Non-Techie and Ready. Three Ways To Succeed as a Newbie Tester

Taking steps to grow your career can feel overwhelming, particularly if you don’t have a background in tech, software or testing. Read on to discover three ways to succeed as a newbie tester.

1. Create your own learning framework?

Get to know how best you learn. Is it through conversations? Reading books? Watching talks? Lurking in a forum? It might be a combo of all of these and more. Build a framework around how you learn. For example: Observe what testers do and how they work. Ask testers questions about their work and what they learn. Experiment with different testing techniques and tools. Reflect on what you have learned and how you can apply it to your own work.

2. Use learning goals to guide you?

Choose topics that are of interest. Learn what courses, certifications, and communities are relevant to your chosen topics. Find experts in the field and rank the courses, certifications, and communities you found. Build a realistic plan for your learning goals and align those goals with your topics of interest. Adjust your plan as needed and be sure to celebrate your successes along the way.?

3. Share your learning with others?

There’s something powerful about sharing what you learn and what you’ve been able to apply as a tester. It cements your knowledge and inspires others. It’s a great way to pay it forward – to help others grow their own careers. Solicit feedback from experts in the testing community and your peers. Consider their feedback and map it to your learning goals and learning framework.

It's important to remember that learning about testing never stops, and there's no one right way to do it. The most important thing is to find a method that works for you and to keep moving forward.

Michael Clarke took an interesting route from sailor to tester. His story is an inspiration for anyone who feels they aren’t “technical enough” to start and grow a career in testing. Watch or listen to this revisited talk, which is available to everyone until the 10th of July 2023: TestBash Revisited - Setting Sail into the Great Unknown: How I Got Started in Testing from a Non-technical Background ????

TestBash Autumn's Call for Content is Open until the 31st of July and there are five different ways you can Contribute. From long or short Talks to Feature Spotlights, we want to hear from you. Everyone has a story, a topic they know well and experience to share... get involved today!

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