my colleague Danila Yusupova inspired me a lot. It's amazing how friendly and hospitable the IT industry is - learn and come in and always keep learning something new. Therefore, I want to tell my story about how I studied to be a psychologist and became a tester.
I went to study psychology at the call of my heart - I wanted to help people and be useful to society. In addition, I was very interested in scientific activity. Studying was easy for me, I wrote scientific papers, spoke at conferences and even had practically significant research and planned to continue delving into the field of clinical psychology. However, all good things come to an end - my studies at the university also ended. I refused graduate school because of ridiculous postgraduate salaries and went out into the big world to look for myself.
It was then that a surprise awaited me: with my diploma and scientific papers, I was not needed anywhere. At all. We were looking for psychologists in kindergartens and schools, which was not an acceptable option for me, since I don’t get along very well with children. To go to consult, it was necessary to work out a certain amount of time for free or for absolutely pennies.
To say that I was in despair is to say nothing.
Looking for something new
One of my friends worked in software development, it was he who suggested that, looking at my ordeals, I go to them as a tester - I got along with computers, was interested in technology and, in principle, was not quite a terry humanist. But until that moment, I didn’t even know that such a profession existed. However, I decided that I certainly would not lose anything - and went. Passed the interview and was accepted into a friendly team.
I was briefly introduced to the software (the program was huge, with a large number of subsystems) and immediately sent to the “fields” for implementation. And not just anywhere, but to the police. I was given a place in the basement in the police department of one of the districts of our republic (Tatarstan). There I trained employees, collected problems and wishes and held demonstrations for the authorities, and, of course, simultaneously conducted software testing and sent reports to developers.
It is not easy to work with representatives of law enforcement agencies - they obey orders, they have strict accountability, and therefore they argue in official language. I had to find a common language with everyone: from lieutenant to colonel. My specialty under the diploma helped me a lot in this.
Development of the theoretical base
I must say that when I first started working, I did not have any theoretical basis. I had documentation and I knew how the program should work; repulsed from this. What types of testing exist, what tools can be used to make your life easier, how to conduct test analysis, what is test design - I did not know all this. Yes, I didn’t even know where to look for answers to all these questions, or where they could teach me a lot. I just looked for problems in the software and was glad that everything was becoming easier and more convenient for users.
However, monkey testing eventually runs into the problem of the lack of a theoretical basis. And I got into education. It so happened that in our department and on the entire huge project there was not a single professional tester at that time. Testing was often carried out by developers, and even more often by analysts. There was no one to learn how to test.
Well, where does the IT specialist climb in such situations? Of course, google.
The first book I came across . It helped me systematize what I already knew by that time and understand in which areas I had failures on the project (and in understanding testing). The guidelines given in the book were very important - and in the end they became the foundation of subsequent knowledge.
Then there were many more different books - I can’t remember them all, and, of course, trainings: face-to-face and online. If we talk about face-to-face trainings, they didn’t give very much, after all, you can’t learn how to test in three days. Knowledge in testing is like building a house: first you need the foundation to be stable, then the walls to fall into place ...
As for online training, this is a good solution. There is enough time between lectures to properly test new knowledge and even apply it live on your project. At the same time, you can study at any convenient time (which is important for a working person), but there are also deadlines for submitting assignments (which is also very important for a working person :)). I recommend.
If we talk about the difficulties of the tester's path, then at first I was most frightened by the bulkiness of the systems, the large number of different processes that take place. It always seemed: “But here I am testing the field, but what else does it affect?”. I had to run around the developers, analysts, sometimes check with users. Process diagrams saved me. I drew a huge number of them, I started with an A4 sheet and then glued other sheets to it from all sides. I still do this now, it helps a lot to systematize the processes: to see what we have at the input and output, and where the software has “thin” places.
What scares me now? Boring (but necessary) work, such as writing test cases, for example. Testing is a creative, but at the same time formalized methodical work (yes, such a paradox). Let yourself "hover" over the processes, check the craziest guesses, but only after you go through the main scenarios 🙂
In general, at the beginning of the journey, I understood that I knew nothing; that now I understand the same thing, but! Before, not knowing something scared me, but now it's like a challenge for me. Mastering a new tool, understanding a new technique, taking hitherto unknown software and disassembling it piece by piece is a lot of work, but a person is born for work.
In my work, I often met with a slightly dismissive attitude towards testers. Say, developers are serious, always busy people; and testers - so, it is not clear why they are needed at all, you can do just fine without them. As a result, I was often assigned a lot of additional work, for example, developing documentation, otherwise it was considered that I was playing the fool. I learned how to write documentation in accordance with GOST and how to write instructions for users well (fortunately, I interacted with users quite well and knew how it would be more convenient for them). Now, after 9 years of work as a tester in the ICL group of companies (the last 3 years and to this day in the division of the group of companies - ICL Services), I fully realize how important the work of testers is. Even the most remarkable developer can look at something and not take into account something. In addition, testers are not only strict overseers, but also protectors of users. Who, if not a tester, knows well how the process of working with software should be built; and who, if not a tester, can look at the software from the point of view of the layman and give recommendations on the UI?
Fortunately, now on my project I can use all the skills I have previously developed - I test (on test cases and just like that, for the soul :)), write documentation, worry about users, and even sometimes assist in acceptance testing.
What I like most about my job is that you have to constantly learn something new – you can’t stand still, do the same thing day after day and be a specialist. In addition, I was very lucky with the team - they are professionals in their field, always ready to help if I misunderstand something, for example, when developing autotests or conducting a load. And my colleagues also believe in me: even knowing that I have a liberal arts education, and assuming the presence of "white spots" in my IT education, they never say: "Well, you probably can't do it." They say: “You can handle it, and if you have questions, contact me.”
I am writing this article primarily for those who would like to work in IT in general and in testing in particular. I understand that the IT world looks abstruse and mysterious from the outside, and it may seem that it will not work out, there will not be enough knowledge, or that you will not be able to pull it off ... But, in my opinion, IT is the most hospitable area if you want to learn and are ready to work . If you are ready to put your hands and head into creating high-quality software, take care of users and, ultimately, make the world a better place, then you are here!
Career entry checklist
And for you, I have compiled a small checklist for entering the profession:
- Of course, you need to get along with computers and be interested in technology. Actually, without it, you can not start.
- Find in yourself the professionally important qualities of a tester: curiosity, attentiveness, the ability to keep in mind the “image” of the system and analyze it, perseverance, responsibility and the ability to engage not only in the fun “destruction” of the system, but also in the “boring” work of developing test documentation.
- Take testing books (you can easily find them in electronic form) and put them aside. Believe me, at first all this will scare you rather than push you to something.
- Join a professional community. It can be a testing forum (there are many, choose the one you like), a blog of some professional tester, or something else. Why is this? Well, first of all, the tester communities are quite friendly and you will always get support and advice when you ask for it. Secondly, when you start to rotate in this area, it will be easier for you to join the profession.
- Get to work. You can go to interns-testers, and then senior colleagues will teach you everything. Or start with simple tasks in freelancing. Either way, you need to get started.
- After you have started practicing testing, return to the books set aside in point 3.
- Realize that you will constantly need to learn. Day after day, year after year, you will learn something new and understand something. Accept this situation.
- Throw away your fears and doubts and get ready for one of the most interesting jobs in the world 🙂
And, of course, do not be afraid of anything 🙂
You can do it, good luck!
UPD: In the discussions for the article, respected commentators drew my attention to the fact that not everyone can be as lucky at the initial stage as I am. Therefore, I would like to add item 3a to the checklist.
3a. Speaking about the fact that it is better to postpone books for the time being, I meant that at this stage it would be dangerous to overload with theory, since theoretical knowledge is difficult to properly structure without practice, and a large amount of theory can scare you. If you want to feel more confident and not waste time while looking for where to start practicing, I advise you to take an online training for beginner testers or take a course on testing. Both are very easy to find and the information there will be given to you in an accessible form. Well, see the next paragraph
Source: habr.com