A Case For a Software Testing Undergrad Major 220
colinneagle writes "I have spent the last couple of days at the StarEast conference, listening to people explain to a roomful of testers about modeling workflows and data transitions, managing test environments in the cloud, writing automation scripts for regression tests, best methods for exploratory testing, running mobile test lab. And as I look around the room at the raw intelligence of the people who are not only absorbing that information but probing deeper into it during the Q&A sessions, I have to wonder how much easier their careers could have been if they had been able to major in Software Testing in college. It's time to give employers a testing workforce that is competitive and trained so they can stand toe-to-toe with the development team. Imagine the power of being able to hire a recent college graduate who has been taught how to develop system diagrams, build complex SQL, run log analysis, set up a cloud test environment, and write automation scripts. No more crossing your fingers that this eager young face in front of you can really pick up those skills, and no more investing so much time and money in training them on the job. We ask no less from Technical Writing and Development. Why do we have such different expectations for one of the most important functions on the team?"
Irony (Score:5, Interesting)
About the author:
For more than 25 years, Lorinda Brandonhas worked in various management roles in the high-tech industry, including customer service, quality assurance and engineering. She is currently Director of Solutions Strategy at SmartBear Software, a leading supplier of software quality tools. She has built and led numerous successful technical teams at various companies, including RR Donnelley, EMC, Kayak Software, Exit41 and Intuit, among others. She specializes in rejuvenating product management, quality assurance and engineering teams by re-organizing and expanding staff and refining processes used within organizations. She has a bachelor’s degree in art history from Arizona State University.
Re:Developer? (Score:3, Interesting)
It takes a certain amount of a sadistic personality to be a good test guy. You have to inherently get that little smile whenever you find someone else's screw-up. It's like playing cops and robbers. Yeah, the robbers get a rush out of taking things, but the cops get a rush out of catching the robber in a mistake.
Re:Education is not for job skills (Score:5, Interesting)
^^^ THIS. ^^^
No more crossing your fingers that this eager young face in front of you can really pick up those skills
On the contrary, this is exactly what a college level education *should* mean:
We threw fifty different areas of subject matter at the graduate, and she managed to think her way through figuring out all of them. Literature courses, history courses, math courses, physics courses, art courses, chemistry courses, sociology courses --- by now, she's figured out how to take any problem thrown at her, and become highly proficient in four months, and an expert in a year. Whatever specific new skills your job requires, this graduate will pick them up and be pushing the boundaries in no time flat.
Blizzard Entertainmen's QA Dept ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hope nobody takes it seriously (Score:0, Interesting)
(same guy, backup account)
Silly? So you think it is not silly to incur a huge debt rather than going to work right away and not getting into debt but instead getting experience, using the same 4 years to gain knowledge at work?
Well, if that's silly, then fine, call it that.
I DID go to university, but I only took 7000 of debt in the first year, found job in the profession in that first year, started working and was working all the way through the 5 years (I took a bit slower). I paid off the 7K in the first year after finishing the studies.
If I had take a house sized mortgage, I would not have gone at all, I would have just found that SAME job that I found in the first year and kept doing the same thing. I was making 12.50 an hour for the first year and a half, then 16 bucks, then 25, then 40.
By the time I finished I had an 80K salary and bonuses. I quit the job and went for contracts, doubling the rate right away.
What's the difference for me, I could have done EXACTLY THE SAME THING without college, except I would had more sleep and fun during those same years.