EduReviewerBlogHow to Become a Q&A Tester Without Experience
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How to Become a Q&A Tester Without Experience

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Quality assurance testing has become a pretty lucrative field of work. This has become so as many technology companies have emerged in the years. Quality assurance testers must have a combination of technical educational skills and skills that can be picked up on the job. This means that you can learn how to be a better QA tester on the job.

A quality assurance tester, popularly called a QA tester, is primarily used to maintain and establish standards in different professional fields. This can include software production, digital products, websites, communication networks, video games, etc.

As a QA tester, you are charged with finding defects and flaws in products that might not seem obvious to the naked eye. This includes tracing errors, troubleshooting, and other forms of problem-solving.

Now we know you might be wondering, with all these skill requirements, how long does it take to become a QA tester? Well, shortly, you will be presented with the most solid and easiest way to become a QA tester.

Can QA Tester Get a Job Without a Degree?

Well, if you are looking for how to become a QA tester with no degree, you must know that even though a degree is not necessarily needed in some field of QA testing, you still require experience and skills.

With no degree at all, you still need some qualifications and skills, such

  • A computer-related degree
  • You’ll have to undergo the necessary training
  • Coding skills

This means you can intern on the job and gain the required skills. It is a bonus if you have a degree, but if you don’t have one, you will need to put in a little effort. You must gain experience with languages such as Java, Python, Perl, SQL, and even C++.

All these depend on the company or system you will be working on. Added skills on ethical hacking will also set you above; you can check out our article on becoming an ethical hacker if you are interested. It succinctly articulates the steps and processes required.

With the following pointers, you can easily land a QA tester Job without a degree:

  • Prove that you are tech-savvy ad experienced
  • Learn new skills and strengthen the old ones
  • Find a mentor in the field
  • Practice some more

So, to answer the question of how to become a Q&A tester with no experience, you will need to put in effort and commitment.

Even though a degree is important in landing a QA tester job, experience and good skills can help you land a job.

Understanding why volunteering is important can be an asset as you’re looking to break into the QA testing field. Voluntary work can showcase your dedication and initiative, further enhancing your employability.

Qualifications Needed to Become a QA Tester

For any job, you need some qualifications that will help validate your capability to do the job efficiently. For a QA tester, you are required to perform tasks such as:

  • Design test plans
  • Perform manual testing on various components
  • Identify errors and failures
  • Review feedbacks
  • Set standard for quality
  • Try out new technological processes for testing
  • Find glitches and bugs
  • Analyze the features of products

With all these required tasks, it is only right for a QA tester to have the following qualifications:

  • Minimum of 1 year of experience
  • Effective communication skills
  • Proficiency in Test management software
  • Knowledgeable in two or three Programming languages
  • Understanding Agile frameworks
  • Degree in computer science, software engineering, or any related field

How to Start a Career as a QA Tester

Without the right orientation, starting a career as a QA tester can be challenging. We have presented you with the best way to start a QA tester career.

The following steps show you how to start as a QA tester with little or no stress.

qa-in-work

source:https://images.unsplash.com/

Start with Taking an Online Course

The internet is a lightweight encyclopedia. You can learn any new skill in a short period. Using various tools that are readily at your disposal, you can learn about QA testing.

Well, you can choose to segment your learning into different parts, meaning you can take a course in coding where you learn the required programming languages, or you can take a combined course such as Udemy’s Tester Bootcamp course that efficiently equips you with all the necessary skills you need to become a QA tester.

You can also watch videos on youtube and download books from open sources. Some courses are paid for, ensuring your mastery of the subject matter.

Enroll in College

An online course will give you a head start, but you will most likely need a degree or a diploma to practice professionally. Many Quality Assurance tester positions will require a degree from you.

Check for universities or colleges that offer QA courses and get enrolled. Investigate the graduation rates and also check the rate of employment for students after graduation

Complete Your Degree

Completing your degree is very important as it is your only means of getting the certificate you’ve worked hard for. A QA tester must ensure you pass the required course with a good recommendation.

Within your school year, ensure you make contacts and create a good network that will enable you to get prospective collaborative opportunities. After getting your degree in computer science, engineering, or any related field, you will be almost ready for the real world.

Take an Internship

If you are wondering how to get experience as a QA tester, you should know that an internship is the best way. An internship is primarily concerned with giving students that have just gotten out of school real-life experience in the field they are professionally trained in. some internships might pay. In contrast, others might not, but the working experience matters the most.

Make sure you get the valuable skills from the internship. Within this process, it is advisable to find a mentor. This will help you learn from someone who has developed the skills you are looking forward to developing.

Practice on Your Own

There are plenty of open source tools that offer you resources that you can use to practice. You can check out platforms like Github and the likes. Filter down to projects related to QA testing, get those projects and go to work on them. If practice makes perfect, the more you practice, the better you become.

Ensure you document all your practice and keep notes. If you find any difficulty that your skill level cannot handle, speak to your mentor or anybody with more experience than you.

Get You Resume Ready

Now that you have completed your degree, learned from various online platforms, and undertaken an internship, it is time to make a resume. Ensure that your resume adequately presents your strengths; you should also consider building a portfolio if you have done some freelance jobs. Include the success of the work and the process that led to such a success.

Basic Requirements to Become a QA Tester.

Become-qa-tester

As we have already provided you with an answer on how to become a QA tester with no degree and also how to become a Q&A tester with no experience, it is only to present you with the general and basic requirements to become a QA tester.

  • First off, you are expected to have 1+ experience as a QA tester
  • A degree (bachelor) in Computer science, engineering, Data science, or any related field.
  • Versatility in programming languages (SQL, Java, Python, C++, and the likes)
  • Good knowledge of control systems such as Mercurial or Git
  • Good knowledge of tracking software such as JIRA
  • Good knowledge of web-based and mobile testing frameworks such as WebDriver and Selenium
  • Ability to be part of a team and work independently
  • Problem-solving
  • International software testing qualifications Board level

With the following requirements having the following skills would be a plus:

  • Attention to details
  • Teamwork
  • Ability to learn
  • Communication skills
  • Flexibility and versatility
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Time management
  • Good understanding of feedback and reports
  • Discipline
  • An understanding of software

As you navigate your way to becoming a QA Tester with no experience, learning from the bad resume examples funny can help you avoid common pitfalls and ensure your CV stands out for all the right reasons.

Conclusion

Being a QA tester can be challenging at first. It is one of those jobs that require you to be nothing but fully equipped. The job can be demanding, but it is quite easy to master, and once you become proficient, you will find out how easy it is.

You can learn on the job, but it is only right to absorb skills from different sources such as YouTube, Udemy, etc. The internet is at your disposal, read books and try out open source problems. This will adequately equip you to become a top-notch QA tester. Now that you understand what it takes to be a QA tester, we wish you the best as you venture into the industry.

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