@anon68517856 Thank you! Life can do “interesting” things to people, but I’ve found that with effort and a bit of luck, there’s usually a way forward. The important thing is not to give up when things look bleak.
I have a rule for myself: when things go bad, I’m allowed to have a day of abject self-pity where I wallow in how terrible it all is and eat chocolate to console myself. After that, pick up the pieces and look for ways to improve the situation. If it’s really bad, keep going for a day at a time, or a minute at a time when it’s utterly horrible.
I haven’t had to narrow my focus to a day at a time for a while now, but it does work.
This is interesting. I thought I had an odd career path…
Apprentice in various trades (carpenter, HVAC, painter, drywaller, machinist, pressman, typesetter, electrician, auto mechanic, etc.)
Settled on graphic arts (pressman, bindery, typesetting)
Worked on a computerized press (Heidelberg) and a computerized typesetter (CompuGraphic)
Dad told me we were all going to be out of work due to robots and computers (haha, this was 1982)
Taught myself computers and volunteered at a computer club (software librarian, magazine contributor)
Software Consultant offered me work on CompuServe as a system administrator
Wrote terminal software and games for 8-bit computers
Got a job writing utilities, documenting software, customer support, hardware repairs, etc. for productivity software company
Company was bought by Electronic Arts
They hired me to train their people on the software line and set up customer support
They decided to have me stay on full time
Moved to California
No education and self-taught, they couldn’t get me a work visa to work in California
Moved back to Canada
Got a job in retail and educational sales
Wrote utilities software for equipment we were selling
Company closed the retail store and I was unemployed
Decided to go back to school and become a high school teacher
Needed university degree to get into teacher’s college
Worked as a teaching assistant and lecturer while getting my bachelor’s degree
Someone in the Faculty of Education misplaced my application for teacher’s college
By the time I looked into it, it was too late and I had to re-apply the next year
Decided to get a job but not a real job
Got a job working as a QA testing software for programming Digital Signal Processors (DSPs)
After a few months I decided to not go to teacher’s college and continue to be a QA
Worked there for 6 years
This Internet thing seemed to be popular so I got a job testing Internet related software
After that I worked as a QA in a startup, cryptography, government, online book store, digital asset management, consultancy.
After 12 different projects I’m still working for that consultancy. Best job ever because I get to work in many different industry for many different companies.
I think what this thread is showing us is that having an odd career path is no obstacle to having a career as a tester! It’s not mandatory, and there will be roles where it doesn’t help, but equally there are roles where it’s a positive advantage.
I have a degree in Computer Games Technology. Also there was a short stint when I tried teaching plus have worked out of hours for a small company plus I’ve spent time self-employed developing (very unsuccessful) games. However for actual jobs:
1.5 years as QA Tester then Senior QA Tester for a games company
1 year as Systems Designer (i.e. gameplay design) for above company.
1.5 years as Software Test Engineer for a company doing security software & hardware.
1.5 years as “Engineering Support” (later changed to “Senior Test Engineer”) at same company as above, where I picked up support cases passed to Engineering.
5 years as a Software Engineer, still at same company.
1.5 years (so far) as Software Test Engineer / Senior Test Engineer, still at the same company…
So something like 9 job titles and been in about as many teams but only 2 companies.
A lot of folk were surprised when I switched back to test from development but I thought testing was more enjoyable, especially when I’m in the right mind to find bugs, and I also I much preferred learning about new techniques for testing than code design strategies and lacked the enthusiasm for new languages that my colleagues had.
I started in software development (QA wasn’t even a thing) and was a developer for 15 years. I switched to QA. A few years later, I had a developer tell me they were surprised I switched from Development to QA. I was happier as a QA.
At the same company I knew a developer who wanted to create comic books and artwork. The only reason he was in development was because his parents pushed him to be a developer. After years of being a mediocre developer, he quit and started doing comics and artwork. He is very happy now and makes more money than when he was a developer.
I realized, it is better to do something you like than something with a high potential for money. For example, say a developer can make between $50,000 and $120,000 per year. A QA might only make $35,000 to $100,000 per year (I’m just making up numbers). If you dislike programming, you’ll probably make $50,000/year. But if you like QA, you’ll probably make $100,000/year.
I’ve also had a developer recently say, “You’re really smart. You know you could be a developer.” I smiled at him.
