Hello folks 
My name is Dan and I’m from the UK
I’m not a Tester (yet), I have an interview for a Software Tester apprenticeship on Monday, but questioning whether to do a Computer Science Msc for my route into Testing instead… Any advice on this front would be greatly appreciated!
I joined Ministry of Testing to gain knowledge, meet some likeminded people and to start my journey into Software Testing 
Welcome to MoT Dan!
I wouldn’t ask someone else to make a choice for me. You have to do what you think is right 
What if I were to advise you to study physics 
You got to do what feels right for you, if you want to do some more Computer Science, then go for it.
Thanks for the welcome Kristof, nice to meet you!
I just wanted to know if anyone had an experience in doing an apprenticeship or had got a Degree in order to go down the Software Tester route, and their thoughts on it.
Welcome to what is probably the most active software quality community in the galaxy (I just made that up.) Well you are in the right place.
As someone whose total formal CS training is 4 months of COBOL to get a certificate, I’m clearly not going to push a focused university degree as the only route. I would however push you do a degree in a field that interests you, and then use it to pivot into Quality if that still grabs you. I should know, I studied a bit electrical, and did not finish because I changed my mind half way. I was actually a coder first and then came here, which is why people tend to think they need to have programing experience. Also, not true. Your career is a journey, it’s personal, but if you own it, it will always bring you joy.
Hi Dan,
Don’t ask me; I qualified as a librarian 44 years ago but have spent 28 years in various QA roles. The first such role was concerned with data quality and then I was involved in specifying a data collection system where using any sort of IT was an optional extra to the primary submission method, paper forms.
In a profession where there is a growing orthodoxy amongst senior managers - but not testers - that there is a cookie-cutter profile for test staff, testing remains one of the few professional fields where there remains space for people who bring diverse knowledge and experience to the table, backed up by targeted training in test methodologies to get you started. Conrad’s advice is sound, because having specific sectorial or subject knowledge as well as testing skills will often give you an edge somewhere down the line in your career.
Thanks for the input guys, it’s really appreciated.
I’m nearing 30 so have done all sorts up until now, I’m more inclined to go with the apprenticeship if it’s successful. On the job experience, and won’t have to ratchet up more blinkin’ debt!
After 2 years whilst working at the company and studying at the local college I’ll have earnt an ISTQB and will be able to apply to be on the Register of IT technicians (BSC). I’ve read up on both but not sure how significant they are in the whole context of a career and learning the field.
Hey Dan, welcome! I actually wrote an article for MoT on this exact thing 
Hopefully there will be something useful in there for you. I’m getting to this post a bit late, as I saw it via The Club [Summary] email. How did your interview on Monday go? 
@cassandrahl This is great, I’ll share it in a few local testing groups, I know lot of people who will find this sort of advice very useful!
Can second that, I don’t have a degree, it took me 2 decades to get here, but, definitely, you don’t need one.
@cassandrahl I did read your link just recently and it was very useful so thank you. Funnily enough I just got confirmation an hour ago that they’re offering me the job.
And so it begins!
Congrats Daniel.
Well, I do hope that just joining this awesome community is the thing that boosted your confidence and will continue to guide you and the community itself onwards and upwards. Congratulations once again @danirons
That’s great news! Congratulations.
Thank you very much guys 
Excellent news, Dan! Many congrats to you. 
Enjoy the adventure. And the community is always here for you when you need it.
Thanks for the kind words Simon!