Question:
What is software testing?Answer: Software Testing is a necessary checking procedure performed by a software company in the final stage of product development to insure product quality and guarantee customers' satisfaction. A software tester thoroughly tests, step by step, the normal operation of every keypress and function according to specified testing procedures. Software development changes every day, and thousands of companies continually develop and update their products. As a result, software testing will always be an indispensable procedure. Because of this, in a typical, large company approximately 30%*40% of the software engineers are responsible for testing.
Question: What are the qualifications for software testing? How much do you need to know about computers? Do you need to know how to program?
Answer: You can do the job even if you do not have a computer science degree. As long as you are familiar with computer operations, have mastered the testing procedures, and have sufficient testing capability, every company will want to hire you. A person who has the basic ability to operate computers, is familiar with any word processing software, is fearless, and likes to work with computers is qualified to learn software testing, and become an expert at it. In addition, you will have many chances to apply other specialties of your own. For instance, if you speak Japanese, Korean, or other languages and know how to test software, you will have a better chance to be employed to test Japanese, Korean or other languages software. In the Bay Area, many companies develop Chinese software, and software testers who speak Chinese are hot. Not to mention those with a programming background (e.g. C, C++) or have knowledge about database (e.g., SQL, Oracle); these people are what many companies would like to hire. Software testing is also a good, first job for new graduates with a computer science degree, because it gives them more opportunities to understand broadly and deeply a variety of software products. For example, someone who likes Netscape can learn to appreciate the design principles of this successful Internet browser via testing it; thus, working can be both fun and educational. People who enjoy graphics design can choose to test software such as Corel Draw, Illustrator or Picture Publisher. Not only can they learn to use such software, they can also enhance their ability with computer graphics.
Question: What does the work environment of a software tester look like?
Answer: To do the job, a tester first needs to understand the contents of the test plan; he/she then performs every test item according to the specified procedure. When the testing is over and a test report and software bug report have been submitted, the procedure is then finished and the next test started. Software testers look for problems; they do not solve them. As a result, their work hours are fixed, they have less pressure, and they have more chances to take vacations. Software development usually takes a long time. A software developer usually only works on a very small part of a piece of software, and thus it is very difficult for him/her to know the entire story. However, it is necessary to finish testing a piece of developed software in two to three months, and software testing is a good opportunity for a person to know a variety of software products. Deep understanding of products through testing, coupled with other specialties such as business administration, creates the opportunity to work in other departments such as Software Development and Marketing to broaden one's career,. In the Silicon Valley, there are many successful engineers who started out with testing.
Question: What companies need software testers?
Answer: All companies producing software or system products need software testers. Companies such as Netscape, HP, Adobe, Cisco, 3 Com, Silicon Graphics, Sun, Informix, and Apple Computer all continually hire a large number of software testers. Generally speaking, an entry-level contract tester is paid $18 per hour. A senior tester can get up to $30 per hour. One can even get $50 to $60 an hour if he or she knows printers, PostScript, networking, etc. Software development has a life cycle, as software changes and is updated continually; therefore, regardless of the state of the economy, software testing will always be in demand. In other words, software testers have a very low unemployment rate; software testing is a much better job than many other fields.
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