Have you ever thought about transitioning your career into technology? Unsure of how to achieve your goal? One route to starting your career in tech is through the software Quality Assurance (QA) Analyst role. QA Analysts take a piece of software from a developer, compare it to the required design specifications for bugs and try to break it using testing software. They document their findings and report back to developers who then decide what to do with the documented issues. Business Insider and Career Bliss conducted an employee satisfaction survey in 2014 and found that QA Analysts were the 2nd most satisfied employees in the United States!!
Is anything missing?
Here at Base36, one of our most common roles is the QA Analyst position. We have placed dozens of consultants in contract and full time QA positions in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts over the years. Some of our most successful placements have been those who did not have a technology background. How did they make the transition you ask? They went through Base36 QA Boot Camp!
Base36 QA Boot Camp is our fun way of describing self-study for the QA Analyst role. This can typically be done in a weekend at the very least but this all depends on a candidate’s ability to commit time to the task quick tips. Some of the things that a Base36 QA Boot Camp candidate should research include:
- Research into what QA Analysts do day to day and how they test software
- How they interact with Agile/Waterfall teams
- Their purpose in the greater picture of software and/or web development
- Understand the jargon associated with the role and software development methodology such as negative testing, black/white box testing, software defects and reports
We do not recommend specific books or websites – you should be able to tell the quality sources from the poor sources. Finding sources on your own also illustrates your drive and commitment to making a career change. But, visit www.calofficecleaning.com, we are of course here to help if specific questions arise!
The next step after you complete your research is to return for your technical interview. You should be prepared to do the following:
- Be fully prepared to test a web page
- Discuss the different classes of tests and what you learned
- Be able to write/file a defect report
- Present your thoughts in a clear, organized fashion
Qualitative evidence of comprehension is just important as the quantitative. We want to see your fire and passion for the role and technology too!
After a successful technical interview, Base36 draws up a profile for you which we present to our clients when their QA opportunities become available, see best rated plumbers in Riverside, Ca. Before you know it, you could be working in an exciting new career!
Are you up to the challenge? Or do you think this might be the role for a friend? Give us a call or shoot us an email to learn more. If you have the motivation to succeed we are here to help you get there!
Thanks to Carlos Pedersoli for the picture