I don’t know whether it’s hard to find quality QA Engineers or whether as a hiring manager we don’t know what we are looking for. Whether that be creating the right job specification or advertising the role to the right people. The role is so diverse and has so many different approaches, each organisation does things slightly differently. So I think finding someone with the same experiences and has the right approach can be very difficult.
When you start working as a QA/Software Tester, you will find out that you need some tools to help you do your job right. I came to software testing while working as a Frontend Developer for a small start-up. We did not have much of a budget so we used only a couple of tools. However, working for a big corporate client like Volkswagen as I do now means using all different software testing tools. Over the last months, I have collected a few of those handy tools and tried them out. Each tool is good for something slightly different and it shows the complexity of software testing.
Well, firstly the person must fit into our team, so a big part of the interview is a “friendly talk” where we talk things in an informal way. That way we get to know the person a bit. Secondly the person must have a passion, some drive which makes them like the work they are doing, whatever it is. And we also like perfectionists.
I am not saying, a QA engineer doesn’t require technical skills but the level might vary from product to product and organization to organization. The discipline has also evolved over time, due to the fast changing nature of the whole industry. So in my opinion it is a very cross functional role. Whatever background you have will always prove useful on the right product and organization.
…Because there is such a big demand there are also a lot of possibilities to get into the field. Even though you are not technical, companies are willing to invest time and money to train you… Find out which country this applies to 🙂
Quality Assurance is a concept and a set of skills. It is about practicing those skills. Candidates in software testing have to possess the ability to learn, research, and self-study. That means some kind of technical background in the software field should be there.
The personality to become a good tester would be someone who is curious, vigilant, someone who can drive ideas to improve testing, have a good mix of business acumen and technical knowledge. I feel as a tester another thing that is important is to be open to opportunities that might come their way such as not just perform testing but also help in other areas such as UX design, pairing with developers or doing code reviews and even helping delivery managers. In other words, be an all rounder.
I recently went through three QA Engineer/Software Tester interviews and I have received an offer from all of them. All three of them were super interesting jobs which I think I would enjoy. Some of them offered more money. That was mainly due to the complexity of the job and also because I was not scared to express how much I think my time was worth.
While technical skills and experience are still valued the most, almost every other type of experience can count as well, to be true. If one previously worked in a call center for instance, well, that could mean that they can speak to people rather well. That is also the kind of skill that can help them to advance their careers rather quickly.
People with a technical background might pick up technical skills right away, but every person is different. Not having any technical background doesn’t mean you’re automatically a slow learner. On the other hand, having a technical background doesn’t automatically mean you’re a quick learner. So, think of technical background and experience as a headstart in a race. The initial difference might be big, but there’s no assurance it will stay that way for long.