Day 4: Read "Navigating A Career Path In Software Testing" and share how you fell into testing

30 Days of Testing
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After university, I thought about becoming a business analyst. I was even offered a job in GE Money, but it was cancelled before I signed the contract. I needed to start working and earning some money and I had a friend who was a software tester and he inspired me to try that route. I managed to find a job as a manual software tester in a bank and after a few months my friend wrote to me asking me to try an interview in the company he was working for. I was successful and became a test analyst in a large IT company.

After 3 years I started to lose the sense of work. We were doing the same things over and over again and it was almost impossible to change anything. I quit and went freelance, realising that I needed a sense of freedom, purpose and power to change things.

Then I found a job offer in a teal organisation with no hierarchy, based on self-management. And I am still working there. I do the testing all the time, but I have already combined it with customer support, project management, leadership and also coaching in an internal coaching programme.

What I love about QA and testing is that it is a bridge between technology, business and people and has endless possibilities. Also, deep down I believe that testers are people who want to make the world (and software) better :slight_smile:

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My fell into testing thanks to a good friend of mine who has been in testing for almost a decade. I was a stay-at-home mom from 2018-2021 taking care of 2 kiddos. After a trip to my hometown Vietnam and almost got stuck there because COVID-19’s lock-down, I came back Finland and enrolled to a basic Java programming course in Open University of Helsinki and I felt in love with the idea of changing career into IT. I was doing different programming courses with the hope that I was gonna land a software engineer’s job. I hadn’t thought software testing as another option until I met this long lost friend.

My friend is a senior QA engineer in the biggest corporation (S-group) in Finland. He told me that I have tester’s material and I should apply for first IT’s job as a tester which is normally less competitive than a software engineer’s role. He was right. I got my first IT job as software test in local Finnish bank. I’ve been working as a tester for over a year now. I love my job :heart_eyes: Every single day I’m looking forward to open my laptop to work with people in the development team, analyzing requirements, investigating issues and reporting my knowledge of the system under test.

In the first few months, as a new joiner, I found many interesting bugs which make me proud and see my own added values to the team. I enjoy working with developers. I don’t see any walls between us though I’m aware that testers and developers think differently. As I’m still in early stage of software testing career, I’d like to focus on develop my testing and test automation skills. In further future I’d like to grow into a coaching role where I can contribute to change people’s view about software testing in companies in Finland.

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My career started in the creative space as a graphic designer to web design to UX design and now to testing. I have always had a knack for creative work, but I wanted something more human-centered and analytical. I was introduced to quality assurance by a family member who worked in tech recruiting. When I learned about the career, I found that there were many overlapping principles with UX, but that it was more focused on technical skills than design. I have always been drawn to quality and excellence in my work and discovered that testing was the space to develop those skills systematically. UX and usability testing still peak my interest, but I figured that building a strong foundation in understanding product quality and processes in the SDLC will only help me grow professionally. I have enjoyed how curiosity-led the field is and how much more structured and systematic it feels compared to design.

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Love this, @stuart.machek. :smile:

@naovy, if you’re up for writing or sharing in another format it would be great to hear move about how you’ve combined your role with other types of roles. Have a good feeling folks would welcome that as I imagine it opens up many career opportunities. Feel free to start a fresh post on The Club if you wanted to.

So great to read this, @anh.vumartell. Congrats on making the jump. We need more folks like you to inspire folks who perhaps feel like they can’t get back into work/switch career in the early years of parenting life.

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How i fell into testing:

  • After University, i was looking for jobs. Mainly design jobs, but i was open to any role. A video games testing role came up which I applied to and got it, as i already had a passion for computer games. The initial plan was to join the games company to make my way to their design department but I ended up enjoying testing more in the end. My testing career only really kicked of after i joined a software testing consultancy called Transition Consultancy Ltd, which was bought by Qualitest. I only really saw testing as a career after i joined them. built a great foundation around testing with them. They did their own testing events, internal talks and presentations and paid a fixed fee if you wrote articles around testing.

Some core things i enjoy about testing:

  • Sense making as James Bach called it. Think testers do this a lot
  • solving testing / testability problems
  • always learning and sharing, different clients, different projects, different tech etc
  • Debugging / Investigating issues to understand what the sut is doing
  • Pair testing with other testers, developers, architects etc
  • Learning / Figuring out how something works and how things fit together
  • Systems thinking
  • lately coding and writing tools
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My favorite part of the article is when it mentioned ‘Overlooked skill’ and it is facintating how those skills can get you pretty far. Knowing how to navigate through unix or apply CI/CD could land you a job and provide easier path to setting up to success.

I remember working for a company when I had no Unix experience, it took me two weeks before I could start my role as Unix itself and setting up packages, security etc. is very intensive and difficult for most people!

I truly recommend learning unix if you wish to feel confident in your work and solve issues that could be detrimental to anyone!

Another thing that fascinated me is that people skills are fundamental for a QA! They are very necessary so that you’re able convey issues or support others efficiently!

My story how I fell into testing?

Originally I always dreamed of becoming a cybersecurity specialist but also wanted to create things at the same time and it was hard to decide on what to venture into. When I joined my first class in QA during my masters, I fell in love with it because it enabled me to engage with my creativity, attention to detail and problem-solving skills shine a light!

I was luckily offered a cloud computing role for a consultancy company, but unfortunately, they ran out of buyers who would like a cloud computing engineer. However, they offered me training in QA as it was in high demand and they placed me with sky and the rest is history!

And now ever since I stumbled into MoT, I fell in love with testing further as I am able to discuss with an amazing community and learn further every day!

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After ten years working as an office administrator I decided to requalify. I found a mentor that inspired me and encouraged to change my career and become QA tester. I trusted the idea. Soft skills like strong self-motivation, Growth mindset, curiosity are qualities that are innate to my personality and I’m definitely going to transfer them all to my new carrier, because It helped me a lot to succeed in my previous carrier.
This article once again confirmed my right choice, though I’m still searching for my first job in IT industry.
This one I’m taking with me “There are so many possibilities and opportunities out there for testers or anyone wanting to enter into a technical field. Your current job might not be providing a path to your continued success, but it doesn’t mean you can’t provide one for yourself.”

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I take this part for myself “Coming up with your own career path in testing requires you to be creative and adaptable.”
I’m changing my career path - from administrator straight to QA testers. All by myself. Though still with a status “Open to work”, but with Strong Self-Motivation!

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It’s funny how life can take unexpected turns, isn’t it? Sometimes, we stumble into things we never thought we’d enjoy, and they end up becoming a passion. That’s exactly how I found myself in the world of testing.

I never wanted to be a tester, and I can completely relate to that sentiment. I mean, who dreams of being a tester when they’re a kid, right? But here I am, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. It was all by chance, a serendipitous twist in my career journey, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

What I’ve discovered on this unexpected path is that being a tester is so much more than just finding bugs in software. It’s a continuous learning experience, a front-row seat to the ever-evolving world of technology. Every day is a chance to explore, adapt, and grow.

One of the most fulfilling aspects of being a tester is the opportunity to interact with a wide range of stakeholders. It’s not just about sitting in a room and testing software; it’s about collaborating with developers, designers, product managers, and more. It’s like being a bridge between different worlds, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.

But perhaps the most beautiful thing about being a tester is the ability to have empathy for the end user. We’re not just looking for bugs; we’re thinking about the people who will use the product. We step into their shoes, see the world through their eyes, and strive to make their lives better by delivering less buggy products.

In the end, being a tester is not just a job; it’s a calling, a chance to make technology more human, and a path to ensure that the digital world is more user-friendly. So, if you ever find yourself in a role you never expected, like I did, remember that the journey can be full of surprises and rewards. Embrace the unexpected, and who knows, you might discover your true passion along the way. :rocket:

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I have to admit that I procrastinated in responding to the Day 4 topic (oops). Growing up and throughout my education, I never had dreams of becoming a QA; in fact, I wasn’t even aware of such a job role exists. In retrospect, I have never knew what my dream job was.
The decision to move from Indonesia to Berlin was actually forced by my mother. Even then I didn’t know what major to pursue. It was only after my mother mentioned that I spent a lot of time on computers during junior and high school that I decided to apply for Computer Science in Berlin.

While studying, I did internship and also worked part time as full-stack engineer. My last position was with a gaming company which the goal was to upgrade the app from scratch. My contract was limited only until the app was done. And after the launch of version 2.0, we discovered a major bug related to the database migration. Although there were many challenges, it was great experience for me. I gained a lot of knowledge as a developer, and more. Due to the small size of the company, I also took on various other roles. Even the database migration bug was a valuable lesson for me and looking back it was probably the thing I remember the most.

However, when my contract ended, I had to look for new job. At that time, I was open to any roles, because my main goal was to earn money. I applied to several companies without thinking too much on specific roles. Surprisingly, one of the applications I sent was for a content creator position. Andt hat one application was the one I got call back pretty quickly. I was informed about another open role that might be more interesting to me – QA. That’s the first time I heard about QA. After hearing the details of the QA role, it instantly reminded me of the bug from my previous company. I ended up working in that QA position for almost three years. So that was the story on how I ended up being QA.

What I find most fulfilling in my job is the opportunity to constantly learn and grow, a perk that I think comes with being a QA. We are kinda forced to have knowledge in all area. In contrast to my previous role as a developer, where my focus was primarily on the details of my work, being in QA allows me to broaden my horizons. And I appreciate being part of community that comes with this role. Working as a QA enables me to connect with people from various backgrounds and with varied knowledge. I tenjoy collaborating with different people and getting insights that I might not have gained if I had remained solely as a developer.

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I’m a career changer. I had been working as a small animal vet for 8 years, when I burned out pretty bad and knew I had to take a longer break from my job.
Since I had always been interested in tech, I decided to take a coding bootcamp course for women. Although I was certain that coding is rocket science and there’s no way I can do it, I still went ahead with the course and to my surprise learned that coding is hard but not that hard!
A decision had been made - tech it is! But I didn’t know where to start, cause I knew I didn’t want to go back to uni to study computer science. I wanted to learn while working.

I talked to my good friend, who also worked in tech and he advised me to try testing. And that was that! I did a 4 mth testing course and after that managed to get a summer internship which later turned into a permanent position. I haven’t regretted my decision for a second! Testing world is so exciting and I want to learn more and more!

What I love most about my job is the “outside of the box” thinking and problem solving.

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I am a rather strange case of a DEV that become a Tester. At one point during a work one of my colleague from work that I think it is safe to say was also our mentor for the most part, told me to consider that kind of a career path. After I decided to change jobs, I started my first Job as an automation tester/QA Engineer and I was surprised how things were different and how working in a dynamic startup is like. The challenge for me is to keep track of things, focus and try to make things good enough, not making things perfect.

I think it would be great if I could find some people for:

  • Pair Testing
  • Mentoring

I’ve been coding for some time E2E tests using Playwright with Typescript. I am also getting more and more involved in the Backend tests with Typescript and Jest. And am doing a bit of coding in Python on the side, I have one small project for an API testing that I think I’ll finally share here:

So I have about 3 years of experience as a Tester and I am still learning not to forget about the basics an fundamentals when doing my job. Even though it is not that easy for me in the dynamic environment.

I really hope that I could find some more people to collaborate here.

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Thanks for sharing, @tests.

Some people come to mind:

Ben Dowen, Lisi Hocke, Maaret Pyhäjärvi, Lisa Crispin, Melissa Eaden and Clare Norman.

Perhaps follow them online and see where that might lead.

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I did a computer games design course from 2009 - 2012.

I was looking at getting an entry level position at a video games company.

My first role was a functionality and localisation qa role at a games testing lab back in the mid 2010s. It was a fun role. Testing games for nintendo 3ds and Wii U.

Originally I was using my testing experience to become a games designer. I would say I enjoyed QA a lot more. Finding all the cool and funny wacky glitches. It’s amazing seeing the input you make to a product can help it to be userable and accessible to the consumer. Knowing I made a difference to the product quality.

Currently in my ninth year in QA and had experience working in video games industry and currently test slot games in the gambling industry.

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Hello, I have a degree in Computer Science and a previous master’s degree in Radiotherapy, in which I’ve worked for 10 years, 5 years as a Radiotherapist, and 5 years lecturing at the university. I received 2 job offers when I finished my degree in Computer Science, one as a Business Analyst and another as a Junior Tester. Since both roles were for the same company, the consultant dropped my application because the competitor consultant already shared my CV with the company to be a Tester. My first experience as a Tester back in 2017 was great because I learned computer language and SQL which helped me a lot with troubleshooting and I used the people skills that I’ve learned from previous experienced working with students and oncological patients. Immediately identifying communication as a skill is important and has become much more important now, for any team or company’s success, good communication to your team is the key. So many QAE are struggling to be specialized or to evolve in their career because of a gap in their communication skill, to share their ideas and argue about the findings. A good QAE should have the big picture mentality, it can connect the dots between the pieces.

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