Where I started
I started my working life as a marketer, and while I enjoyed it and did some pretty cool work, there was something missing. Luckily, I was soon able to find out what it was. As my career proceeded, I kept getting more ~digital~ roles until one day I ended up as an eCommerce coordinator and then, something clicked.
Ah, this is what I want to do
As an eCommerce coordinator, I wasn't just crunching the numbers on our digital marketing ROI and assisting marketing campaigns, I was also writing documentation on our business processes, coordinating these processes between teams, and doing manual testing and level 1 technical support for my employer's websites. I've even designed a daily email alert to monitor the progress of my employer's orders to and through Australia Post, and created interactive charts for the sales team to use to compare margin.
Once I'd picked up a rhythm, I discovered that this was what I truly liked doing. I really enjoyed it, and I started looking into what it took to become a software tester full-time to prepare myself for career change.
Then I went back to marketing for another year, and by the end, I was absolutely certain I needed a change of pace. One problem though: I need experience in test automation, and to develop a deeper understanding of theory. I've done manual testing for around 2 years, but I've not written many automated tests.
What I have learned about testing so far
- Never assume anything. Always ask 'is it meant to be this way?'
- Don't only think about the ways your software should be used, but the way it can be used.
- Things will break that you didn't think could break.
- Work out what the highest priority features are, and test them first, before deployment, but also in production right after release. Monitor your systems. Because see above.
- Think from the perspective of your customers. I'm here, this is what I want to do, how can get it done?
Next steps
At the moment I'm building up a portfolio and catching up on the cutting-edge. I've started volunteering for an open-source project writing tests and copy. I'll probably pick up a few more, to give back, and maintain those all-important workplace interaction skills.
What I'm Learning!
Testing Types
- Unit testing
- API testing
- Test-Driven Development
- Accessibility testing
- Mobile testing
Test Frameworks
- react-testing-library
- PHPUnit
- Appium
- Mocha
- Selenium
- Cypress
Languages
- JavaScript
Frameworks
- ReactJS
- Laravel
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