How to Become a Software Tester in 2024

In today’s tech-driven world, where we rely on software for almost everything, software testers are like the detectives of the digital world. They carefully check software to find any problems before we use it. Imagine a world where your banking app crashes midway through transactions or your website glitches midway through form submission. These are a few examples of inadequate software testing that leaves our software prone to bugs.

Whether it’s a new app for our phones, a website we visit, or software used by big companies, testers make sure everything works smoothly. This article is a complete guide for anyone who wants to become a successful software tester, explaining the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in this important job. Before moving to our main journey of How to Become a Software Tester, let’s understand what software testing actually means.

What is Software Testing?

Software testing is the process of identifying bugs and errors in the product to ensure its quality and functionality. Just as a car manufacturer would want to ensure a car’s quality and functionality by performing various tests similarly a software tester does the same for the specific software.

Good software testers are in very high demand these days as the systems are becoming more complex companies require talented testers to ensure the quality of the product. Software testing provides good compensation from entry/fresher levels to senior roles. If you want to make a career in tech without going into development then software testing may be your calling. This article will guide you through the basic steps to becoming a successful software tester.

Average Salary of a Software Tester in India

Depending on whether you are an employee of which company and your years of experience in the industry the salary could vary. However below is the average across all companies for certain years of experience:

• Entry-level (Less than a year): ₹2 LPA
• Early Career (1–4 years): ₹3.5 LPA
• Mid-career (5–9 years): ₹6.2 LPA
• Experienced (10+ years): ₹10 LPA

How to Become a Software Tester

There are various software tester fresher jobs available in the market. From software tester manual jobs to various other software tester positions. Let us see in a step-by-step manner from the very basic to advanced software tester tools how can you make your dream of becoming a software tester a reality

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1. Educational Background

• At the very basic you need to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science or any other related field such as information technology.
• In the intermediate stage, you can gain some hands-on experience by working closely with different codebases and understanding SDLC
• In the advanced stage, you can get certified as a Certified Software Test Engineer (CSTE) or an International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) Tester.

If you want to get certified as a Software tester, Check out these Top 7 Software Testing Certifications.

2. Skills Required

You need to have a combination of both technical and soft skills to build a successful career in the software testing field. Some of the technical expertise needed:

• Get Familiar with different kinds of testing
  • Black box testing
  • White box testing
  • Functional testing
  • Nonfunctional testing
  • Regression testing
• Learn to design effective test cases that could cover the whole functionality of the software.
• Get hands-on with different bug management tools.
• Although not always needed knowledge of programming languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, etc could prove to be advantageous in scripting, automation testing, and understanding of the codebase.
• Understanding the Software Development Lifecycle(SDLC) could help in easily integrating with the development process and performing tests at different stages.
• A basic understanding of the database and querying could help in verifying data integrity.

For a software tester the soft skills required are analytical thinking as a tester needs to analyze the system to identify the bugs, good problem-solving skills to think critically to solve the bug, to find even the smallest bugs attention to minute details, good communication skills as a tester needs to communicate with various team, should be able to work effectively in a team and a genuine spirit to learn as the technologies are changing rapidly so a tester needs to learn new methodologies and technologies.

3. Specializing in Different Testing Types:

Software testing can be classified into various types, each type catering to a special need. Some of the common types of software testing are:

• Functional Testing: It tests the functionalities of the software and analyzes whether it meets the desired business needs or not. First, it identifies the functionalities, and depending on the functionality specification it creates test cases and then gets the output. It compares the output with the desired output. The comparison is a yes/no comparison.
• Nonfunctional Testing: It focuses on how well things work. They specialize in software performance, security, and usability. These factors measure the system’s readiness on these parameters that functional testing doesn’t consider.
• Regression Testing: Software has regular updates but sometimes a new update could add a bug to the codebase regression testing checks the software again after every update to confirm there is no bug present in the newest version of the software.
• User Acceptance Testing: This is the final testing performed before the production release. It is also known as beta or end-user testing.

To get detailed information about the testing type refer to the link: Types of Software Testing

3. Hands-on with Different Testing Tools

A software testing tool is a program or application that helps the tester in assessing the functionality and quality of the software. They help testers to automate tasks, manage test cases, and identify bugs. There are various software testing tools available at a tester’s disposal. Some of the most popular ones are Selenium, Appium, Cypress, and JMeter. To get detailed information about various software testing tools refer to the below link:

To Learn more about more Testing tools, visit – Top 10 software testing tools

4. Building a Portfolio

• Showcase your personal projects often let an individual explore and show their creativity or innovation through test approaches. For example, testing an open-source app, automating some repetitive tasks, or creating new test frameworks. These projects could act as gems in your portfolio.
• Achievements such as awards and winning certificates from recognized hackathons can help you stand out from the crowd of software testers
• Certifications can act as the cherry on top of your portfolio. The recognized certificates add a layer of validation to your application. There are various software testing certifications available that you can get according to your requirements. Some popular ones are the International Software Testing Qualification Board (ISTQB) Certification, and Certified Software Tester (CSTE).

5. Gaining Practical Experience

Candidates with practical experience are always preferred over inexperienced candidates. However, for a fresher, it can be a difficult task to land his first job. One could gain practical experience in one of these ways:

• Internships and entry-level positions: These roles provide a candidate with hands-on experience, and they familiarize an individual with industry tools and real-world test scenarios. The companies don’t expect a fresher to know everything; what they value is your eagerness to learn. So, apply with confidence; you have nothing to lose; you will only learn from your mistakes.
• Freelance Testing: If you want to work independently on your terms and time then freelancing may be your calling. There are various platforms available such as Upwork, Fiverr, and Guru where you can find clients according to your skillset. In the journey of freelancing, you can build your reputation and acquire different testing experiences.
• Open-source contributions: Open-source projects are collaborative software projects where developers and testers unite to build amazing software. There are immense benefits to contributing to open source. They expose you to diverse codebases, where you can hone your skills and collaborate with talented global individuals. An open-source contribution would look unique on your resume and showcase your passion for the craft.

6. Overcoming Challenges

The software testing journey is very rewarding but it has its own set of challenges. The major challenge that the software testers face is that the software changes regularly and the systems are becoming more complex. To overcome this the software testing team needs to adapt to the changing tools. Regular training and knowledge sharing of the testing team can help the skills to remain up to date. Dealing with tight deadlines is another frequent challenge faced by the testers, the pressure of the deadline should not lead to compromise with the testing. Collaborating with the developer team closely can help keep track of the deadlines and identify the critical areas in the software. To save time testers could automate the repetitive time-consuming tasks. In a nutshell, you need to develop effective problem-solving skills, open to communication and collaboration with different teams can make you easily sail through the challenges.

Conclusion

You can have a very successful and promising career in software testing leading to your growth and development. This article discussed the roadmap on how to become a software tester. We explored the essential steps and skills required in this field. The dynamic nature of this field requires continuous learning and adaptability, as like in any other field, it has its own set of challenges; therefore, it is necessary for aspiring testers to stay motivated throughout the journey. Seeking support from mentors and seniors could help one gain professional insights. Every small bug rectified and every test case executed will take you closer to gaining more insights as a software tester. With passion and curiosity, you are well on your way to a fulfilling career in software testing.