Are Tech Background or Attitude More Important for a QA Gaming Software Tester?

I changed my career into QA Engineer/Software Testing after a quite versatile non-tech work experience that included law, project management, acrobatic fire performer, and an immigration consultant. I took a coding boot camp and learned some coding on my own but never got the depth of understanding a degree in computer science can offer. Nevertheless, I did not have a problem finding a QA Engineer/Software Tester position but I think it was mainly because of my personality (curious, keen to understand how things work, resourceful, self-starter, happy-go-lucky) and my love for learning new things. 

In my QA career I came across some HRs and QA leads complaining about how hard it is to find a good QA Engineer/Software Tester candidate. That made me wonder why. Since I am a big believer in the power of “ask” I decided to ask some HRs and QA leads from different tech companies in different parts of the world. The main question is what exactly they are looking for when hiring a QA Engineer/Software Tester and whether they would hire a person without a tech background. I hope these interviews will help you to know whether you have what it takes to be a great QA Engineer/Software Tester.

Today, I am interviewing John, a QA Lead in Central Europe. (The name has been changed and the interviewee will answer my questions based on his opinion, not representing any company.) John does not have a degree in computer science but worked his way up to a QA Lead from a QA Engineer/Software Tester. Now, as a QA Lead, he sometimes hires QA Engineers/Software Testers. He is a perfect person to ask whether a tech degree is important when applying for a Software Tester/QA Engineer position and what does it take to become a successful QA Engineer/Software Tester.

Hello John, thank you for accepting my interview! I believe that it will help a lot of people to understand the in and outs of getting a Software Tester/QA Engineer job. As I saw in your LinkedIn, you don’t have a tech background.

Was it hard for you to become a QA Engineer/Software Tester?

Can you please describe your journey for us?

Originally, I wasn’t thinking about getting into QA as my education is in biology and nature. I did have some technical knowledge, as I have been living with computers since I was ~6 years old? But for a really long time, started as a kid, one of my dreams was to make games.

When I finally decided to try getting into the industry, it was sort of impossible. Not having education in the games field (and there was no games education available in my country) and without any technical or art background, I was not able to check the box of an IT games recruiter.

So I signed up for an IT/programmer university program but that kind of put me off track really fast. There was a lot of theory, many subjects not really connected to programming, and almost no hands-on experience. So I dropped out after half a year.

After that, I was doing different kinds of jobs just to keep myself employed and with at least some income. But never forgot about games and designs. The entire time I was trying to learn as much about it on my own. I did not become a programmer though.

At some point, I heard or read somewhere that QA is considered as an entry point to tech. So I started to look for QA jobs in general, not only in the games industry. I found a company that was offering a sort of “Testing Academy” for people without any industry or IT knowledge. They also promised to hire the best participants in the academy as junior QAs after the course. As luck had it, they employed me at the end. Although I doubt I was one of the best.

Do you still remember your first QA Engineer/Software Tester interview?

No, I don’t remember my first interview as there actually wasn’t any. But I remember a bunch of refusal emails from various QA jobs, both enterprise software and games. And a sh**load of ghosting.

I got into the gaming industry about ~3 months later. The company was were looking for Junior QA and my job profile page included “Testing Academy and Junior tester.” So they reached out to me.

Have you ever felt disadvantaged at your job because you did not have a degree in computer science?

Have I felt a disadvantage because of not having “official experience” or skills? Yes.

Look at almost every QA, or rather junior QA job offers and the list of requirements usually is just nonsense. “We are looking for a Junior QA/tester, entry-level, but you need to know <input your own long list of technical requirements>.

After two years as a game QA, I found a job offer for a QA lead and accepted it. And that’s where I am now. I was also looking for designer and producer positions but stayed in QA for now. I still love QA and feel like I am a tester, designer, analyst in one.

Now you work as a QA Lead so I suppose you are participating in hiring new QA talents. Do you feel that it is hard to find good quality QA Engineers/Software Testers in Central Europe? And if so, why?

Is it hard to find a good QA? If the applicants need to go through recruiters or HRs then quite often it is. Some applicants get disqualified based on illogical list of bull***t requirements and never make it to the interview with the QA Lead.

For an entry level QA (be it enterprise software or games), the applicant needs to have English at reasonable level (not actually needed if company is only operating in their own country), be able to learn, be able to un-learn, be able to focus and be able to de-focus. In the case of the gaming industry, the candidate needs also to understand that the QA job is not to play games most of the time. 

What kind of personality are you looking for in a QA Engineer/Software Tester usually? What personality types do make a good QA Engineer/Software Tester in your opinion?

I’m in the gaming industry, so I will be answering mainly from this sub-division of software.

What type of personality? Weird, crazy? You know, gaming QAs are an eclectic/wild group of different people.

This question is kind of un-answerable? I’ve seen different personality types both in my short time in enterprise software and in my time in games QA.

Somebody is more technical, somebody is less technical, somebody is good at following exact execution/reproduction steps, somebody is good at exploratory testing (sort of free testing without specific steps but with specific area or part of software in focus).

But generally, successful QA needs a can-do attitude and be MAINLY willing to learn new stuff as well as un-learn their previous knowledge or ways. Successful software tester needs to realize that software is not only about programming and coding, that games are not only about playing. Really good testers are able to break stuff as well as analyze everything and anything. Be able to focus and de-focus, think out of the box.

Generally, QA people are problem solvers. And if you tell the QA “don’t touch it”, what will QA do… :-).

Do you have good experience with QA Engineers/Software Tester applicants with non-technical background? For example, I believe that my broader background allows me to look at the product more holistically as a QA (from UX, legal, and business perspective to name a few). In your opinion, are there any pros and cons to having a more versatile work experience when applying for a QA position?

I have a lot of good experience with applicants and junior colleagues without a technical background/industry knowledge.

Junior QA means an entry-level and should be approached as such. I’m not happy that a lot of people in the IT industry don’t understand this.

The cons of not having any industry background are that more time needs to be invested into the onboarding and mentoring process. But not having an industry background is also an advantage. You can teach them what you need without the difficulty of changing previous habits and un-teaching those unnecessary things/approaches they might have. On the other hand, if a company doesn’t want to invest time into onboarding and mentoring (at any level of applicant), do you really want to be working for such a company?

QA is actually about being versatile!

Is there a big difference in technical skills between QA Engineer/Software Tester with a technical and non-technical background?

Now speaking again about the gaming industry: There is a big difference and quite an interesting one.

Build on seniors, bet on juniors (that isn’t from my head but I fully agree with that).

A highly technical person might not fit your team or your industry just because of a different set of skills. They usually honed their skills for a long period of time. It might not be beneficial for them to un-learn them. Fresh junior can learn “anything” and with enough time and a good attitude (from both sides), junior will become senior or will grow into a different area.

Is there a way to recognize whether a person without a tech background will have a hard time learning technical skills? Could you check that in the interview? 

I have never interviewed a person without technical skills that would end up not being able to learn those skills. But maybe it’s that way just because I wasn’t interviewing that many people yet.

But I usually have a few questions that are not related to anything technical. Those questions are aimed at logical thinking and the ability to look around the corners and read between the lines.

In my opinion, that is what the probation period is for. It is the best way to find out if the candidate is able to learn or not. Word of caution though – if the employer/boss/manager expects that the junior software tester will learn just by throwing a bunch of guides and study materials at them, that will probably not happen. However, if you invest enough time and effort into onboarding and mentoring the newcomer and they still have only negative results, then it is an indicator of unsuitability.

Do you feel like having a testing certification helps to become a successful QA Engineer/Software Tester when not having a tech background? If so which one?

ISTQB certificates are “excellent”. Those “teachers” have a big-money business for teaching nothing. Common standards in testing? You have just failed the part called testing. Standard practices in testing? So, you are executing “set in stone” tests on products that are not the same. Nice…

I don’t give a <insert your favorite swear word> about certificates. I care about who you are, what you know, what you can do and what you can learn.

I’ve never seen a certificate actually indicating that somebody knows or does testing perfectly. And I have met people with certificates.

On the other hand, get as many certificates as possible. Recruiters and HR love certificates and every single piece of paper you can present. But, please, don’t expect that certificates will actually teach you. Only practice will.

What is the one thing (if there is one) that the QA Engineer/Software Tester candidate should not mention in the interview? For example, I heard that some candidates said that they just wanted to try testing or they wanted to do testing only to become developers etc. Would that influence you on how you decide about such a candidate?

“You have received a build and it is crashing on boot or not working.”

“OK, then I will go home.”

…

“Why are you not doing anything?”

“My job is done and you didn’t give me anything else.”

“Why haven’t you told me?”

“You didn’t ask.”

If something is not working or you don’t know how to do something, ask. We are all falling, we are all failing. Just ask.

Have you finished your task? Tell me it is done. Don’t wait until I notice and give you another one.

Is there anything else you would like to add that could help prospective QA candidates without a tech background when looking for a software testing job?

Junior QA is an entry-level position in the industry, be it games or enterprise software. Don’t get stuck with one way or one approach. Keep reminding yourself that there is always something to learn and if one thing doesn’t work, try to find another way. Read between the lines, even the non-existing ones.

Don’t stick with only what you already know. If something has worked for you so far, it might change. Be ready for that change. QA is about constant change and learning. Usually, the best QA people are all other departments in the company combined.

When applying for software tester jobs, be prepared for a lot of ghosting from recruiters/HR and a lot of declines without having the first interview. Don’t get discouraged.

Also, remember that QA (not only in the gaming industry) is a sort of an under-appreciated department. On the other hand, excellent professionals were born in QA positions. Some of the best programmers, designers, analysts, producers all started as QA software testers.

One last thing. When you spend enough time as a QA software tester, don’t be surprised when the industry changes you. In my case, I am now testing almost anything and everything even in my private life. And sadly, I’m not able to enjoy games as a gamer anymore.

Thank you so much for making time to answer these questions, John. I believe that your input will help a lot of people!!!