How to become a software tester?

In the past few years, the career of a software tester has undergone a tremendous change. Now testing has become an important part of various application/product implementation. This guide would unveil all attributes of a software testing as a career guide. If you want to find a good testing job, then this a recommended reading.

• Black box Testing
• Unit Testing
• Incremental Integration Testing
• Functional Testing
• System Testing
• Regression Testing
• Performance Testing
• Load Testing

Software testing is a comprehensive process of rating different computer programs in order to decide whether it meets all requirements and generates the desired results or not. In a simple words, it is a process of doing an extensive testing of a software before its launching in the market in order to find out bugs, if any.

A software tester is an IT professional whose main task is to detect bugs or flaws in a software prior to its release in the market. These people play an indispensable role in finding various faults in programs or applications and make sure that only error-free software is launched in the market.

• In order to find a good testing job, it is imperative to possess below skills. Make sure to compare your skill set against the below checklist in order to find out that whether the testing career is meant for you or not.
• A competent software tester should have excellent analytic skills. If you possess analytic skills, then you will be able to decipher a daunting software system into smaller units in order to get a knack of understanding of test cases.
• Without possessing technical skills, it is hard to survive in today's market. It would include proficiency in tools, like open office, MS office, QTP, etc. You can easily acquire these skills through training and practice.
• As a software tester, you need to communicate with your team players and developers. Therefore, it is important to possess good written and oral communication skills. Also, testing artifacts, like bug reports, test strategies, etc; created by a software tester, should be easy to read. Moreover, in order to deal with developers, it is required to possess discreetness.
• Many times software testing becomes a daunting task, especially during the release of coding. As a software tester, you should know how to manage your workload & deliver excellent productivity and exhibit vast time managerial skills.
• In order to become a good software tester, a person should be having a good attitude. In the software industry, technologies evolved with an unprecedented growth and it is important that a software tester should effectively upgrade his technical skills as per the changing technologies.
• To thrive in the testing job, one should be having a deep passion towards things. A software tester must be having a passion for his/her field.

Although, there are no set education guidelines which you need to follow in order to become a software tester, yet it is advisable to possess a degree in computer science, especially in performance testing and various other technical testing fields.

Also, a bachelor of engineering degree would be a great benefit. If you have a basic knowledge of Java, Oracle and other computer languages then you will get an edge over other job seekers. Also, there are various colleges in India, which are offering testing related education and some of the prominent ones are listed below=

A software testing job is quite lucrative and therefore, you can expect to get flourishing salary packages. As a fresher, you can earn anywhere between Rs 4-5 lakh/annum; whereas an experienced software tester can earn Rs 7-10 lakh/annum.

There is no dearth of good testing jobs both in India and international arena. As per some estimations, the Indian Testing Board is currently has over 30,000 certified testers in the ISTQB (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) foundation level exam. Also, the testing career is both challenging and exciting.

This kind of job profile helps you in finding a lucrative opportunity in the international arena. Every day, we see that new softwares are unveiled in the market, and as a result, there is a good demand of software testers who can effectively test softwares at various stages.

The software is continually evolving and as a result, it has become quite complex and intricate. The programming languages are so daunting that software testing has become a necessity of today's IT world. Also, the software testing is a major part of the general IT sector, which itself is witnessing a significant growth. There are immense opportunities available for software testers. With the right mindset, a software testing career can have a promising future. Also, testing opportunities exist for both individuals with a degree and for people who want to learn while working.

Testing is a promising career opportunity for young engineering professionals for various reasons. Some of the reasons include that it is technically a challenging job, and demands multidisciplinary skills like project management, programming and business domain. Also, it has evolved into a vast sector with India being the major haven for software testers. There is a clear career progression in different organizations for software testers.

The most unique attribute of this sector is that it is completely recession proof as no IT company would compromise on their quality irrespective of its financial health. It is a young sector and, therefore, it is right time to enter the sector. As per an estimation, over 1,40,000 professionals are working in the testing field and there is a high demand of over 20,000 professionals. If we compute on the basis of the prevailing growth rate, in coming years, the industry would produce more than 3 lakh testing jobs.

Furthermore, the Indian government is taking all steps to encourage the IT sector of the country. Recently, the 'Make in India' campaign coined by Indian Prime Minister is all set to drive the growth of the sector. Some of the notable facts about the India's IT sector-

1. Currently, IT sector has over 15,000 firms; of which more than 1000 companies are large firms.
2. The IT sector accounts for 7% of the world's market, mainly due to exports.
3. Over 60% firms are using India for testing services

Once you have earned an experience in manual testing, now it is the turn to explore alternate career tracks-

• Automation testing= When you become an Automation Test Engineer, then you will be held responsible for automating various manual test cases, which otherwise could become painstaking.
• Performance testing= After becoming a Performance Test Engineer, you need to check different application responsiveness.
• Business Analyst= As a Business Analyst, you will be held responsible for analyzing and assessing company's business model and different workflows. On the basis of your observation, you need to suggest different process improvements.