Mandatory Skills to Advance Your Career in Software Testing
With technology ever-evolving, the need for skilled software testers is also growing. Learning new tools and advancing in the technical skills becomes inevitable for testers to keep up with the latest software testing trends, so they can continue to excel in their jobs. Testers must find ways to learn essential skills that can help advance their career in software testing. Here are some mandatory skills testers need to further their software testing career:
Software Development Methodologies
Software testers must have knowledge about the most commonly used software development methodologies such as Waterfall, Agile, etc. Solid understanding of the software development process and the architecture behind the system under test is a key attribute of software tester.
Software Testing Certifications
Certifications like CSTE and ISTQB are valuable early in your career to learn software testing fundamentals and can also help build your credibility and increase your chances of getting hired.
Focus On and Learn a Domain
Good knowledge in the domain area (like Banking, Insurance, Telecom, Healthcare, etc.) of the application under test adds value to the software testing professionals.
Expand Your Software Testing/QA Skill Set
As part of your daily job, if you are only testing front-end applications, learn database testing, performance testing, security testing, and learn to test APIs as well. A system-wide knowledge offers a tester with the insight needed to do a better job.
Make the commitment to learn coding
Though it is not a mandatory requirement, to be able to successfully advance career in the field of software testing, testers need to have programming skills today.
Test Automation
Manual testing is still practical in any setting, but you should also welcome automation to minimize guesswork and avoid daunting, repetitive work. By automating tests, you can save a lot of time and you can focus on other testing tasks that require your attention.
Attend Software Testing Meet-ups
Attend software testing conferences and testing meet-ups to keep abreast of what’s happening with the testing/QA industry. Read books and articles to keep up with the latest software testing industry trends.
Invest in Yourself
Identify skills that are in demand and try to spend some time to learn those skills. There are many open-source software testing tools available and some commercial software testing tool vendors are offering a trial. Create a list of most commonly used testing tools and try to learn how to use those tools.
Technical skills: Following skills are important for success in software testing career,
Knowledge of different operating systems like Windows, Macintosh, Unix, Linux and mobile OS like Android, iOS.
Knowledge of databases such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, MongoDB, etc.
Knowledge and hands-on experience in any automation tool like UFT, Selenium, JMeter, etc.
Knowledge and experience of Test Management Tools
Knowledge and experience of Defect Tracking tools like Bugzilla, JIRA, etc.
Knowledge and experience in Configuration Management tools
Knowledge of programming languages such as Perl, Python, C# or C++, Java, etc.
Knowledge of virtualization software like VMWare
Non-Technical skills: Here are some of the skills that every tester should develop,
Analytical skills: Software testers should have good analytical skills so they can think out-of-the box and create various test scenarios for the application under test.
Communication skills: Software testing is not just about working behind the scenes to test a particular platform or product. It requires testers to have good verbal and written communication skills to let bosses or client know what is going on. All project-related documents created by testers, including but not limited to, test strategies, test plans, test cases, bug reports, etc., should be easy to read and should be understood by anyone. Also, testers should be able to communicate issues to developer effectively.
Time Management: These days, it’s all about time to market a product, so software testers should be good at time management, as it is directly connected with the product release. Testers should manage to work in an efficient way with organization skills.
Passion: Software Testers must have to be passionate about software quality so that they can be involved in it.
Conclusion: To stay ahead of competition and to take their software testing career to the new heights, QA professionals needs to stay updated on the latest software testing trends, continually learn and improve their software testing skills.