I have an interview and technical testing next week for getting into this job. Desperately watching different vidoes. Your videos was such an inspiration for me. Thanks alot🌸
I have been trying to find a career that fits my personality, and I after watching this video I am extremely interested in QA testing. Thank you for all the advice.
I am a free consultant in sw testing. I focus on test management and have 20+ years of experience. First let me thank you Alan because I feel that you live and breath quality and I can learn from you even after all these years. For the people here who consider becoming a tester and looking for a job. I am often in the situation to hire testers for my customers and yes I filter with certifications. But more important I test the people in the interview if they see themselves as a tester. I don’t want people who think testing is just a step. Testing software is a profession and I need people who have a true passion for it. I am happy to hire people who tell me about their passion for quality with sparkles in their eyes. I want to feel that you love testing. If you really do nothing will stop you getting a job in our career path. Remember it’s a passion and not a just job.
Sir, I watched a couple of your videos. Went to my interview. I had done my homework and had a bit of knowledge of what the company works on or type of clients. Anyways, I am landing my first programming job in two weeks as an RPA QA. Thank you so much for posting this type of content! I don't have much of programming experience and the interview was focused on questions on what do I consider good software or what I would look for. Goals and processes pretty much. So, I think many of the things you mention in your video are true.
Thanks for the video. I relate a lot with your comments. I'm a Software Tester for over 9 years now. Nearly quit the industry as I got burned out due to staying in the same company for too long. During that 9 years I progressed from a manual tester to learning automation testing using QTP and recently, Tosca. I hated QTP but loved Tosca! On my 10th year as a Software Tester, I realised that it is not the role of Testing that I got sick and tired of. I realised it's the fact I stayed in a company where it had no more substantial way to challenge my inquisitive mind. I got bored with our projects even though I was learning new technology testing tools like Tosca. Now on my 10 year as a Software Tester, I moved on to another company as a Test Automation Specialist. I wake up eager and excited to be a tester once again. There is so much new things to learn and there is a real challenge for me to be excited about as it is now my responsibility to introduce automation testing in this company! Also in this 10th year, I have decided to go contracting to challenge myself and see if I could demand a higher salary for my 9 years experience as a Tester compare to what I would be earning if I continue to be a permanent employee of a government department. I still 'work' for a government department but I am contracted via an IT recruitment agency. Just a thought, maybe you can make a video and let us know your thoughts about the difference (pros and conts) between a career in Testing as a contractor vs as a permanent employee?
I never regreted my decission, at least not in the last 3 years and the fact that I make more than most developers deoesn't hurt either. Now I want to focus on API automation. I also wanted to be a developer before, but I feel in love with testing, knowing C# and SQL is enough for me.
In which country ur?? Cuz in india qa, testers are considered as lower layer employees. Many companies completely ostracise qa team here. After 4 yrs of struggle and switch I earned 6 figure mark. Even learning many skills, technologies, tools also companies not willing to give us good amount. Meanwhile dev in india reach to 6 fig salary with just 2-3 yrs of experience.
Thank you so very much for this video, a friend of mine is a software engineer and he recommended this as a career change due to an injury. Everything he mentioned to me, you reiterated a bit more in depth as well and even going farther into detail. I look forward to learning more from your videos and the reading you suggested!
Really good video! Personally me pick a route of being a tester first and then become a developer. I failed to land a dev job... But because we all need to pay our bills I land a Software tester job and now I'm working 50% of the time testing and 50% developing.
Brave Nick hi friend i'm a brazilian guy And I see your UA-cam channel, I have a question To you : if i want To became a qa test i need to learn coding in some lenguage first ? I have some know only in c++ and never make any software in my life, so i could i get into it ? Learn programing and after that how to teste ?
im extremely unexperienced in the field, worked as a cook and waiter for the past ten years,ever since i finished school, and now i applied for software testing job, had and interview, called for another one tomorrow, had only a week to prepare with 11hr shifts a day at my current job, doing crash course on c# when i have time to sit down, when im cooking or cleaning, im watching videos like yours on software testing, how to approach it, and what to learn, as well on scrum and agile. you gave a plethora of good advices and references, and im grateful for this video, because it gave me a perspective regarding the job. im introverted but good at reading people and sometimes i imagine putting myself into their own skin to get a sense of their behaviour and thinking, cause im aweirdo...which i think could be actual skill in software testing, as in viewing software from different perspective, thats the waiter job. as for a cook, well i realised that cooking is a lot like programming, same thing, different work, at least in c#... anyway, got my sub, im gonna go through more of your material. p.s. its been bugging me the whole time...your dialect is very mild, but are you scottish?
It's great that you're finding parallels between your current experience and what you want to do next. Testers have to think about systems differently and from many perspectives, some people view the thought process as weird, sounds like you'll be fine. Best of luck with the interviews and job hunting. I do indeed still have a Scottish accent. :)
Great video! Most companies overlook this role. Manual testers are the most common ones. They learn more on the software products and testing approaches. But lacking in making sure quality of the product. I’d say we need more performance tester, penetration tester who can ensure better software quality.
This is the best video about software testing as a career I've seen so far. I've been a tester for a year now and I must say, I got into testing mostly because I wasn't that enthusiastic about programming and didn't have the motivation to learn it myself. However, I found the topic of testing itself extremely interesting. In my current job I have the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics, from exploratory testing, through performance and automation to security and I'm overwhelmed with how much there is to learn. I hope this branch of software development will grow and will stop being regarded as an easy, unskilled job - that's the image bad testers create.
Thanks for this video I found this super informative compared with other videos I'd be browsing to help me learn about getting into software testing. Lots of great real world advice and not too much technical jargon. I'm subscribing to watch more :D
Been a Software Tester for 10 months so far after graduating Software Engineering and having two years of Software Developing and can say that I totally agree with everything you have said! Great talk! Also agree that Testing is way more complicated than Developing and it is not as easy job as other might think. And when boss asked me why I got into testing (because we are hiring a new testers) I have told him exactly the same reasons you have mentioned and on a plus side I am able to work with multiple projects and multiple teams. Loving every minute of my testing job and we are seeing now how hard it is to find a good tester, to find a good junior testing that is willing to be trained so really hope people will start appreciating Tester as much as Developers (especially in salaries)
Thank you very much, I appreciate it! :) Have an question for you if I may... Am from Croatia and here Testing is not as popular as it maybe should be simply because universities do not even mention it (not even a Software Engineering Universities - all of them are mostly focusing on developers) but need for them is bigger and bigger, which is reason why I liked your video so much since it says exactly how exciting testing can be - even more than developing... So my company suggested me to be a guest lecture on Software Engineering Universities in Zagreb just to show students what testers do and introduce them to this field of software developing. So my question is, do you have any advice for me (that has not been said in this video) for that lecture and even more how to encourage students in this field as well, how to present them testing the best. Would gladly watch any of your videos as well, if you are able to link them to me. (if it is easier, my LinkedIn profile is www.linkedin.com/in/luka-pavlesic/) I very much appreciate your answer! :)
Always talk from your experience, describe things you learned. Also, if possible, try and demonstrate some of the things you do and the tools you use. University courses often make testing all about the techniques. If you can demonstrate the amount of thinking involved and technical exploration then it might make it seem more interesting.
Neither a good nor a bad idea. If you can find a role with a company that you like, and if you are interested in testing then you'll be fine. There is a lot to learn, whichever route you go down, and you don't have to stick at one thing, you can move between testing, programming, automating, ops, etc. The important thing is to find a company that will provide a good environment for you to learn and grow.
I put in an application for Software Test Engineer last week. I don't know what to expect or what I should know. This video lots of references to learning how to go about it. Thanks a lot.
Hi, I am just getting into the field and want to know long term where can I go for continuing education courses or how do you personally stay up to date? Books/courses, etc?
Thank you very much. Great insights. I'm currently working at those lower end companies that you've described. Good to hear that advanced testing can be an interesting problem solving activity.
Istqb foundation cert can help, knowing basic coding, how to use chrome dev tools, basicslly you can start applying for junior qa positions after 6 months of learning. Just keep being curious.
What you said came true for me. I wanted to be a database programmer. I took my first testing job as a "foot in the door". I could not move up after a few years because it really wasn't my thing, and I couldn't move into development because all my experience had been in testing. I was in demand due to my SQL skills, but I did not develop my QA skills and knowledge to the same degree. After being fired from my third QA job, I ditched my career and started learning another field altogether. I just wish the IT recruiters would leave me alone!
@@EvilTester I have been offered a job within my same company to do testing but i want to be a developer. Should I take it? Will testing help give me a good insight into web development also?
I think a good career path would be to start as a developer then move into testing. Or switching back and forth. I’m now a combination QA engineer and SDET. Finding a programming language you are comfortable with and becoming an expert in the test framework is a great career path. Somebody will always need a QA with that skill set.
The more skills we have the more options in how we approach activities. So when people are interested in both paths, then absolutely develop both paths. :) Thanks.
Great video. Reality check for newbies who think it is easy... Continuous improvement is must. Communication with QAs, Devs and specially being in-touch with Testing Community is very crucial for testers. Conversations lead to questions and vise versa. Thus more learning.
Great advice, particularly about learning testing before jumping in to automate, especially as the industry is all about automation/coding these days. I sometimes feel that being able to code is placed as more important than actually knowing what to test in the first place, which is a shame. I love to code, but I was a tester first, so hopefully I have learnt how to identify what we need to test, and then when, what and how to automate.
I am not from programming background and currently job hunting and exposed to software tester job and when I am wondering about it I found your video. Thanks for your video. You give me an insight on software tester could be an interesting continuous exploring path instead of constraint in following the ruled test script or the test cases which also provide me a good criteria I can consider if I would like to apply as the software tester. Thank you! Interesting!🌟
I totally agree with you Alan ...I got into the testing world thanks to your books and courses , and there is so many people there saying " with this single course you will get a job as a tester in a week.. " ...kind of thing ...absolute rubbish!!!!. I was studying and practicing at home for at home for at least a year , before anybody will offer me an interview. But I am in Spain , and there is not a " Testing Culture " in the majority of companies ...it's an overhead that must be keep to a minimum , or so they think , or worst still ..the developer should also do the testing..!!! So thanks for been so sincere and throwing a bit of honest and professional light and very truth full advice. Keep up the good work ...!!!...althought I must admit I miss a bit of advice from you about the present and future of Selenium...I started long time ago with the FireFox IDE...but then ????...is the IDE still used ...does anybody know what is happening to Selenium ???? Any way , Alan , thanks for the great video... Cheeerrrrsss...!!!
Thanks Ramon. I'm sure someone will try to bring the IDE back. I wouldn't use the IDE since I find it better to work in code. The people that I've spoken to that use the IDE have been experimenting with the Katalon IDE www.katalon.com/resources-center/blog/katalon-automation-recorder/ Which I haven't tried. The code based Selenium WebDriver is going from strength to strength. I'd use that.
Great ..!!! thanks for the reply Alan....I have been disconnected from the Testing world for a while now , after some very miserable experiences with rubbish companies , and I won´t mind to refresh the whole thing from scratch ...using IntellyJ, maven, Jenkins , Git , ect...are you planning to do a " beginners " course from scratch ..sort of thing ...like you did similar to your UDEMY days ??? or do you know of any " complete " course I / we could refresh with the latest technologies ...with Selenium , with or without FF IDE or similar sort of course ??? Thanks for your time and kind regards .-
My testing courses are no longer for sale on Udemy, but they are all available here compendiumdev.co.uk/page/online_training If you sign up to my newsletter then I typically announce anything new I create there. :) www.compendiumdev.co.uk/page/join
I am doing career change and I am thinking of software testing as a way to get into the industry. I want to move into Product Management or Scrum. This video has great guideance.
Hi, Please excuse the wall of text I hope it's not too much. Watched your video a couple of days ago and it actually answered a couple of concerns about test automation that I had but It created new ones. I had a few things in my head and one of them actually was a thought that test automation is a road to dev. I've got into IT industry very recently with an absolute bottom of the barrel service desk job but the company has a lot of other departments out there. You've actually mentioned that it makes a bit of sense if that's a Progression within company, but after your vid I understood that test automation is a lot of commitment. Not that I don't want to make the commitment but I'm afraid that I will try hard to get the test Automation job and I will have to work my ass off to prove that I am able to do the job without a degree and job experience and then I will keep thinking about what to do get into Dev instead of getting better at test automation. How you describe it makes me feel like it's a lot more to master and a lot more of skills to have than an actual Dev. I was skeptical first when I started thinking about Test Automation whether I could make it or not, but I had the thought that's "just a milestone on the way to dev" but after your vid Im concerned that it isn't and I can't wrap my head around that. Second thing I was wondering about is whether I should pursue a paid certification, and again you mention that it holds no real value. I would like everything to happen fast because I'm afraid of losing time (feeling like I got into service desk really late at 26, my prior experience is pretty much useless in IT) but at the same time I know that it will take time and I have deal with staying in SD for a while. I was hoping that within a year I could get enough knowledge to be able to contest a Junior position and I'm absolutely not sure where to start and whether it is reasonable to get into test automation and would the skills and knowledge not go to waste if I'd like to pursue a Dev job anyway. (perhaps I would feel good with tests if I got into it, but at this point I just know absolute basics from UA-cam vids but yours hit the most so far) To sum up the wall of text: Is a year enough to get enough skill for a Junior if today I only have a bit of coding skills Are the skills useful if I wanted to pursue Dev anyway Where to really start, you give a lot of great tips and worthy reads but Im wondering if I should study the books or look for something like an udemy course that could give a basic overview.
- A year can be enough to get enough experience to land a junior job. - Programmers automate their applications, automating is a useful skill to know, if you learn to test and automate and switch to coding it won't be wasted. - Learning styles and requirements differ. I learn by reading and doing, watching videos if I get stuck... but I also have a lot of experience now. There are a lot of free courses on FreeCodeCamp, there are many UA-cam videos on specific skills and topics, there are many free books on most languages. - Whatever you do, build a portfolio using Github and blogging about what you learn, and the resources you use. - Also do lots of searches for "how i learned to code and got a job" there are many experience reports of learning paths that people took to get in to coding... there are fewer for testing and automating but they do exist. Learning to code well will help with automating to build reliable tests that only fail when an assertion fails, not when the system is slightly slow. Learning to build applications requires an extended set of development knowledge including architcture and design. There is a lot of overlap so nothing is ever wasted. If you are working in an automation role then extending your programming knowledge into creating applications may not directly help with your automating but will be necessary for a development role. Learning concepts like Domain Driven Design and how to architect code into effective classes and functions, learning about immutability etc. are part of the overlap between automating and application development. Read as much as you can, follow as many tutorials as you can... but the most important thing for moving into a programming role is to write programs. Automating is part of that so you can use any automating skills to help with that. The timescales depend on how much free time you have and what type of programming you are interested in, also which language you are learning. Since you are working, see what paths the people who came before you took, did they move into the programming side or the testing side? Speak to the people in your company to find out how they did it. If you can move within your existing company then that is often easier than starting from scratch somewhere else. Develop the skills that help you do your current role better. Depending on who you are supporting and how you are supporting different technical knowledge will help. In general, I think if you have aptitude for programming and like programming then learning to code applications to a level suitable for a junior dev is often easier than learning the skills for automating. You can learn testing skills on your own application as you build them. You'll have to try the different paths and see, remember there are tutorials on like that claim to teach the basics of coding in an hour or a weekend - try those and see how you get on. Whatever path you take, create an online portfolio. With programming that is slightly easier because you can release your applications and host the code on github. There are many ways to deploy code live for free. Pure HTML and JavaScript - gitpages Server side code - Heroku Python - streamlit and anvil works Glitch supports multiple languages with free app hosting. Experiment with different paths. A Software Developer has skills from: programming, testing, automating, managing, marketing, operations, support, writing, documenting, training. Each of those aspects also has specific Roles: Programmer, Tester, Test Automator, Manager, Marketer, Dev Ops, Help Desk, Dev Rel, Technical Author, Trainer. It is rare for someone to learn all the skills and gain experience in them all. It takes time.
Here's the issue, automation engineers get pushed to SDETs, then evolve into engineering. The problem is that senior level automation engineers are few. Sois good to stick with automation and then you'll see $$$ if you reach senior level.
16:10 remind me of Miyamoto Musashi, in his renowned work "The Book of Five Rings," famously stated, "If you know the Way broadly, you will see it in everything."
Seeing this in 2022. Currently in IT support & networking, but want to make the move to QA/Software testing. This is the best video on UA-cam hands down! Bought the book by Boris Beizer, running through Udemy courses, will look at ITSQB foundations. Knowledgeable of SDLC and agile methodology
Thanks for the video. I'm an American, and I live in Ukraine. I've been offered a position as a Junior/Trainee QA Engineer at a good company once I get some knowledge / go through some courses. I'm planning to move back to the US in a couple years, and I was wondering if you think that 1.5 - 2 years of real experience would be enough to get a job in the US without having a degree in Computer Science. I'd really appreciate your opinion and insight on that. Thanks, again.
I don't live/work in the US so I don't know what the job market is like there. And as ever, it depends on the company, the role, the hiring manager and the hiring process. Some companies are looking specifically for junior staff that they can help grow. I personally think that if you have real work experience then that will be very helpful. When job hunting, we may have to apply to many many companies at the same time. I'd recommend sending applications to companies prior to moving back. Best of luck.
What are the important information you need to learn for software testing? I'm more interested in learning the manual part. Please tell me from A-Z what I have to know in order to get a job in that field. Thanks!
Hello there EvilTester and thank you for your video. Really interesting insights. Can I pick your brain about the QA mentor program? You know, the one founded by a Russian-American guy. Is is too good to be true? I sincerely appreciate your answer. Best, H.
Hi, I really don't know anything about this program or any links to it. But feel free to contact me via eviltester.com/contact and you can tell me more about it... P.S. I do mentoring through Patreon.com/eviltester and might be convinced to bring back the higher tier category for direct mentoring.
Thank for posting this video. Recruiters have contacted me for software tester and training positions, since I have tech and teaching skills. This does seem like a very interesting career to go towards.
Thank u dude . Im currently doing programming front an back end intense course. As im changing my career choice. I have littlr knowledge of it. But imma keep my head down an focus. My main focus is doing a full stack developer. Any tips and tricks u could advise me. Also just stumble to ur channel an thanks for the advice.
Excellent advice, I really enjoyed your video. I am not certain about becoming a tester because I have my heart set to become a front end developer. Been learning JavaScript for 10 months, did 3 months of Python and SQL using MySQL. Now I am learning React. I will try what you recommended. Question? Does learning testing make you a better programmer? I will look into becoming a tester to see if I like this. If I have further questions I hope I can post you a question, Thank you once again for your very well made video on this topic.
I've been in QA for 3 years, 2 of them automating tests, and 3 years before that learning frontend. I can say that programming helped me be a better tester and testing helped me be a better programmer.
I have joined a new job in a software development company 2 weeks ago. Everything there is great and I am stoked to learn and study SW testing in-depth! Any book recommendations? I worry that the books mentioned in this video will not be translated to my language, however I am eager to learn and understand the books in english! Cheers!
Hi, I recommended books that I found useful. But when I started, I read everything I could get my hands on. Also I read every magazine available. The main point is just to consume as much information as you can - books have a single voice and a path. But there are also so many blogs available that you could probably spend years just working through blog posts. I'd recommend subscribing to this feed of blogs www.ministryoftesting.com/feeds/blogs and reading the blogs that resonate.
no my friend, that is not me. me, i look for some easy job, boring job, not to be tired,vto be able to work from home as well. thanks for the informations man. you're cool.
Thanks. I think crowdsourced sites like uTest are a great way to practice - if you don't do it for the money. And for some countries the exchange rates make it possible to earn good money - hints: get in fast, look for low hanging fruit, run link checkers, run validation tools, run spelling check tools.
I dont have degree on IT . I talked to a "personal teacher" and he told me that it is better to be QA/Tester because it is a bit easier for someone who has not degree on IT . He said that he suggest it to everyone who has not degree. He said that i will learn python, sql ect ect ect .... I said him that i am police officer at Europe Union country and i want to change my job , i want to go to U.K.. I asked him if there is a way to connect my previous job and the new one in IT , in my CV. He said that everything in IT can not connect in POLICE. Do you agree with this ? That nothing can connect and that the only easy way for someone who has not degree in IT is QA/tester . Could someone be at first QA/Tester and if he want it , he will change it to be software developer later ?
I think I would not give the same advice as your personal teacher. The path to pursue - tester or programmer - depends on what you enjoy doing rather than what is "easier to get a job doing". The hard part about getting a job is not usually the lack of degree, it is the lack of experience. It is actually easier to get programming experience than testing experience because you can code stuff on your own and there are so many tutorials, learning paths and bootcamps available. You can also create evidence of programming experience by releasing code to github and releasing applications online. Testing experience can be built by doing crowd sourced testing, and getting involved in open source projects. It might be possible to move into security testing and take part in bug bounties. It really depends on the companies you apply to and their hiring process. Hiring junior staff is very dependent on the company. You might get lucky quickly. You might not. But if you want to move into IT then keep learning and building your skills and experience and keep applying. Whichever path you choose. Create a blog and document your learning experience and how you are building and developing your skils. Add any projects you contribute to on your linkedin profile. Make it easy for people to see that you are working towards a set of skills. Do a web search to find all the people who 'landed a job in programming/testing/it without experience/degree" you'll find plenty of stories to take as inspiration and see that it is possible. You can also learn from the experience of the people who did it and emulate the steps they took What you will learn on the job in testing depends on the company, you might not learn Python, SQL, etc. etc. I have been doing testing for over 30 years and have only just (in the last month) started learning Python for my own personal coding projects. Many testers do not learn to code. Many do not need to use SQL because the applications they work with do not use SQL. Skills learned on the job vary. Many things in IT connect with the Police and you should harness those in interviews. Police have to take diligent and effective notes when interviewing people - testers ahve to take diligent and effeective notes when testing. Observation skills are very important for Police, as they are for testing. Interviewing skills and personal interaction skills are important for many roles in IT - analyst, manager, tester, programmer. Police are often very good leaders because leadership training is included in the role, this can easily lend itself to an IT leadership position like scrum master, manager and tester. There are probably many more skills that overlap with IT, but I haven't been in the Police so I don't know what they are. I've worked with Programmers and Testers who did not have an IT degree. It is possible to be a tester and move to software developer - this depends on the companies you work with or how much extra time you can spend building your programming skills. I started as a programmer and moved into testing. People move around into many different roles. Best of luck.
Thank you very much for the info. I am 40 years old & holding a EEE degree & decided to start with software testing. I welcome suggestions on my decision. And once again I thank you for the valuable video.
U r the best video ...so informative so positive.. github for tester never thought of that will try thanks thanks for all the info..will have to come back to make notes
I have worked in Mechanical Industry as Design engineer with 7 years of experience. Now, I have lost my job due to Covid pandemic. I have seen their is very less salary growth in Mechanical Industry. Right now, I am looking to switch to IT career in Software testing. Is it worth decision? if yes, please suggest me how do i start to prepare.
I can't say if it is worth it for you. I don't know what availability of work is in your area or if there are other roles that are more closely aligned with your experience. It sounds like you might be viewing Software Testing as something 'new' which you have to start learning from scratch. In which case... read as many websites, books and watch as much content as you can, at the same time start testing as much as you can. If when you 'start testing' you get stuck and don't know what to do, then that is the next thing you research to help you move forward. Sign up to as many of the crowdsourced testing sites as possible and take part in as many of the programmes as you can. This will give you experience of what other companies expect from outsourced testing, and again will help you focus your research because anything you don't understand or don't know how to do becomes the next thing to research. As you learn more about Software Testing, map as much of it as possible on to your experience as a Design Engineer to find the overlap between the disciplines. This will allow you to build on your existing experience and 'sell' these as experience points for any Software Testing role. Best of Luck.
Thank you for the video. Can anyone please direct me where can I find open source software to practice my testing skills and build portfolio for my github?
Hi! I have no software background and I am looking at switching careers to Software Testing. I would prefer to go with a certificate but while looking at options hasn't run across smth good. There are so many boot camps for software developers. Could you recommend an educational platform? Thank you.
I haven't used a lot of online platforms. It really depends on budget and who is paying. There are many independent online courses, I have some on my web site. There are many courses on Udemy, the quality can vary massively but most courses discount down to 9.99 eventually. LinkedIn Learning has a lot of courses (I have several courses on LinkedIn) - again quality varies but they are all professionally produced and condense the information to get it across quickly.
How does the career outlook look like? I have been hearing that Quality Assurance is on the decline, is that true? Also how does it compare to Data Analytics?
It is really hard to tell and depends on luck - who is currently recruiting, and the country that you are in. Probably best to look at the job ads for the country you are in. I don't look at the Data Analytics job market so I don't know how it compares.
As a Qa, you are the scapegoat of the team. Please be aware that you will be bullied, isolated and condemned. You have to develop a thick skin to survive in this game. You cannot be snowflake; you cannot be a pushover; you have develop a set of teeth. You have to be a monster to hunt monsters.
"Soft skills" are essential and each individual tester will have to develop their own approach to dealing with negative behaviour. Some environments are toxic and it can be hard to be a Tester in those environments. For people coming in new... not all environments are as bad as this comment describes. But I agree, they do exist.
That is the most helpful UA-cam video ever ı seen. Thanks for your words. I have one question. Just I m trying myself upgrade about QA testing. I'm learning thinks as much as possible. Sometimes its getting hard but ı liked to do this works. I was gonna ask this. Is there any possibility without experience, work and learn same time? I wanna get experience. I am really hungry for this. You are inside this topics. How many "%" I have you think?
To work and learn at the same time you can: - get lucky, - donate time to an open source project - test & raise defects (blog about your testing, or post about it on linkedin to demonstrate experience) - take part in crowd sourced testing programmes - the don't pay much, but you will get experience Sadly "work" does not always equal "paid". To get paid and learn you usually have to be an 'apprentice' or 'trainee' and that often means working as a junior in a consultancy or outsource testing provider.
I've been searching for entry level as a tester without much experience or knowledge. I have encountered a monster of an issue since most entry level positions require a bachelor's degree, and 2 to 10 years of experience in millon terms I have no idea of. My question to you guys. How do you even start in this field if you can't even get an entry level position or for God's sake not even an internship!
It is hard to find a first job... in any field. I recommend 'doing and documenting' your progress to becoming a tester. i.e. do you have a blog where you are collating references your are using, videos you like and why, applications you are testing on the side, what risks and issues you are finding? Are you testing through the crowd testing sites for practice? Have you tried all the testing practice apps available (you can always write up your approach and findings on a blog or social site like linkedin). I've tried to document some tips and approaches ua-cam.com/video/QB8n5RXTV10/v-deo.html. and www.eviltester.com/page/careers/
for blogs I would initially subscribe to the rss feed for this collection... www.ministryoftesting.com/feeds/blogs There is a list of slack channels here applitools.com/blog/2019-top-slack-channels-for-software-testers/
A few hours ago I was contacted in LinkedIn by a Recruiter offering me a job as a Jr. Software Tester. Currently , I 'm a jr fullstack developer. Do you think that I should take the job?
That would depend on you, your aims for the future, how you value your current company above LinkedIn, and all the other considerations around changing roles: location, salary, commute, prospects, training, bonuses, etc. Compare the job with your current objectively by writing out pros and cons, but ultimately it is going to be a subjective decision about how you feel about it. And if you are unsure, ask LinkedIn additional questions to help you get clear in your mind.
I wonder what you would think about a qa company hiring a junior programmer in their job description. I've found one to apply at and it's very unclear if they want me to be a manual tester or jump straight into automating. They don't require knowledge of automating testing or any specific languages but supposedly want a programmer strong in pretty much any language.
I started as a programmer for a Software Testing company. Because they wanted to build some test tools. It never hurts to apply, or ask, when you find out more information about the role you can decide if it is something you want to do.
@@EvilTester I have a learning disability ADHD it takes a long time for me understand the terminology of what the person is telling me. Trying to anything on video game lingo. Explain layman termsterms ok that what it means. How do I get my foot in the door. Books on how to get into the video game industry business. For beginners to want to start out .
@@EvilTester I don't know anyone anyone in the video game industry business so that works well against me. I'm back at square one. I feel like no matter what I put on the resume and cover letter doesn't help me get my foot in the door so to speak. Make videos of what I'm playing.?
Bulding some sort of portfolio is a good idea. For games testing, videos of 'testing' the game, rather than 'playing' the game might help. At the very least it would give you practice. And you can demonstrate that you know how to test games - and if you can demonstrate issues as you test then even better. It might also be worth reading this pamphlet (link below) by Drayton Bird on how to write a cover letter for a job application and see if there are any improvements you can make to your cover letters. www.draytonbird.net/files/getabetterjob.pdf Drayton Bird also has an accompanying video in this linkedin post www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-free-booklet-save-lot-misery-drayton-bird/ And if you do create videos, or blog posts about your approach then re-apply for jobs, with that additional information in the cover letter. I don't actually know of any books on working in the games industry. But I subscribe to the blog posts at Gamasutra www.gamasutra.com/ And some of those are written from a games testing perspective. www.gamasutra.com/blogs/
You can automate in pretty much any language, so a specific programming language is not important. Once you know one, you can learn another. www.eviltester.com/blog/javafortesters/2020-01-31-which-language-to-learn/
Are there any (aptitude) tests which indicate whether testing is even a suitable career for a person ? It is possible that one can learn a bit of testing, maybe even get "not so great" testing jobs for many years, and still not realize that they have little or no aptitude for testing.
I don't know of any. But I'm not sure I would trust an aptitude test. Personal motivation seems more important. That and taking action to practice and learn.
I am currently working as manual tester automotive domain . How do I start with automation thing which language should I start to go into automation career . Please reply asap...
I don't think there is a generic 'easiest'. The easiest one for you will be the one that matches the things you are most interested in. Because then you will be more motivated to learn the topics and will spend more time practicing and improving your sills. The hardest roles to do, are the ones you are not interested in.
Good info man! I have 1 question I’m in development last 7 years in c# I know sql as well. But somehow I’m not enjoying my work in development.May be I have less interest in coding. I have good interests in testing and debugging the code. Can I move to QA after working in department.? Will this be best decision for me ..? Please advise Thanks in advance
Moving between roles is possible. It is often easier to do while in work ie. with your current employer, change the role so that you do more testing than development work. Initially you will probably start doing more automation, performance/stress, or technical testing since that has a stronger overlap with programming work. But as you learn more about testing then you can incorporate more user focussed and in depth requirement testing.
I have been a Test engineer for over 27 years and regret nothing. It has taken me places I could not have imagined.
what certification did you have?
You were before 27 now things are quite different
I have an interview and technical testing next week for getting into this job. Desperately watching different vidoes. Your videos was such an inspiration for me. Thanks alot🌸
How did your interview go? mermaid alone
Do not go blizzard Activision worst video game company ever.
How did it go???!
Did you receive the job offer?
I just started my first job as a UI tester, so happy to find your channel!
Excellent video, doesn’t try to discourage people but is realistic about what’s needed to get into the field.
Sank you for your comment .
I have been trying to find a career that fits my personality, and I after watching this video I am extremely interested in QA testing. Thank you for all the advice.
I am a free consultant in sw testing. I focus on test management and have 20+ years of experience. First let me thank you Alan because I feel that you live and breath quality and I can learn from you even after all these years. For the people here who consider becoming a tester and looking for a job. I am often in the situation to hire testers for my customers and yes I filter with certifications. But more important I test the people in the interview if they see themselves as a tester. I don’t want people who think testing is just a step. Testing software is a profession and I need people who have a true passion for it. I am happy to hire people who tell me about their passion for quality with sparkles in their eyes. I want to feel that you love testing. If you really do nothing will stop you getting a job in our career path. Remember it’s a passion and not a just job.
Hi Thomas thanks watching, and for sharing your approach and experience.
Sir, I watched a couple of your videos. Went to my interview. I had done my homework and had a bit of knowledge of what the company works on or type of clients. Anyways, I am landing my first programming job in two weeks as an RPA QA. Thank you so much for posting this type of content!
I don't have much of programming experience and the interview was focused on questions on what do I consider good software or what I would look for. Goals and processes pretty much. So, I think many of the things you mention in your video are true.
Congratulations. I'm happy to learn all your hard work paid off :) Best of luck.
@@EvilTester hi there, good video. Where and how can I learn software and web testing?. Please help. Thanks
@@RWarrior777 you mustn’t have actually watched the video…
Thanks for the video. I relate a lot with your comments. I'm a Software Tester for over 9 years now. Nearly quit the industry as I got burned out due to staying in the same company for too long. During that 9 years I progressed from a manual tester to learning automation testing using QTP and recently, Tosca. I hated QTP but loved Tosca! On my 10th year as a Software Tester, I realised that it is not the role of Testing that I got sick and tired of. I realised it's the fact I stayed in a company where it had no more substantial way to challenge my inquisitive mind. I got bored with our projects even though I was learning new technology testing tools like Tosca. Now on my 10 year as a Software Tester, I moved on to another company as a Test Automation Specialist. I wake up eager and excited to be a tester once again. There is so much new things to learn and there is a real challenge for me to be excited about as it is now my responsibility to introduce automation testing in this company! Also in this 10th year, I have decided to go contracting to challenge myself and see if I could demand a higher salary for my 9 years experience as a Tester compare to what I would be earning if I continue to be a permanent employee of a government department. I still 'work' for a government department but I am contracted via an IT recruitment agency. Just a thought, maybe you can make a video and let us know your thoughts about the difference (pros and conts) between a career in Testing as a contractor vs as a permanent employee?
Thanks Dennis, glad to read you took action to improve your situation. I might well do a permie vs contractor vs consultant video - good idea.
I never regreted my decission, at least not in the last 3 years and the fact that I make more than most developers deoesn't hurt either. Now I want to focus on API automation. I also wanted to be a developer before, but I feel in love with testing, knowing C# and SQL is enough for me.
Nice stuff dude :DDD
What testing school did you go to?
Please suggest video tutorial on UA-cam for beginners
Same story.
In which country ur?? Cuz in india qa, testers are considered as lower layer employees. Many companies completely ostracise qa team here. After 4 yrs of struggle and switch I earned 6 figure mark. Even learning many skills, technologies, tools also companies not willing to give us good amount. Meanwhile dev in india reach to 6 fig salary with just 2-3 yrs of experience.
Thank you for giving a full conversation about being a software tester and educating me about what is and what takes to be successful at it.
Thank you so very much for this video, a friend of mine is a software engineer and he recommended this as a career change due to an injury. Everything he mentioned to me, you reiterated a bit more in depth as well and even going farther into detail. I look forward to learning more from your videos and the reading you suggested!
Thanks. Best of luck.
Really good video! Personally me pick a route of being a tester first and then become a developer. I failed to land a dev job... But because we all need to pay our bills I land a Software tester job and now I'm working 50% of the time testing and 50% developing.
Brave Nick hi friend i'm a brazilian guy And I see your UA-cam channel, I have a question To you : if i want To became a qa test i need to learn coding in some lenguage first ? I have some know only in c++ and never make any software in my life, so i could i get into it ? Learn programing and after that how to teste ?
This is amazing! I am having a career shift from HCI/UX to SW testing and I'm so glad to have found this video now !
Great. Hope it helps. Thanks.
Im interested in UI. What is the best way to transition with no experience. Will being a Systems Administrative Support Specialist help at all?
You just make impact , have been studying Software Testing for like 7months now been a beginner , thanks i came across your Video
im extremely unexperienced in the field, worked as a cook and waiter for the past ten years,ever since i finished school, and now i applied for software testing job, had and interview, called for another one tomorrow, had only a week to prepare with 11hr shifts a day at my current job, doing crash course on c# when i have time to sit down, when im cooking or cleaning, im watching videos like yours on software testing, how to approach it, and what to learn, as well on scrum and agile.
you gave a plethora of good advices and references, and im grateful for this video, because it gave me a perspective regarding the job.
im introverted but good at reading people and sometimes i imagine putting myself into their own skin to get a sense of their behaviour and thinking, cause im aweirdo...which i think could be actual skill in software testing, as in viewing software from different perspective, thats the waiter job.
as for a cook, well i realised that cooking is a lot like programming, same thing, different work, at least in c#...
anyway, got my sub, im gonna go through more of your material.
p.s. its been bugging me the whole time...your dialect is very mild, but are you scottish?
It's great that you're finding parallels between your current experience and what you want to do next. Testers have to think about systems differently and from many perspectives, some people view the thought process as weird, sounds like you'll be fine. Best of luck with the interviews and job hunting. I do indeed still have a Scottish accent. :)
This is really a life couching video this works in any aspect of career, Thanks for guidance
Great video! Most companies overlook this role. Manual testers are the most common ones. They learn more on the software products and testing approaches. But lacking in making sure quality of the product. I’d say we need more performance tester, penetration tester who can ensure better software quality.
This is the best video about software testing as a career I've seen so far. I've been a tester for a year now and I must say, I got into testing mostly because I wasn't that enthusiastic about programming and didn't have the motivation to learn it myself. However, I found the topic of testing itself extremely interesting. In my current job I have the opportunity to explore a wide range of topics, from exploratory testing, through performance and automation to security and I'm overwhelmed with how much there is to learn. I hope this branch of software development will grow and will stop being regarded as an easy, unskilled job - that's the image bad testers create.
Thanks Rafal. The overwhelming amount of stuff to learn never goes away :)
Also... Great guitar playing in your videos. :)
EvilTester - Software Testing thanks :) I'm honored
how did you learn software testing?
Thanks for this video I found this super informative compared with other videos I'd be browsing to help me learn about getting into software testing. Lots of great real world advice and not too much technical jargon. I'm subscribing to watch more :D
Been a Software Tester for 10 months so far after graduating Software Engineering and having two years of Software Developing and can say that I totally agree with everything you have said! Great talk!
Also agree that Testing is way more complicated than Developing and it is not as easy job as other might think.
And when boss asked me why I got into testing (because we are hiring a new testers) I have told him exactly the same reasons you have mentioned and on a plus side I am able to work with multiple projects and multiple teams.
Loving every minute of my testing job and we are seeing now how hard it is to find a good tester, to find a good junior testing that is willing to be trained so really hope people will start appreciating Tester as much as Developers (especially in salaries)
Thanks Luka, really glad to see the enthusiasm coming through in your comment. :)
Thank you very much, I appreciate it! :)
Have an question for you if I may...
Am from Croatia and here Testing is not as popular as it maybe should be simply because universities do not even mention it (not even a Software Engineering Universities - all of them are mostly focusing on developers) but need for them is bigger and bigger, which is reason why I liked your video so much since it says exactly how exciting testing can be - even more than developing...
So my company suggested me to be a guest lecture on Software Engineering Universities in Zagreb just to show students what testers do and introduce them to this field of software developing.
So my question is, do you have any advice for me (that has not been said in this video) for that lecture and even more how to encourage students in this field as well, how to present them testing the best.
Would gladly watch any of your videos as well, if you are able to link them to me.
(if it is easier, my LinkedIn profile is www.linkedin.com/in/luka-pavlesic/)
I very much appreciate your answer! :)
Always talk from your experience, describe things you learned. Also, if possible, try and demonstrate some of the things you do and the tools you use. University courses often make testing all about the techniques. If you can demonstrate the amount of thinking involved and technical exploration then it might make it seem more interesting.
In your opinion Is it a bad idea for a CS / SE student to move into testing as your first role. I can code.
Neither a good nor a bad idea. If you can find a role with a company that you like, and if you are interested in testing then you'll be fine. There is a lot to learn, whichever route you go down, and you don't have to stick at one thing, you can move between testing, programming, automating, ops, etc. The important thing is to find a company that will provide a good environment for you to learn and grow.
I put in an application for Software Test Engineer last week. I don't know what to expect or what I should know. This video lots of references to learning how to go about it. Thanks a lot.
How'd it go?
Great video! Thanks for sharing how the job of a tester can be so much more and be so broad. Really mind opening, thanks a lot!
More than 8 years in software testing industry, but keep inspiring by watching this videos, thanks for sharing.
:) Thank you
Hi, I am just getting into the field and want to know long term where can I go for continuing education courses or how do you personally stay up to date? Books/courses, etc?
Im doing a testing course with automation, SQL, OOP & manual testing......so much to learn
Thank you very much. Great insights. I'm currently working at those lower end companies that you've described. Good to hear that advanced testing can be an interesting problem solving activity.
AWESOME VIDEO!!! One of THE BEST IT career videos I've ever seen and definitely the best one on a career in software testing. Bravo!
Thank you for the advice. Great video for all software testers!
Thanks.
Thank you so much for sharing this video. I am interested to do software testing job but don’t know how to get into the system.
Istqb foundation cert can help, knowing basic coding, how to use chrome dev tools, basicslly you can start applying for junior qa positions after 6 months of learning. Just keep being curious.
What you said came true for me. I wanted to be a database programmer. I took my first testing job as a "foot in the door". I could not move up after a few years because it really wasn't my thing, and I couldn't move into development because all my experience had been in testing. I was in demand due to my SQL skills, but I did not develop my QA skills and knowledge to the same degree. After being fired from my third QA job, I ditched my career and started learning another field altogether. I just wish the IT recruiters would leave me alone!
IT Recruiters never leave you alone, not when you have in demand buzzwords on your CV. :)
@@EvilTester I have been offered a job within my same company to do testing but i want to be a developer. Should I take it? Will testing help give me a good insight into web development also?
thank you very much for the real vision of software testing and all the great content! much appreciated
My pleasure, thanks :)
I think a good career path would be to start as a developer then move into testing. Or switching back and forth. I’m now a combination QA engineer and SDET. Finding a programming language you are comfortable with and becoming an expert in the test framework is a great career path. Somebody will always need a QA with that skill set.
The more skills we have the more options in how we approach activities. So when people are interested in both paths, then absolutely develop both paths. :) Thanks.
This channel is so helpful! Thanks for the information :) I got a job as a Jr Tester.
Thank you. Best of luck with your new job.
@athziri herrejon how is it so far?
Wonderful review, and very refreshing. You articulated things fantastically, and for any beginner... Start here
Great video. Reality check for newbies who think it is easy... Continuous improvement is must.
Communication with QAs, Devs and specially being in-touch with Testing Community is very crucial for testers. Conversations lead to questions and vise versa. Thus more learning.
Thank you for this video !
P.s. i can see you are into finger style guitar playing with that right hand of yours.
Great video!!! Loads of points taken down. Will share this as anyone looking to get into testing, like me should watch!
Thank you :)
Great advice, particularly about learning testing before jumping in to automate, especially as the industry is all about automation/coding these days. I sometimes feel that being able to code is placed as more important than actually knowing what to test in the first place, which is a shame. I love to code, but I was a tester first, so hopefully I have learnt how to identify what we need to test, and then when, what and how to automate.
Thanks Jane :)
I am completely new coming into software testing, your insight will help me a long way. Thank you :)
Great videos, glad I found your channel!
Thanks that video is really informative ! 😊
I am not from programming background and currently job hunting and exposed to software tester job and when I am wondering about it I found your video. Thanks for your video. You give me an insight on software tester could be an interesting continuous exploring path instead of constraint in following the ruled test script or the test cases which also provide me a good criteria I can consider if I would like to apply as the software tester. Thank you! Interesting!🌟
Thanks.
Great point of view, using yours skills and develop your self to be a software tester in your field its has a better perspective.
Thanks
I totally agree with you Alan ...I got into the testing world thanks to your books and courses , and there is so many people there saying " with this single course you will get a job as a tester in a week.. " ...kind of thing ...absolute rubbish!!!!. I was studying and practicing at home for at home for at least a year , before anybody will offer me an interview. But I am in Spain , and there is not a " Testing Culture " in the majority of companies ...it's an overhead that must be keep to a minimum , or so they think , or worst still ..the developer should also do the testing..!!!
So thanks for been so sincere and throwing a bit of honest and professional light and very truth full advice.
Keep up the good work ...!!!...althought I must admit I miss a bit of advice from you about the present and future of Selenium...I started long time ago with the FireFox IDE...but then ????...is the IDE still used ...does anybody know what is happening to Selenium ????
Any way , Alan , thanks for the great video...
Cheeerrrrsss...!!!
Thanks Ramon.
I'm sure someone will try to bring the IDE back. I wouldn't use the IDE since I find it better to work in code. The people that I've spoken to that use the IDE have been experimenting with the Katalon IDE
www.katalon.com/resources-center/blog/katalon-automation-recorder/
Which I haven't tried.
The code based Selenium WebDriver is going from strength to strength. I'd use that.
Great ..!!! thanks for the reply Alan....I have been disconnected from the Testing world for a while now , after some very miserable experiences with rubbish companies , and I won´t mind to refresh the whole thing from scratch ...using IntellyJ, maven, Jenkins , Git , ect...are you planning to do a " beginners " course from scratch ..sort of thing ...like you did similar to your UDEMY days ??? or do you know of any " complete " course I / we could refresh with the latest technologies ...with Selenium , with or without FF IDE or similar sort of course ???
Thanks for your time and kind regards .-
My testing courses are no longer for sale on Udemy, but they are all available here compendiumdev.co.uk/page/online_training
If you sign up to my newsletter then I typically announce anything new I create there. :)
www.compendiumdev.co.uk/page/join
Joined...!!! subscribed and thanks again ..!!!
Very good video and I agree on the certification information as well.
I am doing career change and I am thinking of software testing as a way to get into the industry. I want to move into Product Management or Scrum. This video has great guideance.
great video and very available/realistic things that anyone can do!
I need a mentor like you, this is so great, awesome awesome job!
Hi,
Please excuse the wall of text I hope it's not too much.
Watched your video a couple of days ago and it actually answered a couple of concerns about test automation that I had but It created new ones. I had a few things in my head and one of them actually was a thought that test automation is a road to dev. I've got into IT industry very recently with an absolute bottom of the barrel service desk job but the company has a lot of other departments out there. You've actually mentioned that it makes a bit of sense if that's a Progression within company, but after your vid I understood that test automation is a lot of commitment. Not that I don't want to make the commitment but I'm afraid that I will try hard to get the test Automation job and I will have to work my ass off to prove that I am able to do the job without a degree and job experience and then I will keep thinking about what to do get into Dev instead of getting better at test automation. How you describe it makes me feel like it's a lot more to master and a lot more of skills to have than an actual Dev. I was skeptical first when I started thinking about Test Automation whether I could make it or not, but I had the thought that's "just a milestone on the way to dev" but after your vid Im concerned that it isn't and I can't wrap my head around that. Second thing I was wondering about is whether I should pursue a paid certification, and again you mention that it holds no real value.
I would like everything to happen fast because I'm afraid of losing time (feeling like I got into service desk really late at 26, my prior experience is pretty much useless in IT) but at the same time I know that it will take time and I have deal with staying in SD for a while. I was hoping that within a year I could get enough knowledge to be able to contest a Junior position and I'm absolutely not sure where to start and whether it is reasonable to get into test automation and would the skills and knowledge not go to waste if I'd like to pursue a Dev job anyway. (perhaps I would feel good with tests if I got into it, but at this point I just know absolute basics from UA-cam vids but yours hit the most so far)
To sum up the wall of text:
Is a year enough to get enough skill for a Junior if today I only have a bit of coding skills
Are the skills useful if I wanted to pursue Dev anyway
Where to really start, you give a lot of great tips and worthy reads but Im wondering if I should study the books or look for something like an udemy course that could give a basic overview.
- A year can be enough to get enough experience to land a junior job.
- Programmers automate their applications, automating is a useful skill to know, if you learn to test and automate and switch to coding it won't be wasted.
- Learning styles and requirements differ. I learn by reading and doing, watching videos if I get stuck... but I also have a lot of experience now. There are a lot of free courses on FreeCodeCamp, there are many UA-cam videos on specific skills and topics, there are many free books on most languages.
- Whatever you do, build a portfolio using Github and blogging about what you learn, and the resources you use.
- Also do lots of searches for "how i learned to code and got a job" there are many experience reports of learning paths that people took to get in to coding... there are fewer for testing and automating but they do exist.
Learning to code well will help with automating to build reliable tests that only fail when an assertion fails, not when the system is slightly slow. Learning to build applications requires an extended set of development knowledge including architcture and design. There is a lot of overlap so nothing is ever wasted. If you are working in an automation role then extending your programming knowledge into creating applications may not directly help with your automating but will be necessary for a development role. Learning concepts like Domain Driven Design and how to architect code into effective classes and functions, learning about immutability etc. are part of the overlap between automating and application development.
Read as much as you can, follow as many tutorials as you can... but the most important thing for moving into a programming role is to write programs. Automating is part of that so you can use any automating skills to help with that. The timescales depend on how much free time you have and what type of programming you are interested in, also which language you are learning.
Since you are working, see what paths the people who came before you took, did they move into the programming side or the testing side? Speak to the people in your company to find out how they did it. If you can move within your existing company then that is often easier than starting from scratch somewhere else.
Develop the skills that help you do your current role better. Depending on who you are supporting and how you are supporting different technical knowledge will help.
In general, I think if you have aptitude for programming and like programming then learning to code applications to a level suitable for a junior dev is often easier than learning the skills for automating. You can learn testing skills on your own application as you build them.
You'll have to try the different paths and see, remember there are tutorials on like that claim to teach the basics of coding in an hour or a weekend - try those and see how you get on.
Whatever path you take, create an online portfolio. With programming that is slightly easier because you can release your applications and host the code on github. There are many ways to deploy code live for free.
Pure HTML and JavaScript - gitpages
Server side code - Heroku
Python - streamlit and anvil works
Glitch supports multiple languages with free app hosting.
Experiment with different paths. A Software Developer has skills from: programming, testing, automating, managing, marketing, operations, support, writing, documenting, training.
Each of those aspects also has specific Roles: Programmer, Tester, Test Automator, Manager, Marketer, Dev Ops, Help Desk, Dev Rel, Technical Author, Trainer.
It is rare for someone to learn all the skills and gain experience in them all. It takes time.
Here's the issue, automation engineers get pushed to SDETs, then evolve into engineering. The problem is that senior level automation engineers are few. Sois good to stick with automation and then you'll see $$$ if you reach senior level.
16:10 remind me of Miyamoto Musashi, in his renowned work "The Book of Five Rings," famously stated, "If you know the Way broadly, you will see it in everything."
Seeing this in 2022. Currently in IT support & networking, but want to make the move to QA/Software testing.
This is the best video on UA-cam hands down!
Bought the book by Boris Beizer, running through Udemy courses, will look at ITSQB foundations.
Knowledgeable of SDLC and agile methodology
Thanks, best of luck.
Thanks for the video.
I'm an American, and I live in Ukraine. I've been offered a position as a Junior/Trainee QA Engineer at a good company once I get some knowledge / go through some courses. I'm planning to move back to the US in a couple years, and I was wondering if you think that 1.5 - 2 years of real experience would be enough to get a job in the US without having a degree in Computer Science. I'd really appreciate your opinion and insight on that.
Thanks, again.
I don't live/work in the US so I don't know what the job market is like there. And as ever, it depends on the company, the role, the hiring manager and the hiring process. Some companies are looking specifically for junior staff that they can help grow. I personally think that if you have real work experience then that will be very helpful. When job hunting, we may have to apply to many many companies at the same time. I'd recommend sending applications to companies prior to moving back. Best of luck.
@@EvilTester, thanks for taking your time and advice. Take care.))
Thanks for that vid, and thanks for SPEAKING CLEARLY. I am not native english speaker, so that's so helpful. Greetings.
Awesome content, good job, sir!
Going for Interview 16.01 :)
best of luck
How did it go?
Thank you for this insightful video. Cheers
*singles in on EvilTester videos to learn about software testing*
EvilTester: "Dont just focus on a single person"
Me: "S**T"
:)
Awesome video
Thank you much
I did software testing and development. Software testing paid less, but was so much more fun to me.
Great to hear :)
What are the important information you need to learn for software testing? I'm more interested in learning the manual part. Please tell me from A-Z what I have to know in order to get a job in that field. Thanks!
@@KennTollens Do you think testing has a good future mate ??
@@ciprianghenghea7779 Yeah, especially if you can do automate tools like selenium.
Hello there EvilTester and thank you for your video. Really interesting insights.
Can I pick your brain about the QA mentor program? You know, the one founded by a Russian-American guy. Is is too good to be true?
I sincerely appreciate your answer.
Best,
H.
Hi, I really don't know anything about this program or any links to it. But feel free to contact me via eviltester.com/contact and you can tell me more about it... P.S. I do mentoring through Patreon.com/eviltester and might be convinced to bring back the higher tier category for direct mentoring.
Amazing!! Thank you!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
Very inspiring video! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you.
Thank for posting this video. Recruiters have contacted me for software tester and training positions, since I have tech and teaching skills. This does seem like a very interesting career to go towards.
Thank you for the invaluable information.
... "and I hope that's you..." :D :D :D
Thank u dude . Im currently doing programming front an back end intense course. As im changing my career choice. I have littlr knowledge of it. But imma keep my head down an focus. My main focus is doing a full stack developer. Any tips and tricks u could advise me. Also just stumble to ur channel an thanks for the advice.
Excellent advice, I really enjoyed your video. I am not certain about becoming a tester because I have my heart set to become a front end developer. Been learning JavaScript for 10 months, did 3 months of Python and SQL using MySQL. Now I am learning React. I will try what you recommended.
Question? Does learning testing make you a better programmer? I will look into becoming a tester to see if I like this. If I have further questions I hope I can post you a question,
Thank you once again for your very well made video on this topic.
Yes, learning testing makes people better programmers. At least it did for me.
I've been in QA for 3 years, 2 of them automating tests, and 3 years before that learning frontend. I can say that programming helped me be a better tester and testing helped me be a better programmer.
Thanks you very much, i love testing but it has not a good payment in my country, i'll take the books you mentioned from this video.
beautifully summarized
amazing overview, thanks
Thank you very much
I have joined a new job in a software development company 2 weeks ago. Everything there is great and I am stoked to learn and study SW testing in-depth! Any book recommendations? I worry that the books mentioned in this video will not be translated to my language, however I am eager to learn and understand the books in english!
Cheers!
Hi, I recommended books that I found useful. But when I started, I read everything I could get my hands on. Also I read every magazine available. The main point is just to consume as much information as you can - books have a single voice and a path. But there are also so many blogs available that you could probably spend years just working through blog posts. I'd recommend subscribing to this feed of blogs www.ministryoftesting.com/feeds/blogs and reading the blogs that resonate.
no my friend, that is not me. me, i look for some easy job, boring job, not to be tired,vto be able to work from home as well. thanks for the informations man. you're cool.
same, lol
Hi Alan, what a great video, realistic but supportive! Wondered what your thoughts on uTest are? (if you have any?)
Thanks. I think crowdsourced sites like uTest are a great way to practice - if you don't do it for the money. And for some countries the exchange rates make it possible to earn good money - hints: get in fast, look for low hanging fruit, run link checkers, run validation tools, run spelling check tools.
Thank you!
I dont have degree on IT . I talked to a "personal teacher" and he told me that it is better to be QA/Tester because it is a bit easier for someone who has not degree on IT .
He said that he suggest it to everyone who has not degree.
He said that i will learn python, sql ect ect ect ....
I said him that i am police officer at Europe Union country and i want to change my job , i want to go to U.K..
I asked him if there is a way to connect my previous job and the new one in IT , in my CV.
He said that everything in IT can not connect in POLICE.
Do you agree with this ? That nothing can connect and that the only easy way for someone who has not degree in IT is QA/tester .
Could someone be at first QA/Tester and if he want it , he will change it to be software developer later ?
I think I would not give the same advice as your personal teacher. The path to pursue - tester or programmer - depends on what you enjoy doing rather than what is "easier to get a job doing".
The hard part about getting a job is not usually the lack of degree, it is the lack of experience. It is actually easier to get programming experience than testing experience because you can code stuff on your own and there are so many tutorials, learning paths and bootcamps available. You can also create evidence of programming experience by releasing code to github and releasing applications online. Testing experience can be built by doing crowd sourced testing, and getting involved in open source projects. It might be possible to move into security testing and take part in bug bounties. It really depends on the companies you apply to and their hiring process.
Hiring junior staff is very dependent on the company. You might get lucky quickly. You might not. But if you want to move into IT then keep learning and building your skills and experience and keep applying.
Whichever path you choose. Create a blog and document your learning experience and how you are building and developing your skils. Add any projects you contribute to on your linkedin profile. Make it easy for people to see that you are working towards a set of skills.
Do a web search to find all the people who 'landed a job in programming/testing/it without experience/degree" you'll find plenty of stories to take as inspiration and see that it is possible. You can also learn from the experience of the people who did it and emulate the steps they took
What you will learn on the job in testing depends on the company, you might not learn Python, SQL, etc. etc. I have been doing testing for over 30 years and have only just (in the last month) started learning Python for my own personal coding projects. Many testers do not learn to code. Many do not need to use SQL because the applications they work with do not use SQL. Skills learned on the job vary.
Many things in IT connect with the Police and you should harness those in interviews. Police have to take diligent and effective notes when interviewing people - testers ahve to take diligent and effeective notes when testing. Observation skills are very important for Police, as they are for testing. Interviewing skills and personal interaction skills are important for many roles in IT - analyst, manager, tester, programmer. Police are often very good leaders because leadership training is included in the role, this can easily lend itself to an IT leadership position like scrum master, manager and tester. There are probably many more skills that overlap with IT, but I haven't been in the Police so I don't know what they are.
I've worked with Programmers and Testers who did not have an IT degree.
It is possible to be a tester and move to software developer - this depends on the companies you work with or how much extra time you can spend building your programming skills.
I started as a programmer and moved into testing. People move around into many different roles.
Best of luck.
Thank you very much for the info. I am 40 years old & holding a EEE degree & decided to start with software testing. I welcome suggestions on my decision. And once again I thank you for the valuable video.
Keep working towards your career. Keep applying for jobs. Ask for feedback. Never lose hope. Best of luck.
EvilTester - Software Testing thank you very much...
U r the best video ...so informative so positive.. github for tester never thought of that will try thanks thanks for all the info..will have to come back to make notes
Great - thank you.
I have worked in Mechanical Industry as Design engineer with 7 years of experience. Now, I have lost my job due to Covid pandemic. I have seen their is very less salary growth in Mechanical Industry. Right now, I am looking to switch to IT career in Software testing. Is it worth decision? if yes, please suggest me how do i start to prepare.
I can't say if it is worth it for you. I don't know what availability of work is in your area or if there are other roles that are more closely aligned with your experience. It sounds like you might be viewing Software Testing as something 'new' which you have to start learning from scratch. In which case... read as many websites, books and watch as much content as you can, at the same time start testing as much as you can. If when you 'start testing' you get stuck and don't know what to do, then that is the next thing you research to help you move forward. Sign up to as many of the crowdsourced testing sites as possible and take part in as many of the programmes as you can. This will give you experience of what other companies expect from outsourced testing, and again will help you focus your research because anything you don't understand or don't know how to do becomes the next thing to research. As you learn more about Software Testing, map as much of it as possible on to your experience as a Design Engineer to find the overlap between the disciplines. This will allow you to build on your existing experience and 'sell' these as experience points for any Software Testing role. Best of Luck.
U are my hero now
Thank you for the video. Can anyone please direct me where can I find open source software to practice my testing skills and build portfolio for my github?
I have some here www.eviltester.com/page/tools/ but I look on bitnami.com/ and other such sites for larger applications
@@EvilTester thank you!
Hi! I have no software background and I am looking at switching careers to Software Testing. I would prefer to go with a certificate but while looking at options hasn't run across smth good. There are so many boot camps for software developers. Could you recommend an educational platform? Thank you.
I haven't used a lot of online platforms. It really depends on budget and who is paying. There are many independent online courses, I have some on my web site. There are many courses on Udemy, the quality can vary massively but most courses discount down to 9.99 eventually. LinkedIn Learning has a lot of courses (I have several courses on LinkedIn) - again quality varies but they are all professionally produced and condense the information to get it across quickly.
How does the career outlook look like? I have been hearing that Quality Assurance is on the decline, is that true?
Also how does it compare to Data Analytics?
It is really hard to tell and depends on luck - who is currently recruiting, and the country that you are in. Probably best to look at the job ads for the country you are in. I don't look at the Data Analytics job market so I don't know how it compares.
I think (and you can see it in the comments) that people think testing is easy and a path to money and it feels really demeaning
As a Qa, you are the scapegoat of the team. Please be aware that you will be bullied, isolated and condemned. You have to develop a thick skin to survive in this game. You cannot be snowflake; you cannot be a pushover; you have develop a set of teeth. You have to be a monster to hunt monsters.
"Soft skills" are essential and each individual tester will have to develop their own approach to dealing with negative behaviour. Some environments are toxic and it can be hard to be a Tester in those environments. For people coming in new... not all environments are as bad as this comment describes. But I agree, they do exist.
That is the most helpful UA-cam video ever ı seen. Thanks for your words. I have one question. Just I m trying myself upgrade about QA testing. I'm learning thinks as much as possible. Sometimes its getting hard but ı liked to do this works. I was gonna ask this. Is there any possibility without experience, work and learn same time? I wanna get experience. I am really hungry for this. You are inside this topics. How many "%" I have you think?
To work and learn at the same time you can:
- get lucky,
- donate time to an open source project - test & raise defects (blog about your testing, or post about it on linkedin to demonstrate experience)
- take part in crowd sourced testing programmes - the don't pay much, but you will get experience
Sadly "work" does not always equal "paid".
To get paid and learn you usually have to be an 'apprentice' or 'trainee' and that often means working as a junior in a consultancy or outsource testing provider.
@@EvilTester Thanks, it will definitely will help on my way. If I will have questions I hope I can ask you :)
Thank you so much!
You're welcome. Thanks for watching :)
How can I get all these books in Software testing
I've been searching for entry level as a tester without much experience or knowledge. I have encountered a monster of an issue since most entry level positions require a bachelor's degree, and 2 to 10 years of experience in millon terms I have no idea of. My question to you guys. How do you even start in this field if you can't even get an entry level position or for God's sake not even an internship!
It is hard to find a first job... in any field. I recommend 'doing and documenting' your progress to becoming a tester. i.e. do you have a blog where you are collating references your are using, videos you like and why, applications you are testing on the side, what risks and issues you are finding? Are you testing through the crowd testing sites for practice? Have you tried all the testing practice apps available (you can always write up your approach and findings on a blog or social site like linkedin). I've tried to document some tips and approaches ua-cam.com/video/QB8n5RXTV10/v-deo.html. and www.eviltester.com/page/careers/
Thank you! Where would you suggest looking for online software testing blogs and communities?
for blogs I would initially subscribe to the rss feed for this collection... www.ministryoftesting.com/feeds/blogs
There is a list of slack channels here applitools.com/blog/2019-top-slack-channels-for-software-testers/
A few hours ago I was contacted in LinkedIn by a Recruiter offering me a job as a Jr. Software Tester. Currently , I 'm a jr fullstack developer. Do you think that I should take the job?
That would depend on you, your aims for the future, how you value your current company above LinkedIn, and all the other considerations around changing roles: location, salary, commute, prospects, training, bonuses, etc. Compare the job with your current objectively by writing out pros and cons, but ultimately it is going to be a subjective decision about how you feel about it. And if you are unsure, ask LinkedIn additional questions to help you get clear in your mind.
thank you Sir
I wonder what you would think about a qa company hiring a junior programmer in their job description. I've found one to apply at and it's very unclear if they want me to be a manual tester or jump straight into automating. They don't require knowledge of automating testing or any specific languages but supposedly want a programmer strong in pretty much any language.
I started as a programmer for a Software Testing company. Because they wanted to build some test tools. It never hurts to apply, or ask, when you find out more information about the role you can decide if it is something you want to do.
I have trying for years to get hired by different video game companies but I lack the quality and the ability to understand things.
Keep working to improve what you are doing. Keep learning, so that next time you try to get hired you can demonstrate more experience and skill.
@@EvilTester I have a learning disability ADHD it takes a long time for me understand the terminology of what the person is telling me. Trying to anything on video game lingo. Explain layman termsterms ok that what it means. How do I get my foot in the door. Books on how to get into the video game industry business. For beginners to want to start out .
@@EvilTester I don't know anyone anyone in the video game industry business so that works well against me. I'm back at square one. I feel like no matter what I put on the resume and cover letter doesn't help me get my foot in the door so to speak. Make videos of what I'm playing.?
Bulding some sort of portfolio is a good idea. For games testing, videos of 'testing' the game, rather than 'playing' the game might help. At the very least it would give you practice. And you can demonstrate that you know how to test games - and if you can demonstrate issues as you test then even better. It might also be worth reading this pamphlet (link below) by Drayton Bird on how to write a cover letter for a job application and see if there are any improvements you can make to your cover letters.
www.draytonbird.net/files/getabetterjob.pdf
Drayton Bird also has an accompanying video in this linkedin post www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-free-booklet-save-lot-misery-drayton-bird/
And if you do create videos, or blog posts about your approach then re-apply for jobs, with that additional information in the cover letter.
I don't actually know of any books on working in the games industry. But I subscribe to the blog posts at Gamasutra
www.gamasutra.com/
And some of those are written from a games testing perspective.
www.gamasutra.com/blogs/
@@EvilTester I get it but don't know anyone in the video game industry which I know would help don't know anyone.
Does it matter what programming languages you know already? If so what languages are the most commonly needed
You can automate in pretty much any language, so a specific programming language is not important. Once you know one, you can learn another.
www.eviltester.com/blog/javafortesters/2020-01-31-which-language-to-learn/
Are there any (aptitude) tests which indicate whether testing is even a suitable career for a person ? It is possible that one can learn a bit of testing, maybe even get "not so great" testing jobs for many years, and still not realize that they have little or no aptitude for testing.
I don't know of any. But I'm not sure I would trust an aptitude test. Personal motivation seems more important. That and taking action to practice and learn.
I am currently working as manual tester automotive domain . How do I start with automation thing which language should I start to go into automation career . Please reply asap...
You might want to check out this podcast episode and the links at the bottom of the show notes www.eviltester.com/show/010-automate-or-die-special/
What is the easiest IT field/job would you recommend for Beginners
I don't think there is a generic 'easiest'. The easiest one for you will be the one that matches the things you are most interested in. Because then you will be more motivated to learn the topics and will spend more time practicing and improving your sills. The hardest roles to do, are the ones you are not interested in.
Very good video. He seem to know stuff. But has anyone notice his fingernails? I assume his playing guitar (fingerpicking) :?
Good info man! I have 1 question I’m in development last 7 years in c# I know sql as well. But somehow I’m not enjoying my work in development.May be I have less interest in coding. I have good interests in testing and debugging the code. Can I move to QA after working in department.? Will this be best decision for me ..? Please advise
Thanks in advance
Moving between roles is possible. It is often easier to do while in work ie. with your current employer, change the role so that you do more testing than development work. Initially you will probably start doing more automation, performance/stress, or technical testing since that has a stronger overlap with programming work. But as you learn more about testing then you can incorporate more user focussed and in depth requirement testing.