10. No software testing…no software!
Without testing, software is worthless – software testing does not make software, it makes software usable.
9. You save your company’s face and money (The bottom line).
You catch bugs so that the customers don’t have to deal with them-when the customers have to deal with bugs, it will cost your company a lot more (i.e., money, reputation, time, etc.).
8. You help people sleep better at night (The confidence).
Nowadays, software is everywhere. When software testing is done well, it gives your company or clients confidence in the software-everyone can sleep better at night. You provide the critical information for the entire team to have confidence in the product.
7. You make a lot of people happy (The joy).
Well tested software leads to consistent quality products that meet customer needs in a user-friendly manner-your customers and sales staff will be happy; you live up to your marketing claims; you deliver products to sales channel and customers timely; you eliminate embarrassments. You provide information without getting political.
6. Software testing offers you opportunities to constantly be exposed with the latest and the greatest.
Software testing is a continued changing and learning discipline-you constantly have to keep up with new ways of doing testing to keep up with development methods, new platform technologies, new product innovations and new ways of how software products are used. It gives you exposure to more than software alone. It has a business analysis component. To be a good tester you will have to learn about the business of the customers. And for each project that can be something different, from financial industry to oil companies, to cell phones, games, etc.
5. Software testing is highly intellectually, analytically and creatively demanding.
Software testing offers you opportunity to fully utilize your critical thinking and creativity to discover or see things that others do not see. It can be interesting, and intellectually challenging. You have to think out of the box- think of things and situations that others have overlooked. If those elusive bugs were easy to find, they probably wouldn’t be there. It is less technological focused than software development, but it does not mean inferiority. You don’t have to be a programming enthusiast to be a good software test engineer. But you have to have good analytical and creative skills, which you can also develop further in this profession.
4. Many can do it, but few can do it well.
There are still relatively few people specialized in software testing. In particular there are relatively few people who are good at it.
3. Software testing will always be a much needed profession.
Certainties in life: Death, taxes and bugs in code! Testing is around 30% up to 40% of all software development efforts. There is always a need.
2. Software testing is a challenging and rewarding profession.
While software developers often work with one or more parts of the software but not in whole, software test engineers have opportunities to work with the product as from end-to-end (the product is more than software), as well as at a very deep level of details. To do testing well, it requires a good mix of software testing skills, IT technical skills, domain expertise, project management and communication skills. Software testing requires a lot of communication and language skills (e.g., English if you work with an US-based development team). The better communication language skills you possess, the higher your compensation will be. Testing is the bridge from development to customers, user advocates, so you learn more about the business needs and customers. Good testing is about business modeling, user analysis, understanding the market.
1. Software testing is a well compensated profession with ample opportunity for fast-paced career advancement.
It has been an under-studied discipline and an industry that still offers a lot of room to learn, pioneer and innovate. Therefore, it offers plenty of opportunities to quickly advance in your career, be well compensated and/or become thought-leaders. In software testing profession, there are many opportunities for growth. You can become senior engineer, project lead, project manager, line manager, director, etc.
