What is the difference between QA and SDET roles?

QA engineers focus on test planning, manual testing, and quality processes. SDETs (Software Development Engineers in Test) write automation frameworks and tools. SDETs typically have stronger coding skills and higher salaries.

What testing tools are most in demand?

Selenium, Cypress, and Playwright for web automation. Appium for mobile. Jest and Vitest for unit testing. Postman and REST-assured for API testing. K6 or JMeter for performance testing.

What is the tech scene like in New York?

NYC is the second-largest US tech hub, strong in fintech, media tech, adtech, and enterprise SaaS. Companies like Bloomberg, Datadog, MongoDB, and many startups are headquartered here. The finance-tech intersection creates unique opportunities.

How do NYC tech salaries compare to San Francisco?

Within 5-10% of Bay Area salaries at most companies. Junior: $90K-$140K. Mid: $140K-$200K. Senior: $180K-$300K+. Finance-adjacent tech roles (hedge fund quants, trading systems) can pay significantly more than pure tech roles.