Good News Testers! Your Job is not That Gloomy

Bangalore: It is a very common assumption that testing is a transit job. The most common question: Why would anyone want to be a tester all their life? Why would a person want to review someone else’s code? If one were to ask any college graduate who has an IT specialization, one would come to know that testing and QA are seen as cumbersome jobs or consolation prizes offered to individuals who were not able to secure a developer position.

Thankfully this perception is waning. With companies realizing the need for strong quality checks, the emphasis on importance of testing is growing.  
Forbes published a list compiled by CareerBliss of the 20 happiest jobs in America made on analyzing more than 100,400 employee-generated reviews between February 2011 and January 2012. This insightful survey required employees to rate 10 factors that affect their state of mind in the workplace such as one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, job environment, work resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

So the most rewarding job according to the survey must be that of a doctor or a teacher right? The happiest job isn’t what one would expect writes Jacquelyn Smith on Forbes. This distinction belongs to the title ‘software quality assurance engineer’. Professionals with this job title overlook the entire software development cycle to ensure the quality of the finished good. Matt Miller, CTO at CareerBliss explained that this could include processes such as requirements gathering and documentation, source code control, code review, change management, configuration management, release management, and the actual testing of the software. Organizations generally will not allow software to be released until it has been fully tested and approved by their software quality assurance group, he furthered.

“Since we tend to spend more waking hours working than doing anything else, our work happiness is a huge factor in our overall happiness,” states CareerBliss’ chief executive, Heidi Golledge. “Nearly every person has a desire to feel valued and content, and a workplace or a career that provides that for its employees is key to not only happiness for the employees but the long-term success of the business.” Software quality assurance engineers said they are very content with their colleagues and the organization they work for.

Things certainly are looking up for the QA domain.