The 21st century has been categorized as the age of information or the age of technology. The current industrial revolution has seen more progress than any of the previous revolutions combined. No invention has been more transformative than that of the computer and the internet. Businesses have started to operate online, and hence the demand for skilled technicians and professionals has grown exponentially. The number of jobs in the sector has also grown. Information Technology is a vast domain requiring people of different proficiencies. Every engineering graduate dreams of becoming a manager, software developer, analyst, domain expert, or data scientist. But an often-overlooked career is that of a software tester. If you’ve got decent a programming repertoire and the ability to consider all possible perspectives and considerations, then software testing might be for you. Let’s know ‘Is Software Testing a Good Career?’
What do Software Testers really do?
Software Testers ensure the smooth functioning of software created by developers and make sure that it has no fallacies and can hold good for all users. They are essentially responsible for the quality of the product, and their stamp of approval certifies its functionality. Software Testers generally work under the QA or Quality Assurance department in companies. Software Testers write Test Cases that then run the software, this can be done manually, or it can be automated. A Test Case includes actions that run on a software to ensure that the desired behavior or output is always observed. This job is vital for the success of a product as it has to stand in the face of all possible contingencies. The testing phase generally succeeds the software development phase, and testers try to analyze whether the software works according to the requirements of the users or customers. Software testers test the accuracy, performance, security, and usability of the software being created.
What is the scope for Software Testing?
Considering that all software conglomerates need to validate their products, software testing is never going away. Whenever an innovation is crafted or old software is upgraded, it has to be tested. Testers learn about a product through exploration and experimentation, which includes studying, modeling, behavior analysis, and forming inferences. With the world moving faster and faster, especially towards developing mobile applications, there is an increased urgency amongst corporations to reduce the time required to develop software and make the whole process more efficient. Software Testers can be the catalysts in this change by reducing the number of issues and problems in the software. This process will only be accelerated by the transition to automation testing and the introduction of Artificial Intelligence. The current market value of the software testing industry is $40 Billion globally and is expected to grow to $60 Billion by 2027. With a growing demand for technology from Asia, Asian companies are set to expand. This will have an expansive effect on the software testing industry, and software testers will continue to be sought after. Testing will always be needed to detect the problems that threaten the value of the product.
Software Testing Careers
Software Testers work across all domains in a variety of capacities. 67% of all Software Testers work in High Technology corporations, including Information Technology and Computer Services with Manufacturing, Government, Finance, Consumer Goods, and Corporate Services also requiring the services of skilled software developers. Like most domains, careers in Software Testing are also plentiful, with each position requiring a separate set of skills.
- Automation Tester:
Automation testing is the current status of the software development industry. Automation Testers have started to become the most sought-after by software companies. Testers have to utilize testing software and tools to control and execute test cases. This is in contradiction to manual testing, wherein everything is done by hand. This significantly reduces the time required to run test cases on the software hence speeding up the development process. Automation Testers need to have proficiency over the software testing tools as well as a decent knowledge of programming languages. Automation Testing tools include Selenium, Tricentis Tosca, and Appium.
- Performance Tester:
As the name suggests, performance testers have to check how the software will function under varying levels of user stress. They have to safeguard the software from any external user interference and maintain the speed, responsiveness, stability, time taken to load, and any other functional quality requirements.
- Business Analyst
It is the Business Analyst’s job to study the requirements for the developers to then put into code. Business Analysts have all-embracing knowledge about the software to be created as well as the customer requirements. So naturally, they play a key role in software testing and are paid the most as well. It is their responsibility to connect the developers and testers and ensure that the software behaves by the requirements.
Why is Software Testing a Lucrative Career?
- Growing Opportunities
Almost all industries are going digital. Wherever there is a need for software, software testers will flourish. Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Natural Language Processing will dominate the market from now on. Companies are always on the lookout for software testers with a fluid knowledge of the above. In the coming years, even software developers and testers will have to upgrade their repertoires to incorporate these technologies, paving the way for millions of new jobs in the field of testing. The rise of Asian Tech-Giants has also contributed to this spurt of opportunity in testing. Asian countries have also started to craft favorable policies for the development of high technology and similar companies.
- Varied Skill-Set
Unlike developers, software testers are required to have some knowledge about the business requirements coupled with decent programming skills and proficiency with testing tools. The operation of testing tools is rarely taught at university, with students preferring to enroll for certification courses instead. This makes the testing industry wide-open for everyone regardless of hardcore programming capabilities. Software testing also requires creativity and the ability to think like a user to find out problems with the software.
- Profitability and benefits:
While some software testers work freelance, the bulk of software testers are hired by software corporations to work on projects permanently. As they are treated as professionals, they receive all the employee benefits provided by the company. Software Testers play a major role in the development of software and are hence paid as much as developers. While the salaries of software testers vary by skills, entry-level testers earn more than $51000 per year on average, with the most experienced earning more than $150000. On average, software testers are paid $70000 to $90000 annually.
Skills Required to Become a Tester
- DevOps & Agile Methodology
- Automation
- SDLC- Software Development Life Cycle
- Web & Mobile Technologies
- Creativity
- Programming- Application knowledge
- Project Management
- Test Planning & Documentation
- Testing Tools & Techniques- Tricentis Tosca, Selenium
Software Testing is here to stay.
Software Testing has become a highly specialized industry with vast implications for software development. The industry cannot function without software testers giving them a never-ending future. Software Testing is a highly intuitive, challenging, fulfilling, and lucrative career with endless possibilities. Freelancing in this industry might be one of the first steps to establishing a permanent career with a large tech conglomerate. Whatever one chooses, Software testing is here to stay but will forever keep on evolving.
