As the job market becomes increasingly more dynamic and demand for new jobs and skills rises, we will provide you with a series of career plan articles. In this way, we attempt to give you a sneak peek into new career opportunities and what trainings there are to help you stay competitive and progress in your professional development.
QA Engineer
What does a QA Engineer exactly do?
In a nutshell, the QA (Quality Assurance) Engineer (or something referred to as QA Specialist) is responsible for creating, executing and maintaining test cases for product features. Professionals in this area typically assist the product owner/manager in making the final go/no-go decision for each release.
This position includes tasks such as writing and executing test plans, analyzing and reviewing new product features, and creating and maintaining manual and automation tests. Often, QA engineers need to identify and support process improvement efforts. They are also responsible for creating test reports and documenting bugs analysis, tracking and reproduction.
What skills are necessary for the job?
The desired essential skills include understanding of various QA techniques and tools (such as Selenium). However, many companies are now looking for QA engineers who are able to add value to and improve the QA process in order to increase QA productivity and automation efficiency. Additional skills such as profound understanding of the Agile Project Management methodology, profound knowledge in mobile and web applications and advanced-level knowledge in automation testing might be advantageous when aiming for a ‘next-step’ career development in QA.
In addition, many QA jobs require knowledge of SQL, Java, Javascript and other programming and scripting languages. In terms of soft skills, employers usually look for analytical skills, attention to detail, communication and teamwork skills. This job requires close cooperation with the development team and the product owner.
Learn more about QA with these courses:
Foundation Testing Course – Preparation for ISTQB Foundation Level Certification is suitable for everyone participating in the software testing process. It covers the fundamentals and best-practices of QA. It will prepare you for the ISTQB certification which is an internationally recognized certification.
Automation Testing Foundation will cover everything you need to know about automation testing. It is suitable both for professionals who are starting to use it and those who need help integrating it in current projects.
Performance Testing will cover fundamentals in performance testing as well as numerous examples and exercises on how to execute it. It is suitable for QA specialists and system designers with beginning to intermediate level of skills.
For Advanced-level professionals:
Automation Testing Advanced is suitable for professionals who already have experience with automation but want to gain knowledge in designing code testing from scratch. It is also appropriate for those interested in API testing.
