West Virginia·Computer and Mathematical Occupations·SOC 15-1253

Best Software Quality Assurance Analyst programs in West Virginia, ranked by enrollment

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

25 schools in West Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 687 people a year. The job pays a median of $62,300 in West Virginia 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
687
in West Virginia
Median pay · West Virginia
$62,300
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
390
people employed
Schools
25
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
39%
across those schools
Median net price
$17,325
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in West Virginia that lead to this job

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

9 programs in West Virginia that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in West Virginia (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 West Virginia page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1374
54.4%
13$57,986$24,286
2148
21.5%
6$70,374$23,250
382
11.9%
7$57,986$24,286
437
5.4%
4$78,333$24,098
515
2.2%
2$46,719$20,729
615
2.2%
1$78,333$24,098
78
1.2%
1$46,719$20,729
87
1.0%
1$51,805$46,000
91
0.1%
1$46,719$20,729

Top 25 schools in West Virginia

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 25 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1American Public University System
Charles Town, WV Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
211Information Technology$68,21057%$10,199
2West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
148Computer Science$74,15965%89%
3Valley College - Martinsburg
Martinsburg, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
44Information Technology66%$25,386
4Marshall University
Huntington, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
35Computer and Information Sciences, General$52,04751%96%
5Mountwest Community and Technical College
Huntington, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
28Information Technology19%
6West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Parkersburg, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
25Information Technology9%
7Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
Martinsburg, WV Public · 2 feeder programs
23Computer Programming/Programmer, General32%
8Shepherd University
Shepherdstown, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
21Computer and Information Sciences, General$57,26551%97%
9Salem University
Salem, WV Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs
18Information Technology20%$14,845
10Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Logan, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
18Information Technology29%
11West Virginia State University
Institute, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
17Computer Science39%96%
12West Virginia University Institute of Technology
Beckley, WV Public · 3 feeder programs
15Computer Systems Analysis/Analyst33%37%
13Strayer University - West Virginia
Scott Depot, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Information Technology$67,3150%$16,943
14Fairmont State University
Fairmont, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
12Computer and Information Sciences, General$64,97544%99%
15West Virginia Northern Community College
Wheeling, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
12Information Technology33%
16West Virginia Wesleyan College
Buckhannon, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Computer Science57%$17,32593%
17Concord University
Athens, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
9Computer Science39%93%
18Bluefield State University
Bluefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
5Computer and Information Sciences, General37%97%
19New River Community and Technical College
Beaver, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
5Information Technology36%
20Bethany College
Bethany, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Computer Science47%$15,78359%
21Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Moorefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
4Information Technology42%
22Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Computer and Information Sciences, General39%$19,28494%
23West Virginia Junior College - Morgantown
Morgantown, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
3Information Technology71%$19,134
24BridgeValley Community & Technical College
South Charleston, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
2Computer Programming/Programmer, General34%
25Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Keyser, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
1Computer Engineering, General31%

All 25 schools in West Virginia

Every school in West Virginia 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 West Virginia that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
American Public University SystemCharles TownPrivate for-profit2112
West Virginia UniversityMorgantownPublic1483
Valley College - MartinsburgMartinsburgPrivate not-for-profit441
Marshall UniversityHuntingtonPublic351
Mountwest Community and Technical CollegeHuntingtonPublic282
West Virginia University at ParkersburgParkersburgPublic252
Blue Ridge Community and Technical CollegeMartinsburgPublic232
Shepherd UniversityShepherdstownPublic213
Salem UniversitySalemPrivate for-profit182
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical CollegeLoganPublic181
West Virginia State UniversityInstitutePublic171
West Virginia University Institute of TechnologyBeckleyPublic153
Strayer University - West VirginiaScott DepotPrivate for-profit141
Fairmont State UniversityFairmontPublic121
West Virginia Northern Community CollegeWheelingPublic121

What software quality assurance analysts and testers earn in West Virginia

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

Median annual in West Virginia
$62,300
Mean annual
$74,460
Jobs in state
390
What the range looks like
10th pct$37,050Median$62,30090th pct$127,210
Versus the national median
-40.3%

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

Job concentration
0.46×

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

Metro areas in West Virginia

Charleston, WV
$62,300median
Morgantown, WV
$39,060median
50 jobs
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
avg
40 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 West Virginia

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 West Virginia.

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 Information Technology, which awarded 374 degrees in West Virginia in 2024-25, 54.4% 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 9 programs to this occupation. The largest are Computer and Information Sciences, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Programming, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 687 people a year in West Virginia.

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

The median is $62,300 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 40.3% 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 West Virginia?+

25 institutions in West Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 9 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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