 ZAR.

This means that a male quality assurance specialist earns approximately 7% more than a female quality assurance specialist for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in South Africa

Male
417,100 ZAR
Female -7%
389,200 ZAR

Quality Assurance Specialist Average Pay Raise in South Africa

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa is around 10% every 19 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Africa is around 8% every 18 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 19 ) × 12  = 6%

What this means is that a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 6% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in South Africa for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in South Africa.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Quality Assurance Specialist Bonus and Incentive Rates in South Africa

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Quality Assurance Specialist is a moderate bonus based job, with 52% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

48% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus
52%
No Bonus
48%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in South Africa earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
386,400 ZAR
Private Sector -7%
361,500 ZAR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Quality Assurance Specialist

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Quality Assurance Specialist in South Africa.

Job Title Category Salary
Approval Team Manager Quality Control and Compliance 433,800 ZAR
Assistant Quality Manager Quality Control and Compliance 419,400 ZAR
Compliance Officer Quality Control and Compliance 237,400 ZAR
Document Analyst Quality Control and Compliance 212,500 ZAR
Document Control Officer Quality Control and Compliance 187,300 ZAR
Document Control Specialist Quality Control and Compliance 228,000 ZAR
HACCP Coordinator Quality Control and Compliance 218,900 ZAR
Inspection Supervisor Quality Control and Compliance 376,800 ZAR
Internal Compliance Officer Quality Control and Compliance 246,200 ZAR
Product Complaints Associate Quality Control and Compliance 257,700 ZAR
Product Owner Quality Control and Compliance 431,300 ZAR
Product Quality Leader Quality Control and Compliance 442,300 ZAR
QMS Coordinator Quality Control and Compliance 266,000 ZAR
Quality and Safety Site Leader Quality Control and Compliance 451,000 ZAR
Quality Assurance Administrator Quality Control and Compliance 394,300 ZAR
Quality Assurance Analyst Quality Control and Compliance 444,300 ZAR
Quality Assurance Associate Quality Control and Compliance 251,500 ZAR
Quality Assurance Auditor Quality Control and Compliance 367,200 ZAR
Quality Assurance Document Control Quality Control and Compliance 185,100 ZAR
Quality Assurance Engineer Quality Control and Compliance 245,300 ZAR
Quality Assurance Executive Quality Control and Compliance 574,200 ZAR
Quality Assurance Inspector Quality Control and Compliance 378,300 ZAR
Quality Assurance Manager Quality Control and Compliance 628,000 ZAR
Quality Assurance Supervisor Quality Control and Compliance 440,200 ZAR
Quality Assurance Technician Quality Control and Compliance 225,300 ZAR
Quality Assurance Tester Quality Control and Compliance 232,900 ZAR
Quality Control Analyst Quality Control and Compliance 390,000 ZAR
Quality Control and Compliance Officer Quality Control and Compliance 249,600 ZAR
Quality Control and Quality Assurance Officer Quality Control and Compliance 275,500 ZAR
Quality Control Auditor Quality Control and Compliance 345,700 ZAR
Quality Control Chemist Quality Control and Compliance 430,500 ZAR
Quality Control Coordinator Quality Control and Compliance 268,900 ZAR
Quality Control Engineer Quality Control and Compliance 233,600 ZAR
Quality Control Executive Quality Control and Compliance 596,800 ZAR
Quality Control Manager Quality Control and Compliance 628,000 ZAR
Quality Control Supervisor Quality Control and Compliance 431,300 ZAR
Quality Control Technician Quality Control and Compliance 227,600 ZAR
Quality Data Analyst Quality Control and Compliance 354,000 ZAR
Quality Director Quality Control and Compliance 641,900 ZAR
Quality Engineer Quality Control and Compliance 247,800 ZAR
Quality Executive Quality Control and Compliance 472,100 ZAR
Quality Improvement Coordinator Quality Control and Compliance 257,700 ZAR
Quality Management Officer Quality Control and Compliance 253,400 ZAR
Quality Manager Quality Control and Compliance 629,800 ZAR
Quality Surveyor Quality Control and Compliance 372,600 ZAR
Quality Trainer Quality Control and Compliance 424,900 ZAR
Six Sigma Black Belt Quality Control and Compliance 492,700 ZAR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in South Africa, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Bloemfontein 372,600 ZAR
Cape Town 454,300 ZAR
Durban 417,100 ZAR
Johannesburg 388,100 ZAR
Port Elizabeth 366,200 ZAR
Pretoria 407,300 ZAR

Link To or Reference This Page

We spend a lot of time collecting, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site to be as useful to you as possible.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference World Salaries as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Average Quality Assurance Specialist Salary in South Africa for 2024". World Salaries. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://worldsalaries.com/average-quality-assurance-specialist-salary-in-south-africa/.

  • "Average Quality Assurance Specialist Salary in South Africa for 2024". World Salaries, https://worldsalaries.com/average-quality-assurance-specialist-salary-in-south-africa/. Accessed 28 March, 2024

  • Average Quality Assurance Specialist Salary in South Africa for 2024. World Salaries. Retrieved from https://worldsalaries.com/average-quality-assurance-specialist-salary-in-south-africa/.