Software testing career
software testing careers can be defined as the efforts that involve making a product bug-free, matching the given functional requirements, ensuring logical efficiency coverage, by a series of verification and validation processes. For a person to take this as a career path, it is essential to have some specific skills like good analytical sense, basic knowledge of testing concepts, competence in communication and task management, and a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in computer science as a major. A Software Tester’s career flow starts from Associate Tester, through Test Execution Analyst, Senior Tester, Technical Testing Lead, Test Manager, while the titles may vary from organization to organization.
Education Required to Build Careers in Software developer
To be considered for a Software tester position, at a minimum, you need to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems, mathematics, or the equivalent. Some employers require a master’s degree as well. With some exposure to the database, it should be relatively easy to land an entry-level job at a company. Some employers may accept applicants without a formal education in one of these areas instead of substantial technical experience and knowledge. However, the more education and experience you have, the more appealing you appear to an employer.
1. Non Technical skills
• Analytical skill Software tester should have good analytical skills, which will help to understand a complex system, break it up into a smaller system and write test cases.
• Verbal and Written Communication skills To become a good software tester, he/she must have good verbal and written communication skills. During defects or other follow-ups, a tester needs to collaborate with a developer, it will require good communication.
• Time Management & Organization Skills A tester should be good at time management, as it is directly connected with the release of the code. He/she should manage to work efficiently with organization skills.
• Attitude Software tester must have a great attitude to the ‘test to break’ system, to self-learning, to improve technical skills and other skills. Sometimes tester needs to take ownership to complete a task without any supervision.
• Passion A software tester must have a passion for the testing field so that he/she can be involved in it.
2. Technical skills
• Basic knowledge of Database/SQL The software application has a large number of data in the background, which stores on different types of databases such as Oracle, My SQL, etc. This data needs to validate, in that case, SQL queries.
• Basic knowledge of Linux commands Most of the software systems are deployed Linux machines, hence testers must know Linux.
• Knowledge and experience of Automation tool
Software testers can develop knowledge and hands-on experience of any automation tool like UFT, Selenium, TOSCA, etc.
• Knowledge and Experience of a Test Management Tool
Test management is a significant aspect of software testing. . Hence it is good to have the knowledge and hands-on experience on any test management tool
Defect Tracking tool
In the test life cycle defect tracking and defect life cycle play an important role, hence it should be properly managed and tracked by a software tester with the help of a defect tracking tool. As the entire team, including testers, developers, and managers, is involved in defect tracking, it becomes necessary. QC, TFS, JIRA, etc are the tools available for defect tracking. Of course, after all of the possible paths that we mentioned before, there are still dozens more. One can specialize in the agile world, vary in the types of tests and tools, become an expert in the area of business, conduct research in the field of testing, or inspire others to become testers by speaking at conferences, attending meetups, and disseminating knowledge through blogs (like this one!), social media, or teaching courses and workshops. Following are the different career tracks as a software tester
• Manual Testing
Manual tester validates software application manually with the combinations of test conditions and scenarios.
• Automation testing
The automation tester is responsible for automating manual test case execution with the automation tools to reduce the execution time.
• Performance testing
The software application’s responsiveness is checked with a tool like LoadRunner, WEBLoad, etc.
• Business Analyst analyses and assesses the company’s business model and workflow.
FAQ’s
Why is Software Testing Important?
ting is important because software bugs could be expensive and even dangerous. They can potentially cause monetary and human loss. For example, Nissan cars had to recall over 1 million cars from the market due to software failure in the airbag sensory detectors and Two accidents have been reported due to this software failure.
What are the skills required?
- Create and document automated and manual test plans and procedures, execute tests, analyze results, and report test problems and bugs.
- Perform software testing in all phases of the design-develop-test-release-maintain software life cycle
- Understand various development methodologies.
- Possess thorough knowledge of several testing tools
- Be fluent in UNIX, Linux, and/or Windows, as well as scripting and command-line tools
- Be an excellent communicator (written and verbal)
Some positions require programming skills and an understanding of databases. You don’t necessarily need years of programming experience to be a tester, but it wouldn’t hurt to go through the basics.
How can these Testing skills help in career growth?
The speed with which you grow You can start your career as a software tester with an entry-level position. will depend on your exposure to different technologies, your experience, and your awareness of testing methods. Professional training and technical expertise will help to speed up your growth. You could choose to specialize in a specific sector, for example, the media sector or financial services, or you may branch out and develop a knowledge of many sectors.
Moreover, as software testers essentially work with business teams, you could move into business-fronting roles as well.
Advancement in software development roles is another possibility.
Some of the trending testing technologies that a tester may find helpful for better career growth are:
- Big Data testing
- Mobile testing
- Testing with TDD & BDD
- DevOps
- Automation with Continuous Integrations
- Visual Validation testing
- Internet of Things and Hardware testing
