Looking forward for a career change

Hi All

I am looking forward to start my career as a QA. I want to start from basics of testing and want to get a deeper knowledge about this field.

I was a teacher with a computer science education background. I have recently migrated to Canada. Thus, looking for a new beginning.

Any help on what to and how to grow in this field is really appreiated.

Ekta :slight_smile:

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Hey Ekta,

You’ve come to the right place. I’d recommend starting with this article by @heather_reid

Happy to chat more to help you move forward too…

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Welcome @ektak :wave:

Have you seen the free Essentials course? There are activities here on The Club to go along with it, an excellent way to get an interactive introduction to software testing :grin:

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Thank you. I will go through the article for sure.

Yes. It is the first thing I started with. I will need guidance of how to go further once I have completed this course.

Thank you.

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Myself and @mwinteringham would be happy to help :grin:

I have just completed the essential training. How should i proceed further?

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Congratulations! Was there anything from the training or the document that @sjprior linked that particularly interested you? That might help me guide you for your next steps :slight_smile:

I have never worked in an IT organization. I do have strong logical and reasoning skills. As, I posses education background in computer science.

Just i a way that i start gaining knowledge so that I am able to project myself in the industry as i said with no prior experience.

I will like to learn about AGILE methodology, how to do basic testing, writing test cases. I am very new and disoriented. I could really help some guidance.

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I do want to learn basics of software testing, I think it all starts from manual testing and test cases, finding and reporting bugs.

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Hey I might sound silly but is there any virtual certificate given by end of each course we take @MOT

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Hi @ektak

Interesting that you’re bringing this up because we’ve been exploring features around a portfolio. We feel being to demonstrate your ability is an important aspect of personal development and recruitment. So we’re actually going to be offering virtual certificates in the forms of badges for completed work. But more importantly, we’ll have a portfolio system soon in which you can complete activities on our courses and then show off your work for future employers.

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Thank you so much. This will be great help for people like me who are trying to shift their paradigm completely.
I also want to ask when will the other essential courses be available. will it take longer than sooner?

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The Essentials pathway is currently on track to be released in May. I’m actively editing lessons and preparing activities at the moment :slight_smile:

Apologies for the delay replying @ektak, I wanted to be sure I could give you a super detailed reply :slight_smile:

As you’re interested in Agile testing specifically, I’d suggest joining us for 30 Days of Agile Testing starting on Monday, 15th March.

Given what you have replied with here, I would suggest exploring the following live online options:

  • RiskStorming Online with @berenvd - excellent building blocks for testing here as testing focuses on risk primarily.
  • Continuous Testing Throughout the SDLC with @danashby - it will help you to understand what the development lifecycle is and how testing fits into that.
  • Introduction to Creating Test Strategies with @huib.schoots - very useful for any level you are at in testing to think about how you will approach your testing.
  • Our upcoming Masterclass with @georgiabloyce - It’ll be very useful for you in the future to think about how to frame conversations with your teammates.
  • Exploratory Testing Week - a full week of hands on activities, workshops and webinars. You’ll be able to learn by both doing and seeing how others have solved challenges.
  • Uncovering the Power of Browser DevTools with @utchbe - in all my time mentoring software testers, I still believe that browser dev tools are not explored enough. If you’re interested in web testing, getting to grips with this will be incredibly valuable in your career.
  • TestBash Home - a full 24-hour software testing conference. I believe that this will give you both a fantastic initial learning experience from the presentations throughout the event but it will also give you connections in the community to help advance your learning long after the event has passed :slight_smile:
  • Exploring Requirements with a Tester’s Mindset with @janet_gregory - I have just attended this workshop this week myself and think it would be very valuable for you to attend. I believe it will give you an even deeper dive into the topics that will be raised during Georgia’s masterclass helping you to engage more with your teams when you get into an IT organisation.

You might want to explore the Ministry of Testing Scholarship to help you with the above recommendations.

For articles or pre-recorded content may I suggest:

I realise there are a lot of suggestions here which may be overwhelming so please don’t hesitate to ask me for more information or advice :slight_smile:

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That is actually over whelming. Thank you for putting so much effort and time to help me out. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

I will take little time to absorb this all and understand which one to do next from these.

Also, I am looking at job description these days. So , my question is ’ is it okay to target the tools in demand and learn them specifically? ’ to be able to put out that I know these.

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That’s a great question. Short term i don’t see how having some experience with tools and tech as a bad thing.

Ultimately you want to get moving in the field. Longer term I’d be cautious about “chasing the hot topic” too much. Key skills and approaches will translate between tools pretty well.

As you’ve already said …

I’m a believer in starting with something. It will be valuable learning even if you need to switch tools.

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Apologies for overwhelming you @ektak :see_no_evil: I can get a bit excited when someone is new to testing and as eager to learn as you are! I really do mean it when I say reach out to me if you have any questions at all :slight_smile:

Re your question, I’d agree with @flynnbops on this one. It’s sensible to get experience with tools and tech that you commonly see in job descriptions but equally, that can get overwhelming too when, as Aaron says, you’re “chasing the hot topic”.

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Hey @ektak!
It just so happens that one of my mentees has now reached a level that she’s making a big impact in her testing role and is stabilizing what she’s learned over the past few months. So a spot has opened up in my mentoring schedule if you are interested in having a chat?

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Hi @danashby

Oh I would love to connect. Thank you so much for considering.

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