Testing jobs consist of analysing the operation of a system or application under controlled conditions. The aim is to look at all possible eventualities and ensure that the system or application is ‘bug free’. The role of a Testing job is to make things go wrong to determine that what is meant to happen, does. First thing’s first, if you are looking to start your career in software testing you have to be fully committed and interested in the area. You have to have high levels of concentration, good memory, attention to detail, good communications skills and able to work well in a team.
Qualifications & Skills
It is recommended that you have the ISEB or ISTQB Foundation Certificate in Software Testing as a minimum requirement. The ISTQB is the International Software Testing Qualification Board and there are three levels within this qualification including the foundation level, advanced level and the expert level.
If you don’t have one of these qualifications, there is a chance that the employer won’t even consider you for the job. The two qualifications are similar and you do not need to have both qualifications, you will be recognised with one of them.
There are also many skills required along with these qualifications. First of all, testing techniques are key. It is important to have complete knowledge of black box testing techniques. These include Boundary Value Analysis, State Transition, Classification Diagrams and Equivalence Partitioning.
The ideal test engineer should have a 'test to break' attitude which is the ability to understand the point of view of the customer, a desire for quality and attention to detail. Being able to communicate well with the developer as well as being able to ensure the end user fully understands the instructions. Judgement skills are also important in order to assess high-risk or critical areas of an application on which to focus testing efforts when time is limited.
Experience with software testing tools is most beneficial towards you if you are looking to start work in software testing- this will benefit yourself and your career. An example of tools that experience is required with by recruiters is performance testing tools, test management tools and open source testing tools.
Salary
The average starting salary for software testing is around £25,000-£35,000 and with high levels of experience it can reach around £50,000.
Roles
There are a number of different roles within the Testing field. These include Test Analysts, Test Manager, Test Engineer.
Is this job for you?
Do you have a natural curiosity?
Do you have good judgement skills?
Do you have the ability to work in a team and as an individual?
Do you have a quality understanding of the software development process?
Do you have the ability to work under pressure?
Do you have the IT skills?
If the answer is yes to all of these, then it seems you hold a few of the qualities needed for the role and you are ready to start searching for your perfect Testing job.
Find your perfect Testing job by clicking here.