The testing profession has historically been considered one of the easiest ways to start a career in IT. QAs don’t need to know programming languages or higher math to become a sought-after professional.
Automators and manual testers are the second and fourth most satisfied workers (The CareerBliss Happiest Jobs 2022 survey). And this profession is also quite easy to master – 3 months of training and you can go for an internship or work as a Junior QA in an IT company.
There is an example. In February Anton finished the course “Tester from scratch” in GoIT. Before that he worked in the social sphere and headed a public organization, but decided to change direction. He tightened up his English a bit and, closer to graduation, started sending out resumes. All in all, it took him a week to find a job in an American company.
Научиться тестировать программы не так сложно, поэтому новичков здесь много. Поэтому существует мнение, что тестировщик ПО – переходная профессия, из которой потом идут в «настоящее» IТ. (Надеемся, ты так не говоришь, потому что в этот момент где-то плачет один QA).
На самом деле в тестировании можно построить мощную карьеру. Более того, иногда сюда приходят разработчики или аналитики с многолетним опытом. Поэтому расскажем о карьерном пути QA Engineer, какие задачи решают инженеры разных уровней и сколько за это получают.
Intern QA – $430 a month
A QA Intern or Trainee is a testing intern. Often companies want to grow a specialist on their own, rather than looking for a person with the necessary skills. In fact, this is intensive training, for which you are also paid a little.
For the position of intern, newcomers without experience are invited. For example, if you have taken a course at an IT school or learned to test on your own. This is not a person from the street – theoretical training must be serious.
Intern/Trainee QA salaries according to Dou data, summer 2024
Usually in 2-3 months a traini gains enough skills and knowledge to move to a Junior QA position. However, even a month is enough for some people – it all depends on their proactivity and speed of learning new knowledge.
Tip. If you are already on an internship, make the most of it. Ask questions, talk to people, take an interest in the project. Even if you don’t get hired by the company, you can add the work project to your portfolio, because it is valuable commercial experience.
Junior QA – $800 a month
A novice tester can perform full-fledged QA tasks. He checks the quality of the product with the help of ready-made test plans and checklists. He looks for bugs, performs manual testing, writes bug reports. In short, he is trusted with simple checks.
You can get a junior position after a good course or internship. The more projects in the portfolio, the more chances to find a job. Recruiters also pay attention to soft skills to make sure that a person can work in a team and grow quickly.
Sometimes juniors are specialists who switch from related specialties (developers, analysts, etc.). However, they don’t stay here for long, because they quickly grow to the middle level.
Junior QA salaries according to Dou data, summer 2024
It takes a tester an average of a year and a half to move up a level. During this time, a specialist learns the basic tools and methods of testing on a project. There are also special tests and certificates, such as ISTQB, which confirm professional level.
Middle QA – $1800 a month
A midlevel tester checks more complex test cases. He understands the product architecture, analyzes the quality requirements for different parts of the product, and participates in their development. He also prepares test documentation and mentors newcomers.
Such a specialist can perform autotests with the help of special programs. Sometimes they have to write them on their own, so for a midle the question of learning a programming language already arises. Usually it is Java, Python, JavaScript, C# or others.
Most often Middle QA grows from a junior, for this you need at least 1-2 years of experience. However, some specialists move to testing from other professions. Such pros become middles faster because they already have certain experience and teamwork skills.
Middle QA salaries according to Dou data, summer 2023
The salary gap compared to beginners is quite large – 1000 dollars. And on specific projects, the difference can be even greater.
At the Middle QA level, you will have to stay a little longer. It will take at least 2-3 years to grow into a senor. However, you can grow not only vertically, but also horizontally. For example, go into automation or security testing. There are many opportunities here.
GoIT has developed a free marathon on testing, where everyone can try themselves in this profession. In 4 days you will get acquainted with types and methods of testing, learn how to fill in test cases and bug reports. This way you will understand whether you are interested in working in IT.
Senior QA – $3300 per month
Сеньор QA – это человек, который разрабатывает процессы тестирования на проекте, внедряет инструменты и оценивает ресурсы для проверки качества. Его основная задача – настроить работу младших специалистов, поэтому ежедневным тестированием он занимается редко.
Старший специалист участвует в принятии решений по продукту и консультирует команду разработчиков. Также на нем лежит выбор и внедрение инструментов для автоматизации тестирования. А еще он менторит младших членов команды.
Сеньор – это стратег, который влияет на основные процессы в отделе. Чтобы достичь этого уровня, нужно наращивать экспертность в своей сфере, прокачивать навыки менеджмента, делегирования, планирования.
Senior QA salaries according to Dou data, summer 2024
It is considered that senior is the highest stage of a specialist’s development, because he or she can perform any tasks and start testing processes from scratch. However, career growth continues – in a year or two you can rise to QA Team Lead.
QA Team Lead – $3500 per month
Timlid manages a team of QA engineers. He plans the work, assigns key tasks, and monitors their fulfillment. He also prepares reports on product quality, communicates with other teams and product stakeholders.
If the senor sets up processes in the team, the teamleader develops and implements testing strategies on the project. This is the most experienced specialist who interviews candidates for vacant positions, mentors and inspires the whole team.
A teamleader can be almost any senor who wants to grow in management. As for additional hard skills, knowledge of analytics tools, strategic planning, and business process customization will come in handy. Also, leadership and communication skills.
QA Team/Tech Lead salaries according to Dou data, summer 2023
Only QA Tech Lead and QA Department Head are above the teamleader in testing. However, they are found only in large companies with testing departments of more than 50 people. These are managerial positions where people are more likely to develop business rather than test products.
What’s next?
It is important to realize that there is more to the QA profession than just the vertical path to department head. Without changing specialty, a tester can delve into process automation or IT security testing. This is also QA, but its tasks and goals are different.
A specialist at the middle level and above can move to the development or analytics team. Of course, you will need to improve your hard skills and knowledge of programming language, but nothing too complicated.
The road to management is also open for QA Team Lead. It is not necessarily in testing. Such a specialist can head almost any department: support, business analytics, marketing.
You can also go to a product startup. Salaries there are usually lower, but the tasks are much more interesting and varied. For a QA Engineer who has set up work in a product startup, there is simply nothing impossible.
What do you think of a career as a tester? If you like it, learn a new profession on the “QA manual” course at GoIT School. In 3 months here you will learn the theory, complete a large project and prepare for interviews with career coaches.
