How to become QA software tester?

How to become QA Software Tester?

A software tester (or QA engineer) is a common starting point for those who want to start a career in the IT industry and is simply a profession in demand. We will tell you where beginners can gain valuable skills and knowledge and earn treasured lines for resumes and projects for portfolios.

What do QA Engineers do?

Software testers help make products – applications, websites, programs, cars – so they can be used as intended. They determine which system elements do not function correctly or are not as convenient as we would like, find the reasons for errors in the code, design, or logic – and report them for correction. All this is done to ensure that end users receive a stable, reliable, and convenient product.

What skills does a beginner tester need?

Since testing applies to various areas, a tester may need different knowledge to work. However, there is something in common in all cases: firstly, you need to know the theory of testing, and then further – to have a certain amount of knowledge about the system under test and its technologies.

With theory, everything is clear: a potential employer will want you to know what testing is, why it is needed in the development cycle, and what place it occupies. It would also be nice to know the primary development methodologies (AGILE, SCRUM, and other scary words) – so that you can work in a team that functions according to specific rules. It’s also good to know how to correctly write a defect, what test cases are and how they should be compiled, what checklists are, when it’s better to use cases, and when it’s easier to limit yourself to a checklist.

If testing theory applies to all areas, then the technical skills you will need depend on the area you choose to work in. For example, if you want to do web application testing, it is very useful to know how the browser works and what a web page consists of. And it is unlikely that this will be useful to you if you are testing aircraft on-board systems.

However, the most popular areas of development now are web and mobile platforms. We have already figured out the web, and to test mobile devices, you need to know the features of building mobile applications, their life cycles and differences from desktop applications, and the features of Android and iOS. It would also be nice to get acquainted with the design guides for applications for mobile devices from the developers of both systems.

Finally, almost any modern program will use databases, so you must learn what they are and how to write simple SQL queries.

Does a tester need to know how to program?

A question that broke a lot of copies during the clarification: does a tester need to be able to program? There are different opinions here, but everyone agrees that the ability to program does not hurt. It may not be needed at the start, but it will be a definite plus.

Programming skills can be helpful for understanding what is happening in the application under test and for automating some routine tasks, even if you do not specifically go into automated testing. If you are interested in the field of test automation, then the answer is unequivocal: you need to learn some programming language. If you are already working, then a good option is to learn the language in which your company is developing. If not yet, learn any of the popular languages ​​today.

How to study as a beginner software tester?

It is better to study in the way that is more convenient for you personally: from books, articles, video courses – or all at once. Fortunately, there are a lot of materials about testing in any form, so finding information should be easy.

There are many blogs from well-known testers; there are articles on testing on thematic resources; YouTube is full of video courses, including from large companies, and there are many reports from testing conferences that can be useful to watch. At conferences, there are often reports specifically for beginner testers.

In addition, there are educational platforms like Coursera or Udemy with training courses, including free ones.

You can start diving into the topic with books – here are the four most useful ones, in my opinion:

Some of them are already 20 years old and are not written in straightforward language, but they are still relevant – especially as a base for beginners.

If you decide to enroll in one of the many paid courses for beginner testers, remember that not all are equally useful, and they do not always have something that the free ones do not.

Perhaps the main difference between paid ones is the presence of a teacher who can answer your questions. Among other things, many IT companies open their schools of QA engineers and then accept the most talented students on the staff. Pay attention to them if you want to get into a particular employer.

How to start a career as software tester?

When ready to move on to real projects, choose a website or application and try to test it. Prepare test cases, compile checklists for performance testing, and think about how you would trace the interaction of the product with its server part – the backend.

Looking for the first real projects on crowd-testing platforms is better. There, companies offer everyone to test their product on a specific device and OS. You will most likely have to work for the idea, that is, for free, but you will gain experience and see how experienced QA engineers handle defects.

An open-source project with a bug tracker is a good start for a beginner tester. This is not only practice but also an excellent addition to your resume.

Finally, do not forget about internships in IT companies. You should not count on a lot of money at first, but if you prove yourself, there is a chance to get a job offer or a recommendation for future interviews.