Goals you can set yourself as a Software Tester this year (2022)
New year, 365 new opportunities… or so they say. As this first quarter of the year starts, we should also start thinking what we want our career goals and objectives to be in 2022.
This might change depending on your seniority. Let’s see some examples:
For a Junior QA who might be taking their first steps in the IT world or changing career paths, these might be good starting points:
Learn to perform API Testing:
Ask your leaders to assign you tasks where you can learn how to test APIs. If that is not an option, download Postman (It’s free) and start playing with some collections available online. Like this one: https://rapidapi.com/collection/flight-data-apis
To know API testing it’s almost always mandatory for many companies and a plus if its not used in your current job.
Get ISTQB Certified:
The ISTQB Foundation Level certification is a software testing certification board that operates internationally. ISTQB Certified Tester is a standardized qualification for software testers.
The first exam (Foundation Level) is a multiple choice, takes a few weeks to prepare and can help boost your CV. Although having it does not mean that you are a good tester, it certainly shows that you have a solid base and a theoretical knowledge in your area.
If you are an advanced QA:
Implement a new tool in your work:
You can discuss with your manager the gaps or needs you identify across the team. Maybe you don’t have any health checks or any performance testing. Maybe there is a tool like Percy.io you can use to facilitate Visual Testing for UI manual validations. Maybe you can do Accessibility Testing in the webpages you test everyday with an extension like Lighthouse. Try to create a new process from scratch and take advantage of the tools and applications available out there.
Learn how to run Automated regressions:
Knowing how to automate Test Cases is always a good idea. For once, there are more job opportunities for automation testers and second, the compensation is usually higher than Manual QA. That said, reality is that not all of us like to code and that is okay.
A good middle term is to learn the basics of automation and be able to run the automated test scenarios that are already built. This has many benefits: For example, you’ll broaden your knowledge and that will be very valuable for both your current job as in a future opportunity. Also, this might facilitate some of your testing by knowing the automation set and maybe having a scenario handy that can be ran and save you some time on manual testing.
For a Senior QA:
Improve a process:
For you it’s all about efficiency. You already know what you are doing (More or less) so you can start to improve the way others do their everyday tasks so it’s easier for you in the long run to be better at what you do. Maybe it’s the data gathering process. Are you always stuck with last minute validations and have to spent time or ask others to create the data for you? Then you can create your own data repository. A magic place where the data is clean and ready to use. A process that can run all the needed queries to have it ready in a couple of seconds. Chat with someone from the db team and brainstorm.
Boost your Project Management Skills:
Maybe you are already thinking about the next step in your career. If that is the case and you see yourself climbing the Corporate Ladder, then you can start to prepare today. Work on task prioritization, strengthen your leadership skills, improve your soft skills as well. Discuss this with your manager, ask to be coached by them. Learn to use the management tool they are using, or learn one on your own. Be proactive and learn to delegate, set short term goals and celebrate them.
Good luck!
