Hi Thanh,
I currently work in the medical field and I have been looking at new options for careers. I want to make a big change and try something new. I live in Utah and there are many tech and software companies moving in close by. It has become known as “silicone slopes” for this reason I want to look towards a career in technology.
There are trade schools around here that have lots of programs, the other day I ran across a program being offered at the local university in partnership with Henry Schein and Xactware. It is a few thousand dollars and I would have to quit my current job to attend this class because of scheduling.
My problem is that I don’t really know what to expect from a software testing job.
Is it stressful?
Is it nights and weekends?
Is it a job that I can progress and learn on the job? what does it usually pay?
Would it be hard to be a woman in this career?
Does this sound like a good idea to get my foot in the door?
I should have mentioned that these companies will be interviewing all students that come out of the program for potential employment with their companies. Is it unrealistic to think I can come from a totally unrelated background for the last 17 years and now try to learn software testing?
I wish there was a way that I could shadow someone on the job to see if it was something I would like doing.T hank you for your time.
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you so much for your question. Your question is good actually. Your question is also what most new testers want to ask to get started. Here are my answer for your questions:
Is it stressful?
> Well, I don’t know how much your stress tolerance is, so I can’t confirm. However, it’s definitely less stressful than working at NASA…and here’s serious answer: software testing is about the skills and trust me these are skills we all can learn. Once you learned the skill and had experience, nothing can make you stressed
Is it nights and weekends?
> It really depends on the project. In some projects I needed to work overtime but some not. I barely worked at weekends. To be sure, you need to ask for that when you are hired.
Is it a job that I can progress and learn on the job? what does it usually pay?
> Yes, definitely. Actually, that’s how we all do when we start something new. Learn something, work, learn a bit more, work, learn more, etc.
Would it be hard to be a woman in this career?
> Many friends of mine are woman testers. Btw, they are great testers too. Woman is perceived as hardworking, meticulous, loving asking things and those are good characteristics of a good testers.
Btw, you may want to network with other woman testers. Check out this site: http://womenwhotest.com/
Does this sound like a good idea to get my foot in the door?
> You don’t know if something is for you or not until you try it.
I should have mentioned that these companies will be interviewing all students that come out of the program for potential employment with their companies. Is it unrealistic to think I can come from a totally unrelated background for the last 17 years and now try to learn software testing?
> Software testing is so wide and it covers almost any fields, well using software. If you have a lot of experience medical field, you may want to become a tester to test medical related devices, software. You don’t have to uninstall anything you learned in the past to move to software testing. Take advantage of it and bring it with you to software testing. If you have excellent domain knowledge and you know how to test software, who else can compete with you as a tester?
So I have just answered your questions. I hope it helps.
It’s ok if you feel overwhelmed when you get started in software testing. I felt the same when I got started too. Take your time and learn the ropes gradually. You’ll be fine.
Good luck!. If you have any question, just send me email.
-Thanh