Maine·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1253

Best Software Quality Assurance Analyst programs in Maine, ranked by enrollment

Develop and execute software tests to identify software problems and their causes. Test system modifications to prepare for implementation.

12 schools in Maine run programs that feed this job, graduating 274 people a year. The job pays a median of $86,050 in Maine across about 390 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSoftware Test EngineerSoftware Quality EngineerQuality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst)Software Quality Assurance Engineer (SQA Engineer)Beta TesterGame TesterData ModelerTest Engineer
Graduates / yr
274
in Maine
Median pay · Maine
$86,050
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
390
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
50%
across those schools
Median net price
$18,192
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Maine that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Maine that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Maine (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Maine page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 11.0701In Maine
187
68.2%
8$70,374$23,250
2
CIP 11.0103In Maine
33
12.0%
2$57,986$24,286
3
CIP 14.0901In Maine
25
9.1%
1$78,333$24,098
4
CIP 11.0201In Maine
14
5.1%
2$46,719$20,729
5
CIP 11.0101In Maine
11
4.0%
3$57,986$24,286
6
CIP 11.0104In Maine
4
1.5%
1$57,986$24,286

Top 12 schools in Maine

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 12 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Maine
Orono, ME Public · 4 feeder programs
101Computer Science$77,04655%97%
2Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
42Computer Science95%$15,4547%
3Colby College
Waterville, ME Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
34Computer Science89%$15,6967%
4University of Maine at Augusta
Augusta, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
23Information Technology$49,84327%
5University of Southern Maine
Portland, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
19Computer Science$67,95640%79%
6Southern Maine Community College
South Portland, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
18Computer Science28%
7Husson University
Bangor, ME Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Computer Programming/Programmer, General59%$18,83981%
8Thomas College
Waterville, ME Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
10Computer Science54%$18,19296%
9Eastern Maine Community College
Bangor, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
8Computer Programming/Programmer, General32%
10University of Maine at Farmington
Farmington, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
3Computer Science52%97%
11University of Maine at Fort Kent
Fort Kent, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
3Computer and Information Sciences, General39%98%
12York County Community College
Wells, ME Public · 1 feeder programs
2Computer Science34%

All 12 schools in Maine

Every school in Maine with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Maine that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of MaineOronoPublic1014
Bowdoin CollegeBrunswickPrivate not-for-profit421
Colby CollegeWatervillePrivate not-for-profit341
University of Maine at AugustaAugustaPublic231
University of Southern MainePortlandPublic191
Southern Maine Community CollegeSouth PortlandPublic181
Husson UniversityBangorPrivate not-for-profit112
Thomas CollegeWatervillePrivate not-for-profit102
Eastern Maine Community CollegeBangorPublic81
University of Maine at FarmingtonFarmingtonPublic31
University of Maine at Fort KentFort KentPublic31
York County Community CollegeWellsPublic21

What software quality assurance analysts and testers earn in Maine

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Maine
$86,050
Mean annual
$85,510
Jobs in state
390
What the range looks like
10th pct$45,730Median$86,05090th pct$123,360
Versus the national median
-17.5%

U.S. median $104,300. Maine pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.51×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Maine

Portland-South Portland, ME
$92,050median
230 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+10.0%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
14,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
20,200
201,700 → 221,900
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers page.

How to become a Software Quality Assurance Analyst

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningCritical ThinkingSpeakingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Maine

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 15 majors mapped to Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers15 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 11.0101Computer and Information Sciences, General
  • 11.0103Information Technology
  • 11.0104Informatics
  • 11.0201Computer Programming/Programmer, General
  • 11.0202Computer Programming, Specific Applications
  • 11.0203Computer Programming, Vendor/Product Certification
  • 11.0204Computer Game Programming
  • 11.0205Computer Programming, Specific Platforms
  • 11.0501Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst
  • 11.0701Computer Science
  • 14.0901Computer Engineering, General
  • 14.0903Computer Software Engineering
  • 15.1201Computer Engineering Technology/Technician
  • 15.1202Computer/Computer Systems Technology/Technician
  • 15.1204Computer Software Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing software quality assurance analysts and testers programs in Maine.

What degree do you need to become a Software Quality Assurance Analyst?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Computer Science, which awarded 187 degrees in Maine in 2024-25, 68.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Software Quality Assurance Analyst?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer Science, Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Engineering, Computer Programming. Together they graduate about 274 people a year in Maine.

How much do software quality assurance analysts and testers earn in Maine?+

The median is $86,050 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 17.5% below the U.S. median of $104,300. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for software quality assurance analysts and testers growing?+

BLS projects a +10.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 14,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Maine?+

12 institutions in Maine reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do software quality assurance analysts and testers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Software Test Engineer, Software Quality Engineer, Quality Assurance Analyst (QA Analyst), Software Quality Assurance Engineer (SQA Engineer) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 15-1253.

Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers in other statesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkFloridaIllinoisMassachusettsNorth CarolinaGeorgia

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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