Software Testing Tutorial: Free QA Course

ByGeorge McGovernUpdatedOctober 27, 2021

Training Summary

In this course, you will learn basic skills and Software Testing concepts. Lessons
are taught using REAL-LIFE Examples for improved learning. Refer the tutorials
sequentially one after the other.

What should I know?

This online video tutorial is specially designed for beginners with little or no
manual testing experience. But before you begin, refer this comprehensive guide
on choosing QA as your career

Software Testing Syllabus

Testing Fundamentals

👉 Tutorial What is Software Testing? Definition, Basics & Types

👉 Tutorial Software Testing as a Career Path (Skills, Salary, Growth)

👉 Tutorial 7 Software Testing Principles: Learn with Examples

👉 Tutorial V-Model in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial STLC – Software Testing Life Cycle Phases & Entry, Exit Criteria

Types of Testing

👉 Tutorial Manual Testing Tutorial for Beginners: Concepts, Types, Tool

👉 Tutorial AUTOMATION TESTING Tutorial: What is, Process, Benefits & Tools

👉 Tutorial Automation Testing Vs. Manual Testing: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Unit Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools, EXAMPLE

👉 Tutorial Integration Testing: What is, Types, Top Down & Bottom Up Example

👉 Tutorial What is System Testing? Types & Definition with Example

👉 Tutorial Sanity Testing Vs Smoke Testing: Introduction & Differences

👉 Tutorial What is Regression Testing? Definition, Test Cases (Example)

👉 Tutorial What is Non Functional Testing? Types with Example

TestCase Development

👉 Tutorial Test Documentation in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial What is Test Scenario? Template with Examples

👉 Tutorial How to Write Test Cases: Sample Template with Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Test Analysis (Test Basis) in Software Testing?

👉 Tutorial What is Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM)? Example Template

👉 Tutorial Test Data Generation: What is, How to, Example, Tools

👉 Tutorial Download Sample Test Case Template: Example Excel, Word Formats

Testing Techniques

👉 Tutorial Software Testing Techniques with Test Case Design Examples

👉 Tutorial Boundary Value Analysis & Equivalence Partitioning with Examples

👉 Tutorial Decision Table Testing: Learn with Example

👉 Tutorial What is State Transition Testing? Diagram, Technique, Example

👉 Tutorial What is Use Case Testing? Technique, Examples

Test Management & Control

👉 Tutorial Software Test Estimation Techniques: Step By Step Guide

👉 Tutorial How to Create a Test Plan (with Example)

👉 Tutorial Test Plan Template: Sample Document with Web Application Example

Defects

👉 Tutorial Test Environment for Software Testing

👉 Tutorial Defect Management Process in Software Testing (Bug Report Template)

👉 Tutorial Defect/Bug Life Cycle in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial Top 50 Software Testing Tools

Agile

👉 Tutorial Agile Methodology & Model: Guide for Software Development & Testing

👉 Tutorial What is Agile Testing? Process, Strategy, Test Plan, Life Cycle Example

👉 Tutorial Scrum Testing Methodology Tutorial: What is, Process, Artifacts, Sprint

👉 Tutorial Automation Testing Framework for Agile/Scrum Methodology

👉 Tutorial SAFe Methodology Tutorial: What is Scaled Agile Framework

Testing Different Domains

👉 Tutorial Web Application Testing: 8 Step Guide to Website Testing

👉 Tutorial Web Application Testing Checklist: Example Test Cases for Website

👉 Tutorial Banking Domain Application Testing: Sample Test Cases

👉 Tutorial eCommerce Testing: How to Test an E-Commerce Website

👉 Tutorial Payment Gateway Testing Tutorial with Example Test Cases

👉 Tutorial Mainframe Testing – Complete Tutorial

👉 Tutorial Testing Retail Point Of Sale(POS) Systems: Example Test Cases

👉 Tutorial HealthCare Domain Testing with Sample Test Cases

👉 Tutorial Testing Insurance Domain Applications with Sample Test Cases

👉 Tutorial Testing Telecom Domain with Sample OSS/BSS Test cases

👉 Tutorial Business Intelligence (BI) Testing: Sample Test Cases

WhiteBox Testing

👉 Tutorial What is WHITE Box Testing? Techniques, Example, Types & Tools

👉 Tutorial What is Static Testing? What is a Testing Review?

👉 Tutorial Mccabe’s Cyclomatic Complexity: Calculate with Flow Graph (Example)

👉 Tutorial Code Coverage Tutorial: Branch, Statement, Decision, FSM

👉 Tutorial Path Testing & Basis Path Testing with EXAMPLES

Performance Testing

👉 Tutorial Performance Testing Tutorial: What is, Types, Metrics & Example
👉 Tutorial Load Testing Tutorial: What is? How to? (with Examples)

👉 Tutorial What is STRESS Testing in Software Testing? Tools, Types, Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Volume Testing? Learn with Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Scalability Testing? Learn with Example

👉 Tutorial What is Soak Testing? Definition, Meaning, Examples

👉 Tutorial Stability Testing in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial What is Spike Testing? Learn With Example

👉 Tutorial Load Testing vs Stress Testing vs Performance Testing: Difference Discussed

👉 Tutorial What is Response Time Testing?

👉 Tutorial What is Benchmark Testing? Test Plan, Tools, Example

👉 Tutorial What is Endurance Testing in Software Testing? (with Example)

👉 Tutorial Reliability Testing Tutorial: What is, Methods, Tools, Example

👉 Tutorial 13 BEST Performance Testing Tools | Load Testing Tool

Advance Testing Topics

👉 Tutorial Software Testing Metrics: What is, Types & Example

👉 Tutorial How to create Test Strategy Document (Sample Template)

👉 Tutorial What is Testing as a Service? TaaS Model Explained

👉 Tutorial What is Test Maturity Model (TMM) in Software Testing?

FAQ

👉 Tutorial Severity & Priority in Testing: Differences & Example

👉 Tutorial What is a Test Script? How to write with Example

👉 Tutorial Test Strategy vs Test Plan: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Static Testing vs Dynamic Testing: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Difference Between Retesting and Regression Testing

👉 Tutorial Quality Assurance Vs Quality Control: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Difference Between Verification and Validation with Example

👉 Tutorial Positive Testing and Negative Testing with Examples

👉 Tutorial What is TEST HARNESS? Tools & Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Defect Density? Formula to calculate with Example

👉 Tutorial Difference Between Globalization Testing and Localization Testing

👉 Tutorial Test Condition vs Test Scenario: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Unit Test vs Integration Test: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Functional Testing Vs Non-Functional Testing: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial Black Box Testing Vs. White Box Testing: Key Differences

👉 Tutorial Frontend Testing Vs. Backend Testing: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial SDLC vs STLC: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial What is SDET? Full Form, Meaning, Role and Responsibilities

👉 Tutorial Do Testers have to Write Code?

👉 Tutorial Test Case vs Test Scenario: What’s the Difference?

Testing Types – Mega List

👉 Tutorial Types of Software Testing: 100 Examples of Different Testing Types

👉 Tutorial API Testing Tutorial: Learn in 10 minutes!

👉 Tutorial What is BLACK Box Testing? Techniques, Example & Types

👉 Tutorial Alpha Testing Vs Beta Testing: What’s the Difference?

👉 Tutorial What is Functional Testing? Types & Examples (Complete Tutorial)

👉 Tutorial What is User Acceptance Testing (UAT)? with Examples

👉 Tutorial REST API Testing Tutorial: Sample Manual Test Case

👉 Tutorial REST Client Testing using Restito Tool

👉 Tutorial REST Assured Tutorial: How to test API with Example

👉 Tutorial What is Security Testing? Types with Example

👉 Tutorial GUI Testing Tutorial: User Interface (UI) TestCases with Examples

👉 Tutorial Software Testing Methodologies: Learn QA Models

👉 Tutorial END-To-END Testing Tutorial: What is E2E Testing with Example

👉 Tutorial What is Exploratory Testing? Techniques with Examples

👉 Tutorial Mutation Testing in Software Testing: Mutant Score & Analysis Example

👉 Tutorial What is Adhoc Testing? Types with Example

👉 Tutorial Keyword Driven Testing Framework with Example

👉 Tutorial Risk Based Testing: Approach, Matrix, Process & Examples

👉 Tutorial Backend Testing Tutorial: What is, Tools & Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Smoke Testing? How to do with EXAMPLES

👉 Tutorial Accessibility Testing Tutorial: What is, Tools & Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Quality Assurance(QA)? Process, Methods, Examples

👉 Tutorial Quality Management Plan Template: Download with Sample Example

👉 Tutorial What is SOA Testing? Tutorial with Example

👉 Tutorial Penetration Testing Tutorial: What is PenTest?

👉 Tutorial What is Compatibility Testing? Forward & Backward Testing (Example)

👉 Tutorial What is System Integration Testing (SIT) with Example

👉 Tutorial Test Coverage in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial What is Usability Testing? UX(User Experience) Testing Example

👉 Tutorial Protocol Testing Tutorial: L2 & L3

👉 Tutorial What is Cloud Testing? SaaS Testing Tutorial

👉 Tutorial Cookie Testing: Example Test Cases for Website

👉 Tutorial What is Grey Box Testing? Techniques, Example

👉 Tutorial Model Based Testing Tutorial: What is, Tools & Example

👉 Tutorial What is Pilot Testing? Definition, Meaning, Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Orthogonal Array Testing (OATS)? Tools, Techniques & Example

👉 Tutorial What is Alpha Testing? Process, Example

👉 Tutorial Fuzz Testing(Fuzzing) Tutorial: What is, Types, Tools & Example

👉 Tutorial What is Localization Testing? Example Test Cases & Checklist

👉 Tutorial What is Interface Testing? Types & Example

👉 Tutorial What is Vulnerability Assessment? Testing Process, VAPT Scan Tool

👉 Tutorial What is Configuration Testing? Example Test Cases

👉 Tutorial Application Testing Tutorial: What is, How to, Tools

👉 Tutorial What is Negative Testing? Test cases With Example

👉 Tutorial What is Interoperability Testing in Software Testing? (with Examples)

👉 Tutorial Conformance Testing (Compliance Testing) – Complete Guide

👉 Tutorial What is Loop Testing? Methodology, Example

👉 Tutorial What is Component Testing? Techniques, Example Test Cases

👉 Tutorial What is Dynamic Testing? Types, Techniques & Example

👉 Tutorial What is Parallel Testing? Definition, Approach, Example

👉 Tutorial What is Operational Acceptance Testing(OAT)? Example Test Cases

👉 Tutorial What is Module Testing? Definition, Examples

👉 Tutorial What is Workflow Testing in Software Testing? with Examples

👉 Tutorial Storage Testing Tutorial: What is, Type, Concepts

👉 Tutorial What is Recovery Testing? with Example

👉 Tutorial What is Concurrency Testing in Software Testing?

👉 Tutorial What is Thread Testing in Software Testing?

👉 Tutorial What is Destructive Testing? Techniques, Methods, Example

👉 Tutorial What is Continuous Testing in DevOps? Definition, Benefits, Tools

👉 Tutorial Levels of Testing in Software Testing

👉 Tutorial IoT Testing Tutorial: What is, Process, Challenges & Tools

👉 Tutorial What is Test Driven Development (TDD)? Tutorial with Example

👉 Tutorial What is Data Driven Testing? Learn to create Framework

👉 Tutorial What is Monkey & Gorilla Testing? Examples, Difference

👉 Tutorial What is Front End Testing? Tools & Frameworks

👉 Tutorial What is Embedded Testing in Software Testing?

👉 Tutorial What is Domain Testing in Software Testing? (with Example)

👉 Tutorial Salesforce Testing Tutorial: What, Process, Tools, Best Practices

👉 Tutorial Design Verification & Validation Process

👉 Tutorial Non Destructive Testing (NDT)

Tools

👉 Tutorial 10 Best Cross Browser Compatibility Testing Tools

👉 Tutorial 20 Best Bug/Defect Tracking Tools

👉 Tutorial 20 Best Web Application Testing Tools

👉 Tutorial 20 BEST Automation Testing Tools

👉 Tutorial 15 BEST Test Data Generation Tools

👉 Tutorial 13 Best Crowd Testing (Crowdsource) Companies

👉 Tutorial 10 BEST Exploratory Testing Tools

👉 Tutorial 15+ BEST Open Source Testing Tools

👉 Tutorial 20 BEST Software Testing Services

👉 Tutorial 20+ TOP Performance Testing Service Companies

Check!

👉 Tutorial Top 150 Software Testing Interview Questions & Answers

👉 Tutorial Top 15 Automation Testing Interview Questions & Answers

👉 Tutorial Top 25 Database Testing Interview Questions & Answers

👉 Tutorial Top 40 QA (Quality Assurance) Interview Questions & Answers

👉 Tutorial QA Software Tester Resume Example: How to Write Job Seeking Resume

👉 Tutorial Software Testing Tutorial for Beginners PDF

👉 Tutorial 6 Testing eBook Bundle

👉 Tutorial Testing Quiz

Certification

👉 Tutorial ISTQB Certification: Complete Exam Study Material with Mock Test

👉 Tutorial CSTE Certification Guide with Study Material

👉 Tutorial Certified Software Quality Analyst(CSQA) Certification Guide

👉 Tutorial ISTQB CTAL (Advanced Level) Exam with Study Material

Live Testing Project

👉 Join Live Manual Testing Project: Online Software Testing Practice

👉 Join Free Software Testing Live Project: Insurance Domain

FAQ

✅ Why learn software testing?

Here are the reasons for learning software testing:

 Software testing is in demand.

 It is relatively easy to start a career in product/software testing.
 Testing tools are easy to learn.
 Software testing is an important process of the software development life
cycle.
 It is a evergreen sector in the IT sector.

💥 What are the Benefits of Software Testing?

Here are the benefits of software testing:

 Software testing ensures that you deliver a quality product to the

customer.
 Testing helps in removing risks and problems earlier.
 Testing any IT project on time helps you to save your money for the long
term.
 The main aim of any product is to give satisfaction to their customers.
UI/UX Testing ensures the best user experience.

❓ Who can learn Software Testing?

Software testing can be learned by the people who want to start their career in
the IT industry but not interested in coding. It can be learned by the people who
want to learn various testing tools and enjoy finding bugs.
✅ Why choose software testing as a career?
Here are the reasons to choose software testing as a career:

 You can get a good salary and growth as a software testing professional.
 Solving and tracking bugs is a fun activity
 You contribute to the quality of the software product, which is a very
rewarding experience.
 People should choose software testing if they like to work in a challenging
environment.

🔒 How do I get real-time exposure to Testing?

You can get real-time exposure to Testing by analyzing the live projects and
finding bugs and errors. You can join our Live Testing Project to get your hands
dirty in QA.

What is Software Testing? Definition,

Basics & Types in Software Engineering
ByThomas HamiltonUpdatedOctober 8, 2021

Software Testing
Software Testing is a method to check whether the actual software
product matches expected requirements and to ensure that software
product is Defect free. It involves execution of software/system components
using manual or automated tools to evaluate one or more properties of
interest. The purpose of software testing is to identify errors, gaps or
missing requirements in contrast to actual requirements.
Some prefer saying Software testing definition as a White Box and Black
Box Testing. In simple terms, Software Testing means the Verification of
Application Under Test (AUT). This Software Testing course introduces
testing software to the audience and justifies the importance of software
testing.
In this Software Testing tutorial, you will learn basics of software testing
like:

 What is Software Testing?

 Why is Software Testing Important?
 What are the benefits of Software Testing?
 Testing in Software Engineering
 Types of Software Testing
 Testing Strategies in Software Engineering
 Program Testing

Why Software Testing is Important?

Software Testing is Important because if there are any bugs or errors in
the software, it can be identified early and can be solved before delivery of
the software product. Properly tested software product ensures reliability,
security and high performance which further results in time saving, cost
effectiveness and customer satisfaction.
Top 10 Behavioral Interview Questions and Answers

What is the need of Testing?

Testing is important because software bugs could be expensive or even
dangerous. Software bugs can potentially cause monetary and human loss,
and history is full of such examples.

 In April 2015, Bloomberg terminal in London crashed due to software

glitch affected more than 300,000 traders on financial markets. It
forced the government to postpone a 3bn pound debt sale.
 Nissan cars recalled over 1 million cars from the market due to
software failure in the airbag sensory detectors. There has been
reported two accident due to this software failure.
 Starbucks was forced to close about 60 percent of stores in the U.S
and Canada due to software failure in its POS system. At one point,
the store served coffee for free as they were unable to process the
transaction.
 Some of Amazon’s third-party retailers saw their product price is
reduced to 1p due to a software glitch. They were left with heavy
losses.
 Vulnerability in Windows 10. This bug enables users to escape from
security sandboxes through a flaw in the win32k system.
 In 2015 fighter plane F-35 fell victim to a software bug, making it
unable to detect targets correctly.
 China Airlines Airbus A300 crashed due to a software bug on April
26, 1994, killing 264 innocents live
  In 1985, Canada’s Therac-25 radiation therapy machine
malfunctioned due to software bug and delivered lethal radiation
doses to patients, leaving 3 people dead and critically injuring 3
others.
 In April of 1999, a software bug caused the failure of a $1.2 billion
military satellite launch, the costliest accident in history
 In May of 1996, a software bug caused the bank accounts of 823
customers of a major U.S. bank to be credited with 920 million US
dollars.

Click here if the video is not accessible

What are the benefits of Software Testing?

Here are the benefits of using software testing:

 Cost-Effective: It is one of the important advantages of software

testing. Testing any IT project on time helps you to save your money
for the long term. In case if the bugs caught in the earlier stage of
software testing, it costs less to fix.
 Security: It is the most vulnerable and sensitive benefit of software
testing. People are looking for trusted products. It helps in removing
risks and problems earlier.
 Product quality: It is an essential requirement of any software
product. Testing ensures a quality product is delivered to customers.
 Customer Satisfaction: The main aim of any product is to give
satisfaction to their customers. UI/UX Testing ensures the best user
experience.

Testing in Software Engineering

As per ANSI/IEEE 1059, Testing in Software Engineering is a process of
evaluating a software product to find whether the current software product
meets the required conditions or not. The testing process involves
evaluating the features of the software product for requirements in terms of
any missing requirements, bugs or errors, security, reliability and
performance.

Types of Software Testing

Here are the software testing types:

Typically Testing is classified into three categories.

  Functional Testing
 Non-Functional Testing or Performance Testing
 Maintenance (Regression and Maintenance)

Types of Software Testing in Software Engineering

Testing Category Types of Testing
 Unit Testing
 Integration Testing
 Smoke
 UAT ( User Acceptance Testing)
Functional Testing  Localization
 Globalization
 Interoperability
 So on

 Performance
 Endurance
 Load
 Volume
Non-Functional Testing
 Scalability
 Usability
 So on

 Regression
Maintenance  Maintenance

This is not the complete list as there are more than 150 types of
testing types and still adding. Also, note that not all testing types are
applicable to all projects but depend on the nature & scope of the project.

Testing Strategies in Software Engineering

Here are important strategies in software engineering:
Unit Testing: This software testing basic approach is followed by the
programmer to test the unit of the program. It helps developers to know
whether the individual unit of the code is working properly or not.

Integration testing: It focuses on the construction and design of the

software. You need to see that the integrated units are working without
errors or not.

System testing: In this method, your software is compiled as a whole and

then tested as a whole. This testing strategy checks the functionality,
security, portability, amongst others.

Program Testing
Program Testing in software testing is a method of executing an actual
software program with the aim of testing program behavior and finding
errors. The software program is executed with test case data to analyse the
program behavior or response to the test data. A good program testing is
one which has high chances of finding bugs.

Summary of Software Testing Basics:

 Define Software Testing: Software testing is defined as an activity to
check whether the actual results match the expected results and to
ensure that the software system is Defect free.
 Testing is important because software bugs could be expensive or
even dangerous.
 The important reasons for using software testing are: cost-effective,
security, product quality, and customer satisfaction.
 Typically Testing is classified into three categories functional testing,
non-functional testing or performance testing, and maintenance.
 The important strategies in software engineering are: unit testing,
integration testing, validation testing, and system testing.

Software Testing as a Career Path: Tester

Skills, Salary & Growth
ByThomas HamiltonUpdatedOctober 8, 2021
This guide will take you through the In’s and outs of software testing. If you plan
to make a career in software testing, this is a MUST READ!

What is Software Testing?

Software Testing is a process of verifying a computer system/program to decide
whether it meets the specified requirements and produces the desired results.
As a result, you identify bugs in software product/project.

Software Testing is indispensable to provide a quality product without any bug

or issue.

In this tutorial, you will learn-

 What is Software Testing?

 Skills required to become a Software Tester
 Non-Technical Skills
 Technical Skills
 Academic Background
 Remuneration
 What Does a Software Tester do?
 Software Tester Career Path
 Alternate Career Tracks as a Software Tester
 Common Myths
 How to Become Software Tester
 Certification Exams:

Skills required to become a Software Tester

We will discuss the Technical and Non-Technical required to become a Software
Tester

Non-Technical Skills
Following skills are essential to become a good Software quality tester. Compare
your skill set against the following checklist to determine whether Software
Testing is a reality for you-

 Analytical skills: A good software tester should have sharp analytical

skills. Analytical skills will help break up a complex software system into
smaller units to gain a better understanding and create test cases. Not
 sure that you have good analytical skills – Refer this link – if you can solve
at least ONE problem you have excellent analytical skills.
 Communication skill: A good software tester must have good verbal and
written communication skill. Testing artifacts (like test cases/plans, test
strategies, bug reports, etc.) created by the software tester should be easy
to read and comprehend. Dealing with developers (in the event of bugs or
any other issue) will require a shade of discreetness and diplomacy.
 Time Management & Organization Skills: Testing at times could be a
demanding job especially during the release of code. A software tester
must efficiently manage workload, have high productivity, exhibit optimal
time management, and organization skills
 GREAT Attitude: To be a good software tester you must have a GREAT
attitude. An attitude to ‘test to break’, detail orientation, willingness to
learn and suggest process improvements. In the software industry,
technologies evolve with an overwhelming speed, and a good software
tester should upgrade his/her technical Software testing skills with the
changing technologies. Your attitude must reflect a certain degree of
independence where you take ownership of the task allocated and
complete it without much direct supervision.
 Passion: To Excel in any profession or job, one must have a significant
degree of the passion for it. A software tester must have a passion for his /
her field. BUT how do you determine whether you have a passion for
software testing if you have never tested before? Simple TRY it out and if
software testing does not excite you switch to something else that holds
your interest.

 
  

Non-Technical skills of a Software Tester

 

 
Technical Skills
This list is long, so please bear with us


 Basic knowledge of Database/ SQL: Software Systems have a large
amount of data in the background. This data is stored in different types of
databases like Oracle, MySQL, etc. in the backend. So, there will be
situations when this data needs to be validated. In that case,
simple/complex SQL queries can be used to check whether proper data is
stored in the backend databases.
 Basic knowledge of Linux commands: Most of the software applications
like Web-Services, Databases, Application Servers are deployed on Linux
machines.So it is crucial for testers to have knowledge about Linux
commands.
 Knowledge and hands-on experience of a Test Management Tool:Test
Management is an important aspect of Software testing. Without proper
 test management techniques, software testing process will fail. Test
management is nothing but managing your testing related artifacts.

For example – A tool like Testlink can be used for tracking all the test
cases written by your team.

There are other tools available that can be utilized for Test Management.
So, it is important to have knowledge and working experience of such
tools because they are used in most of the companies.

 Knowledge and hands-on experience of any Defect Tracking

tool- Defect Tracking and Defect life cycle are key aspects of software
testing. It is extremely critical to managing defects properly and track
them in a systematic manner. Defect tracking becomes necessary because
the entire team should know about the defect including managers,
developers, and testers. Several tools are used to log defects
including QC, Bugzilla, Jira, etc.
 Knowledge and hands-on experience of Automation tool: If you see
yourself as an “Automation tester” after a couple of years working on
manual testing, then you must master a tool and get in-depth, hands-on
knowledge of automation tools.

Note – Only knowledge of any Automation tool is not sufficient to crack

the interview, you must have good hands-on experience, so practice the
tool of your choice to achieve mastery.

Knowledge of any scripting language like VBScript, JavaScript, C# is

always helpful as a tester if you are looking for a job into automation. Few
companies also use Shell/Perl scripting, and there is a lot of demand for
testers having knowledge of the same. Again, it will depend on the
company and which tools are used by that company.
There is also a lot of scope for performance testing tools because applications
need to be tested for their performance which is a part of non-functional testing.

That’s it to technical knowledge. Please note you do not need ALL the technical
skills listed above. The technical skill sets required vary with the Job Role and
company processes.

Academic Background
Academic background of a software tester should be in Computer Science.
A BTech/ B.E., MCA, BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications), BSc- Computers,
will land you a job quickly.

If you do not hold any of these degrees, then you must complete a software
testing certification like ISTQB and CSTE which help you learn Software
Development/ Test Life Cycle and other testing methodologies.

Remuneration
Compensation of a software tester varies from company to company. Average
salary range of a software tester in the US is $45,993 – $74,935. Average Software
testing career package in India is Rs 247,315 – Rs 449,111.

Also, a software tester is also given health insurance, bonuses, gratuity and other
perks.

What Does a Software Tester do?

On any typical work day, you will be busy understanding requirement
documents, creating test cases, executing test cases, reporting and re-testing
bugs, attending review meetings and other team building activities.

Software Tester Career Path

Your Software Testing career growth as a software tester (QA Analyst) in typical
CMMI level 5 company will look like following but will vary from company to
company

1. QA Analyst (Fresher)
2. Sr. QA Analyst (2-3 years’ experience)
3. QA Team Coordinator (5-6 years’ experience)
4. Test Manager (8-11 years’ experience)
5. Senior Test Manager (14+ experience)

Alternate Career Tracks as a Software Tester

Once you have got your hand dirty in manual testing, you can pursue following
specializations

 Automation Testing: As an Automation Test Engineer, you will be

responsible for automating manual test case execution which otherwise
could be time-consuming. Tools used IBM Rational Robot, Silk performer,
and QTP
  Performance Testing: As a performance test engineer, you will be
responsible for checking application responsiveness (time is taken to
load, maximum load application can handle), etc. Tools used WEBLoad,
Loadrunner.
 Business Analyst: A major advantages Testers have over Developers is
that they have an end to end business knowledge. An obvious Testing
career progression for testers is to become a Business Analyst. As
a Business Analyst, you will be responsible for analyzing and assessing
your company’s business model and workflows. As a BA, you will integrate
these models and workflows with technology.

Common Myths
Software Testing as a Career pays Less Developers are more respected as
compared to Testers

Contrary to popular belief, Software Testers (better known as QA professionals)

are paid and treated at par with Software Developers in all “aspiring”
companies. A career in Software Testing should never be considered as “second
rated.”

Software Testing is Boring

Software Testing could actually “test” your nerves since you need to make sense
of Business Requirements and draft test cases based on your understanding.
Software testing is not boring. What is boring is doing the same set of tasks
repeatedly. The key is to try new things. For that matter, have you ever spoken
to a software developer with more than 3 years’ experience? He will tell you how
boring his job has become off-lately.

How to Become Software Tester

For a complete newbie, here is our suggested approach to learning Software
Testing

 
  

Process to become a Software Tester

 

You start with learning Basic principles of Software Testing. Once done
you apply for freelancing jobs. This will help you gain practical knowledge
and will fortify the testing concepts you have learned.

Next, you proceed to Selenium – Automation tool, then JMeter – Performance

Testing tool and finally TestLink – Test Management Tool. All the while you are
learning, we suggest you apply for freelancing jobs (apart from other benefits
you will make some moolah too!).

Once you are through with all the tools, you may consider taking a certification.
We recommend ISTQB. However, this is optional.

Certification Exams:
ISTQB Foundation level is the basic certification in Testing field.
It is not mandatory, but it will help increase your chances of getting the job. Most
of the companies have this criterion.

A software tester with ISTQB cleared will be given more priority as compared to
others.

After this, when you apply for permanent jobs in big corporations you will have
many Software tester skills to offer as well some practical freelancing experience
which may be of value and will increase your chances of being selected.

You can also pursue certification in a Testing tool of your choice.

Learning Guides: –

 Software Testing Tutorials – link

 Selenium – link As an alternative you can also learn QTP
 Jmeter – link As an alternative you can also learn Loadrunner
 Testlink – link As an alternative you can also learn Quality Center
 Freelancing Jobs – UpWork or Freelancer
 Permanent Jobs – Any major job portal like monster.com or naukri.com

Hope to see you at a QA conference some Day!

Here is a tool to help you make a career choice

Check This Software Testing Career Suggestion Tool

You Might Like:

 Test Documentation in Software Testing
 Mccabe’s Cyclomatic Complexity: Calculate with Flow Graph
(Example)
 Quality Assurance Vs Quality Control: What’s the Difference?
 Download Sample Test Case Template: Example Excel, Word Formats
 Application Testing Tutorial: What is, How to, Tools