Considering a career switch to IT, what does a normal day look like for a software tester?

[JorenBus]

Hello all,

 

 

I am currently considering a career switch from accounting (my current field) to IT. Technology has always interested me, along with everything related to computers. However, I have no degree in an IT-related field. Therefore if I were to make the switch to IT with little to no background, people have told me that software testing is the way to go as it is a good position to start in.

 

I currently have quite a few options to start as a junior software tester, with most options offering a traineeship ranging from 2 to 4 weeks training. These companies are aware of my limited background in IT but are still willing to invest in a training for me.

 

I have already looked up some information about software testing (V model of testing, SDLC, STLC and all the different types of testing), but that still doesn't give me a clear picture on how my day to day job would look like. I was hoping you guys could help me out to paint a picture of the daily job of a software tester.

 

I also have a few additional questions:

- How many hours per day do you work? I'm asking because in my current field, doing 10-12 hours a day is considered very normal, and I'm currently looking for a job that leans more towards a 9-5 mentality.

- What are the career opportunities like? Is it possible to climb up the ladder in IT if I work a couple of years as software tester?

- What are the key differences compared to functional analists?

 

 

Thanks!

[AngryBeaver]

5 hours ago, JorenBus said:

Hello all,

 

 

I am currently considering a career switch from accounting (my current field) to IT. Technology has always interested me, along with everything related to computers. However, I have no degree in an IT-related field. Therefore if I were to make the switch to IT with little to no background, people have told me that software testing is the way to go as it is a good position to start in.

 

I currently have quite a few options to start as a junior software tester, with most options offering a traineeship ranging from 2 to 4 weeks training. These companies are aware of my limited background in IT but are still willing to invest in a training for me.

 

I have already looked up some information about software testing (V model of testing, SDLC, STLC and all the different types of testing), but that still doesn't give me a clear picture on how my day to day job would look like. I was hoping you guys could help me out to paint a picture of the daily job of a software tester.

 

I also have a few additional questions:

- How many hours per day do you work? I'm asking because in my current field, doing 10-12 hours a day is considered very normal, and I'm currently looking for a job that leans more towards a 9-5 mentality.

- What are the career opportunities like? Is it possible to climb up the ladder in IT if I work a couple of years as software tester?

- What are the key differences compared to functional analists?

 

 

Thanks!

I would also look into the Infosec path (information security). The roles range from extremely technical to just needing to understand principles and make sure they are enforced. I mention Information Security, because it has a massive deficit of people in the field (Tons of open positions and no where close to enough to fill them). Then you have to look at the pay and generally it is VERY good. Entry level Cybersecurity pays in the 65-80k range depending on background, education, etc. After 2-3 years that jumps up again to the high 80s to mid 90s. 5+ years and you can easily be making 6 figures. Now some of this changes depending on where you live... so if your cost of living is low you might need to drop that by 10-15% across the board, but I am mostly speaking to averages which are some of the best in IT.

[The I-Cock Plus]

7 hours ago, JorenBus said:

Hello all,

 

 

I am currently considering a career switch from accounting (my current field) to IT. Technology has always interested me, along with everything related to computers. However, I have no degree in an IT-related field. Therefore if I were to make the switch to IT with little to no background, people have told me that software testing is the way to go as it is a good position to start in.

 

I currently have quite a few options to start as a junior software tester, with most options offering a traineeship ranging from 2 to 4 weeks training. These companies are aware of my limited background in IT but are still willing to invest in a training for me.

 

I have already looked up some information about software testing (V model of testing, SDLC, STLC and all the different types of testing), but that still doesn't give me a clear picture on how my day to day job would look like. I was hoping you guys could help me out to paint a picture of the daily job of a software tester.

 

I also have a few additional questions:

- How many hours per day do you work? I'm asking because in my current field, doing 10-12 hours a day is considered very normal, and I'm currently looking for a job that leans more towards a 9-5 mentality.

- What are the career opportunities like? Is it possible to climb up the ladder in IT if I work a couple of years as software tester?

- What are the key differences compared to functional analists?

 

 

Thanks!

I'm not going to lie - being a software tester bored the shit out of me when I did it.  However, I could see an accountant being much better built to live with the monotony of the job.  Some people are much more fascinated with gathering data than I am and that mindset makes the job a breeze.  Good luck to you.

[Lurick]

I'm a network solution engineer and most of my job deals with testing and validation of solutions and the software the equipment runs and I have to say I love every minute of it. I feel like a kid in a candy shop every day and I look forward to doing my work. I've been at it for about 6 years now and I don't see myself getting bored any time soon. What I will say though is that strict software testing of a specific component and repetition is going to bore you quickly so hopefully you'll be doing more end to end testing of software. It requires a different mindset, sure there is white box testing which is valid and good to test, does input of x output y and does everything in the middle work and you can see it going through the steps. That's a good step into the field but getting into more black box testing is what's really fun because you know that if you put in X you should get out Y but you don't necessarily know what's inside or how all the bits and pieces work inside that box so you have to dig into it, learn the ins and outs, and challenge yourself to break it. Does putting in a number instead of a letter return expected output? Does putting in the same thing a couple times produce the same output? Stuff like that.

 

Working your way up to a solution type of testing is where the real fun, at least to me, is at. Taking box 1 and connecting box 7 and cabling that up and then tossing in a bunch of features and functionality and more boxes and seeing does everything interact together, does it all work as expected, can you fail X links and get convergence in under a certain time, does traffic converge eventually or just die, that sort of stuff is what I love doing. I've worked on so many various technologies and software types and it's constant learning and personal growth and if you can drive yourself to always learn and improve then you'll go far. Learn what fuzzing is, learn what different testing methodologies are, learn how to think like a USER and not a developer and you'll set yourself up to go far.

 

To address some of your questions specifically:

1. It HIGHLY depends on your company, management, etc. I work whenever to whenever M-F and so long as the job is done and customers are happy nobody says anything. Other companies in the IT industry are super strict you must show up at 9 and you must not log out before 5. I could not stand working strict hours and I love having flexibility to not only work reasonable hours on a day by day basis but having that ability to start at 6am one day and then having a doctor appointment or something the next and being able to come in at 10 is so amazing and to top it all off having the ability to work from home a couple days a week if I need to as well.

2. Depends on what testing you do, your company, etc. and how much you push yourself to get better. The ladder can always be climbed by anyone who is willing to put in the time, show value, and grow themselves and the company.

3. A functional analyst specializes in in a technology or field but I've not heard of functional analysts in a validation role though. Looking online it seems they more focus on the project and planning aspect of things as opposed to the testing side of things.

[JorenBus]

18 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

I would also look into the Infosec path (information security). The roles range from extremely technical to just needing to understand principles and make sure they are enforced. I mention Information Security, because it has a massive deficit of people in the field (Tons of open positions and no where close to enough to fill them). Then you have to look at the pay and generally it is VERY good. Entry level Cybersecurity pays in the 65-80k range depending on background, education, etc. After 2-3 years that jumps up again to the high 80s to mid 90s. 5+ years and you can easily be making 6 figures. Now some of this changes depending on where you live... so if your cost of living is low you might need to drop that by 10-15% across the board, but I am mostly speaking to averages which are some of the best in IT.

Allright thanks for the tip! Although I have not yet seen junior positions for information security. I'm from Belgium, so maybe that has something to do with it. 

I will have a look if I can find some junior positions in information security, since that does sound very interesting indeed. 

2 hours ago, Lurick said:

I'm a network solution engineer and most of my job deals with testing and validation of solutions and the software the equipment runs and I have to say I love every minute of it. I feel like a kid in a candy shop every day and I look forward to doing my work. I've been at it for about 6 years now and I don't see myself getting bored any time soon. What I will say though is that strict software testing of a specific component and repetition is going to bore you quickly so hopefully you'll be doing more end to end testing of software. It requires a different mindset, sure there is white box testing which is valid and good to test, does input of x output y and does everything in the middle work and you can see it going through the steps. That's a good step into the field but getting into more black box testing is what's really fun because you know that if you put in X you should get out Y but you don't necessarily know what's inside or how all the bits and pieces work inside that box so you have to dig into it, learn the ins and outs, and challenge yourself to break it. Does putting in a number instead of a letter return expected output? Does putting in the same thing a couple times produce the same output? Stuff like that.

 

Working your way up to a solution type of testing is where the real fun, at least to me, is at. Taking box 1 and connecting box 7 and cabling that up and then tossing in a bunch of features and functionality and more boxes and seeing does everything interact together, does it all work as expected, can you fail X links and get convergence in under a certain time, does traffic converge eventually or just die, that sort of stuff is what I love doing. I've worked on so many various technologies and software types and it's constant learning and personal growth and if you can drive yourself to always learn and improve then you'll go far. Learn what fuzzing is, learn what different testing methodologies are, learn how to think like a USER and not a developer and you'll set yourself up to go far.

 

To address some of your questions specifically:

1. It HIGHLY depends on your company, management, etc. I work whenever to whenever M-F and so long as the job is done and customers are happy nobody says anything. Other companies in the IT industry are super strict you must show up at 9 and you must not log out before 5. I could not stand working strict hours and I love having flexibility to not only work reasonable hours on a day by day basis but having that ability to start at 6am one day and then having a doctor appointment or something the next and being able to come in at 10 is so amazing and to top it all off having the ability to work from home a couple days a week if I need to as well.

2. Depends on what testing you do, your company, etc. and how much you push yourself to get better. The ladder can always be climbed by anyone who is willing to put in the time, show value, and grow themselves and the company.

3. A functional analyst specializes in in a technology or field but I've not heard of functional analysts in a validation role though. Looking online it seems they more focus on the project and planning aspect of things as opposed to the testing side of things.

Thanks for the super detailed explanation! Do you have any suggestions for things I can look up, books I can read, YouTube clips I can view in order to gain a better understanding of how the daily life of a software tester looks like? 

[Lurick]

1 minute ago, JorenBus said:

Allright thanks for the tip! Although I have not yet seen junior positions for information security. I'm from Belgium, so maybe that has something to do with it. 

I will have a look if I can find some junior positions in information security, since that does sound very interesting indeed. 

Thanks for the super detailed explanation! Do you have any suggestions for things I can look up, books I can read, YouTube clips I can view in order to gain a better understanding of how the daily life of a software tester looks like? 

Anything around testing methods and methodologies, the different types of testing, etc. would all help out. I don't have anything specific in mind but if you're doing a lot of software development and testing then SDLC, Agile/Waterfall, etc. would all be good things to know really well.