There's a lot of talk at the moment about software testing and its importance to the software industry, but the actual field of working as a software tester seems to be a bit more mysterious. It's sometimes seen as the less creative cousin of programming, or a minor part of the production process. But these are fallacies. With software testing you have some of the most creative and important jobs in the whole software industry, and it comes with some real advantages too.
Software testers work on the nitty-gritty of making a product work. It's all well and good for programmers to knock something out and polish it for the market, but without the mediation of testers these products would be all but useless. These days it's no longer acceptable for something with glaring flaws to be released to consumers, and the reputations of companies depend on getting it right first time. With android and i-phones making huge headway, there's a great sink for new applications at the moment, and that means even more testers are required.
The job is a fairly safe one to be in, even in these uncertain times. The explosion of software demand means that companies are always rushed to get their products into the market, and that requires extensive testing. It might surprise you to know that testing often takes much longer than programming, as there are so many issues with the starting code, and with the usability of the product once it's at a user-response stage.
Job satisfaction can be high as a software tester. Programming might be seen as more creative, but that's not necessarily the case. Programmers tend to have quite a tight brief, while you have more freedom to come up with your own controls for testing, and work out creative solutions too. Investigating bugs is like programming detective work, and the fact that you do it as a team makes it all the more interesting.
All in all, software testing is a good place to be in if you want a stable career, and it gives you the chance to branch out into other fields further down the line if you want.
Software testers work on the nitty-gritty of making a product work. It's all well and good for programmers to knock something out and polish it for the market, but without the mediation of testers these products would be all but useless. These days it's no longer acceptable for something with glaring flaws to be released to consumers, and the reputations of companies depend on getting it right first time. With android and i-phones making huge headway, there's a great sink for new applications at the moment, and that means even more testers are required.
The job is a fairly safe one to be in, even in these uncertain times. The explosion of software demand means that companies are always rushed to get their products into the market, and that requires extensive testing. It might surprise you to know that testing often takes much longer than programming, as there are so many issues with the starting code, and with the usability of the product once it's at a user-response stage.
Job satisfaction can be high as a software tester. Programming might be seen as more creative, but that's not necessarily the case. Programmers tend to have quite a tight brief, while you have more freedom to come up with your own controls for testing, and work out creative solutions too. Investigating bugs is like programming detective work, and the fact that you do it as a team makes it all the more interesting.
All in all, software testing is a good place to be in if you want a stable career, and it gives you the chance to branch out into other fields further down the line if you want.
About the Author:
Istqb software testing is the industry standard for getting started in software testing.
