2021‑2022 Software Testing Industry Survey: Salary, Demographics, and Emerging Trends

The 2021 Chinese lunar year marked the second year of the COVID‑19 pandemic and a period of intense competition for internet companies, prompting a deep dive into the testing/QA sector to anticipate market shifts.

Questionnaire Data – 1,859 valid responses were collected, covering participants from all Chinese provinces, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas regions such as North America, Europe, and Australia.

Salary Situation – Over 70% of testers earn more than ¥10,000 per month, about 25% exceed ¥20,000, and nearly 10% surpass ¥30,000. However, roughly 30% still earn below ¥10,000, highlighting income disparity across cities and experience levels.

Salary vs. Region & Experience – First‑tier cities dominate the high‑salary bracket (>¥15,000), while third‑tier and many non‑second‑tier provincial capitals show lower ceilings. Second‑tier cities are catching up, with an increasing share of salaries above ¥30,000‑¥40,000.

Tester Background – Internet enterprises account for >40% of respondents; 8.58% work in BATTMD. Team sizes have grown, with >42% of teams exceeding 15 members, indicating a shift toward larger, more structured testing groups.

Entry Paths – Direct entry after graduation is declining; nearly half transition from other roles or training programs, while training‑institution pathways continue to rise.

Role Distribution – Over 66% are front‑line test/test‑development engineers, ~20% hold test‑management positions, and 12% identify as test developers, reflecting growing interest in test development.

Test Development Ratio – The proportion of test‑development roles remains stable, but the overall test‑to‑development ratio is trending upward as companies cut headcount to improve efficiency.

Left‑Shift / Right‑Shift – Right‑shift activities (user data/log analysis) are increasing, while left‑shift (white‑box testing) adoption lags behind industry expectations.

Testing Process – Design reviews and project retrospectives now involve nearly half of teams, yet >20% still miss requirement analysis and review stages.

Automation Benefits – Only ~17% perceive strong ROI from automation; over 60% view benefits as moderate, indicating ongoing debate about automation investment.

Efficiency Improvement Areas – Functional/regression testing, test data construction, environment deployment, and CI/CD are identified as key targets for boosting productivity.

Progress Barriers – Environmental setup, data availability, and meeting overhead have become the most cited impediments to testing speed.

Future Outlook – While AI and big‑data hype cools, interest shifts to AR/VR (metaverse) and autonomous‑driving technologies driven by the new energy vehicle boom. Testers are encouraged to acquire performance, security, big‑data, and emerging‑tech skills.

Conclusion – The report emphasizes the need for continuous skill upgrades, deeper involvement in the software development lifecycle, and proactive adaptation to evolving industry trends.