Becoming an automated software tester/ quality assurance analyst

1    10 Apr 2019 18:21 by u/Hirion

I'd like to start a new career as a software tester. Most companies look for software engineers I don't believe being a self-taught code monkey is a good decision if you want to be a programmer. Without a proper former education and good grasp of mathematics, you'll never succeed as a one, or build anything meaningful. Besides, everyone finishes some expensive boot camps these fays only to find out companies are looking for mid/regular and senior developers.

This is why I'm thinking about getting a postgraduate diploma in software testing from a good University. This would take me about a year, but I'd like to get an ISTQB certification. It's always a plus from what I've seen. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to get any experience? I've been involved in several IT projects, so I could always lie I did some testing there, e. g. wrote test cases, etc. I guess it's the only way nowadays.

What programming language would you recommend me for test automation? Java, Python? Would JS be good, too?

Any advice? What do you guys think?

8 comments

0 u/boredTech 10 Apr 2019 18:26

You're fucked. Welcome to support.

0 u/twomoreandatinkle 10 Apr 2019 18:58

Been an qa engineer for about 7 years now. Started as desktop support, than moved onto server support, than network engineer. Did a stint as an IT manager. Brought all that experience to the table. That's why I was hired at a company that takes testing seriously.

0 u/Hirion [OP] 10 Apr 2019 19:12

QA engineer is above manual tester right? You don't do test automation, or am I wrong here?

0 u/twomoreandatinkle 10 Apr 2019 19:18

I test automation. But there is a caution with automation. Don't put too much trust in it. The human eye has always been the best. But it does have it's uses. Look up black box, white box and gray box testing.

0 u/Hirion [OP] 10 Apr 2019 19:31

I've vmhesrd about them. What software do you use? Selenium? What language do you use to write your own scripts?

0 u/twomoreandatinkle 10 Apr 2019 20:00

Selenium is for web browsers? I do a lot more than just web. As for the scripts, I have no favorite Lang. But where I work, we have blocks on some languages so they can't run.

0 u/Hirion [OP] 10 Apr 2019 20:08

Yes, it's for the web. What do you test? Web, mobile, or desktop apps?

0 u/twomoreandatinkle 10 Apr 2019 20:16

All of the above plus deployment, GPO's hardware etc.