Tester and QA Engineer - jobs and salaries in Poland

Testers and QA (Quality Assurance) Engineers play a key role in the software development and deployment process, as they are responsible for ensuring the quality and security of the product. Their task is to verify the software created by programmers, meaning they look for any shortcomings and errors in the systems being developed.

In short, testers search for so-called bugs/holes that could jeopardize the proper functioning of web applications, mobile apps, games, banking systems, etc. Among their daily tasks, one can distinguish designing and executing software tests, analyzing results, and preparing reports on found errors.

A good tester possesses not only technical skills but also "detective-like" traits such as perceptiveness, inquisitiveness, and the ability for logical, analytical, and critical thinking. The best ones also demonstrate creativity and think outside the box. This allows them to excel at identifying inconsistencies and errors in software.

What is their situation in the job market in Poland? And most importantly, how much do they earn depending on experience or type of contract? 

We invite you to review the most important information about working as a tester based on the latest IT Community Report, in which IT professionals and people preparing for work in the IT industry took part.

Who are Polish software testers?

Testers are the second largest group (after programmers) of IT specialists in Poland. They constitute about 16.5% of all employees in the industry (programmers make up 46.0%).

The vast majority of our respondents working in a quality assurance specialization have completed higher education – a total of 80.6% (including 42.6% with second-cycle studies [Master's degree], 26.8% with first-cycle studies [Bachelor's degree], and 11.2% with postgraduate studies).

Most respondents in this field are manual testers, accounting for 34.0% of all QA employees surveyed. The next 31.5% are QA specialists, responsible for ensuring product quality and coordinating testing efforts. Another significant group consists of automation testers, who specialize in writing automated testing scripts (28.0%).

Most people involved in testing focus on verifying the correctness of web applications (77.0%) and APIs (64.4%). Testing mobile (32.8%) and desktop (31.2%) applications is also popular.

Tester Work Methodology: How Do They Do It?

Depending on needs and requirements, testers use various testing methods. Among the most commonly used approaches are:

• Executing Test Scenarios: A method used by the vast majority, around 90% of testers (regardless of role), involving creating and executing specific test cases based on defined user behaviors.
• Specification-Based Testing: Also extremely popular (used by over 80-85% of QA specialists), meaning testing according to specifications, requirements, project documents, etc.
• Exploratory Testing: Very frequently used, especially by manual testers and QA specialists (nearly 90% of them), involving actively exploring the product, identifying potential problems, and reporting defects.
• Ad Hoc Testing: Used by about half of the testers (49-61% depending on the role); this is testing without a specific plan or scenario to quickly identify critical issues.
• Bug Hunting: A popular technique (used by approx. 40-55% of respondents), involving actively searching for errors and inconsistencies in system functionality.

You can check exactly which method is most popular in a specific sub-specialization in the IT Community Survey 2025 Report in the detailed report on Testers and QA.

Do testers use programming languages?

Yes and no. Let's elaborate.

Not all testers know how to program. Manual testers do not need programming skills. It's worth noting here that the position of a manual tester is popular for this reason among people just starting in the IT industry.

However, knowledge of the most popular programming languages, even at a basic level, greatly facilitates testers' work, as it allows for a better understanding of the systems being developed, and for automation testers, it is essential for writing scripts.

Programming Languages Used by Testers / QA

Let's look at which programming languages (and query languages in this case) testers use in their work.

• Manual Testers: Most often indicate SQL (41.6%). In second place is the declaration of not using any language (36.2%), and the podium is completed by JavaScript (16.5%).
• Automation Testers: Java (42.5%) and Python (35.0%) dominate here. SQL (32.5%) and JavaScript (30.5%) are also frequently used.
• QA Specialists: In this group, SQL (35.1%) is the most popular, followed closely by TypeScript (34.7%). Further down are JavaScript (31.6%) and Python (27.6%).

Other Tools Used by Testers / QA

Most often, testers and QA do not use these languages in their pure form, but through tools such as:

• Postman: By far the most popular tool, used by over half of manual testers (57.3%) and QA specialists (58.6%), as well as nearly half of automation testers (48.4%), mainly for API testing.
• Selenium: A key tool for automation testers (49.5%), although also used by QA specialists (24.3%).
• Playwright: A rapidly gaining popularity tool, especially among QA specialists (38.3%) and automation testers (34.9%).
• JUnit: Used mainly by automation testers (20.3%), often in conjunction with Java.
• Cypress: Another popular tool in automation, indicated by approx. 17% of automation testers and QA specialists.
• SoapUI: A tool for API testing (especially SOAP), indicated by 10-13% of testers in various roles.

It is also worth noting that a significant portion of manual testers (25.5%) declared in our survey that they do not use any specialized tools of this type in their daily work.

Referring to other specializations such as Test Team Leader, Test Analyst, Test Manager, individuals in these roles also use the languages, frameworks, and tools mentioned above to varying extents. It should be remembered that leadership positions are usually held by people who started as testers, and thus possess a whole spectrum of testing competencies in their arsenal.

How much does a Tester / QA Engineer earn in 2025?

Based on the responses of our survey participants in the latest study, the average salaries for testers and QA on an Employment Contract range from PLN 6,635 to PLN 9,538 per month. This is a wide range resulting, among other things, from different sub-specializations and levels of experience, so let's look at the available details.

Salaries vs. type of contract

Salaries of Testers and QA on Employment Contract

Here are the salaries for the main testing sub-specializations on an employment contract:

• Automation Tester - PLN 9,538 average, PLN 9,000 median
• Test Team Leader - PLN 9,080 average, PLN 8,000 median
• QA Specialist - PLN 8,513 average, PLN 8,000 median
• Manual Tester - PLN 6,635 average, PLN 6,020 median

These are monthly net (take-home) amounts, i.e., after taxes.

Salaries of Testers and QA on B2B

And these are the values for B2B contracts:

• Automation Tester - PLN 19,396 average, PLN 19,000 median
• QA Specialist - PLN 17,801 average, PLN 17,000 median
• Manual Tester - PLN 12,942 average, PLN 12,500 median

These are net values on the invoice, so it's important to remember to first deduct ZUS (social security contributions) and tax (according to the chosen accounting method). Therefore, they cannot be directly compared with the values from an employment contract.

Salaries vs. Experience

Until now, we have omitted one fact. Namely, that there are significant differences in the salary levels of testers within a given specialization, depending on the employee's level of experience, known as seniority (junior / mid / senior), which is linked to years of work experience. This is illustrated by the chart below:

Juniors in the testing area have just over 2 years of experience. Mid/Regular level individuals have nearly 5 years, and Seniors have over 9 years of experience.

Now let's check how salaries change in the three most popular specializations with experience, on an employment contract.

Manual Tester:

• Junior Manual Tester - PLN 5,237 average, PLN 5,000 median
• Mid/Regular Manual Tester - PLN 6,438 average (no median data in this group)
• Senior Manual Tester - PLN 9,044 average, PLN 9,000 median

QA Specialist:

• Junior QA Engineer - PLN 5,734 average, PLN 5,600 median
• Mid/Regular QA Engineer - PLN 7,986 average, PLN 7,200 median
• Senior QA Engineer - PLN 10,850 average, PLN 11,000 median

Automation Tester:

• Junior Automation Tester - PLN 6,084 average, PLN 5,800 median
• Mid/Regular Automation Tester - PLN 8,507 average, PLN 8,000 median
• Senior Automation Tester - PLN 12,592 average, PLN 11,500 median.

These data show that the salary progression for manual testers is not as rapid as, for example, for automation testers.

Is it worth becoming a Tester?

Yes, it is! Software testing is a very interesting and broad area of the IT sector.

Testers have a real impact on improving product quality and the opportunity to participate in creating innovative projects. Their work offers great development prospects and can also be a gateway to the industry for people starting from scratch.

Inquisitive, meticulous individuals with a good eye for detail will certainly find their place here. In addition to "critical" and analytical thinking, this job requires creativity and the ability to collaborate with other team members. For a beginner, understanding the basic concepts related to programming and IT systems, as well as progressively learning testing methods and tools, will be important. Of course, knowledge of programming languages is a big plus, but it is not essential, especially at the beginning of a career.

If you are considering trying your hand in these areas, be sure to check out our job offers for tester and QA positions.

Summary

We strongly encourage you to also familiarize yourself with our Salary Report, which is updated regularly and has separate reports for most specializations, including Software Tester and QA. Check below.

DAILY SALARY REPORT 💲

Knowledge of current salary realities will certainly help you make beneficial career decisions 👌🏻