The methods and techniques that are used within the software testing are purely intended to find software bugs and to ensure that the product is good to go live. To learn more about this, you can refer to the article – Basics of Software Testing. If you are interested in being immersed in the software development process, a QA manual testing job could be the right fit for you. In this post we’ll examine and explain the various career growth path options in software testing. There’s always one sure way to level up in your QA testing career — apply for a new job at a higher level or secure a promotion.
Average salary range of a software tester in the US is $45,993 – $74,935. Average Software testing career package in India is Rs 247,315 – Rs 449,111. Below are some of the non-technical skills that every software tester is required to carry within themselves to excel in their career. To succeed as a QA manual tester, you’ll need, first and foremost, to understand the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
How To Become a Software Tester (Career Path)
Training someone else forces you to go through the paces yourself — perhaps you’ll remember and be extra mindful of some basic skills that have become automatic over the years. Reporting to or catching up with your test lead is vital too. You have to remember this is your first-ever testing role and there will be millions of questions you will be urged to ask. If you do so, you will demonstrate your willingness to learn and question, as well as receive feedback. Now, however, with it being a part of many teams’ processes, testers need to be involved as soon as possible to collaborate as much as possible.
- In this blog, we take a look at software testing career growth and how to progress in the industry.
- Either way, give it your full effort to find, report and track software defects.
- A tester, at this point, can start to understand the details of their tasks, as well as roughly how long they will take to complete.
- The two main types of QA manual testing are white box and black box.
However, there are still things that require human interaction and the expertise of a QA manual tester. We’ll discuss the differences in more detail over the next few sections. That said, there’s no need to leave the industry if for some reason you are not willing or able to continue your career as a QA. In this blog, we take a look at software testing career growth and how to progress in the industry. What you can control is your attitude toward change — learn new skills, tools and processes to take advantage of every opportunity. How you level up your testing career depends on your ability to adapt and manage change as an active participant, role model or leader.
How to navigate organizational changes
For some, the first step on their software testing career growth path will be as a software testing trainee or intern. As a beginner, they might attend courses provided by the hiring company and fulfill some practical tasks on the project. The scope of software testers is increasing every day and the newer evolvement of IoT, AI, etc. have started making a significant impact on the software testing industry. As per a recent report, the testing market is ready to touch a USD $50 Billion market cap by the end of 2026 at a CAGR of approx 19% during the forecast period.
With test automations on the rise, it is easy to think that there is nothing in future job market for manual testers. Manual testing is rather evolving as per changing landscape of automation. The QA manual tester job is a starting point in the quality assurance realm. You might begin as a QA junior tester before being entrusted with manual tests. Once you have proven yourself, you can move on to become a testing analyst or testing manager.
Roles and responsibilities of a Junior Tester
You can also achieve a specialized in certain business domains like Telecom, Finance or Health Care. You could perform the tech expert role within your company or decide to take a path of an independent consultant. These specialists are usually paid more and are expected to provide high-value advice from outside an organization. Automation is an example of a technical role in general, and this career route can be a good alternative for those not drawn to management. Regular responsibilities for a software tester include gathering and analyzing requirements, creating test cases and/or automation scripts and executing test scenarios. They are also expected to find and document defects and perform different kinds of functional and nonfunctional testing.
There’s no straightforward entry point to being a software tester. For many people around the world, it is usually (but not always) their college experiences which inform their next professional steps in life. This is not the case for the tester path as many diplomas and universities do not provide relevant courses within their curriculum. Please note you do not need ALL the technical skills listed above. The technical skill sets required vary with the Job Role and company processes.
Three habits to thrive in your first engineering leadership role
At one time, a career in software testing was considered as the last option to be part of the IT industry. However, automation and technological revolution has changed the scenario completely. Software testing is seen as a respectful job and people see themselves growing in the field. If you are excited qa manual course by dealing with people and processes, you can choose to aim for a managerial position like QA Manager or Project Manager. You will need to work closely with team leaders and client representatives. You’ll need to have a deep understanding of software development methodologies and lifecycle.
We discuss the expectations at each level, the roles and responsibilities and how you need to keep updating yourself in terms of knowledge. Project management is another broad field available for future career development. This post explains the wide choice of career paths available in software testing after being a trainee, such as test automation, QA management or consultant.
Testers are great at what they do, including bringing assumptions to the table, foreseeing risks other members might not have, and making sure the entire team thinks of quality first. Given the different hats that people wear in this role, I would say testers utilize a mix of both technical and business skills. Compensation of a software tester varies from company to company.
For that matter, have you ever spoken to a software developer with more than 3 years’ experience? Is your organization structure / roles and responsibility different? Individuals who are already working in other industries can move into software testing by undergoing training on software testing. Whether it is a desktop or mobile application, an e-commerce site or a medical tool will defines the testing techniques and methods to use. Be the QA professional who volunteers to take on high-profile and complex projects. Be the first team to, for example, automate regression tests.
Want to stay technical as a manager? Stay curious
For example, a mobile app developer will craft a test case to see what happens when the user gets a phone call or text while in their app. They’ll also need to test this across different types of devices and operating systems (OS). Maybe you won’t lead a full-scale QA resistance and march on the corporate office demanding fixes for all the defects in the software — or maybe you will. Either way, give it your full effort to find, report and track software defects. Persistence is a valuable skill for leveling up your QA career.
