Why SQE is hard and why it’s still worthwhile to pursue it as a career Pt. 1

Learning SQE is like learning to play the drums, anyone can learn to keep a beat, but very few can master the instrument. SQE is hard because of its breadth and depth. Let me stretch the drumming analogy further and explore this idea.

For the world to start calling you a great drummer, you need to be able to keep the beat and add bells and whistles regardless of the type of music the rest of your bandmates might start to play. Similarly, to be a good SQE you need to be good at a bunch of things. You need to,

1. Be good with the SQE body of knowledge: The process, the levels, the types, test design techniques etc.
2. Be good with functional testing (both manual and automated).
3. Be good with non-functional testing (including load, reliability, stress, and security)
4. Be able to do static testing.
5. Be able to manage stakeholders.

I could have made the above list even more granular, but I think you get the idea. The breadth of SQE is wide.

So, you managed to keep the beat going and added the bells and whistles to everything the rest of the band threw at you. Now the band is grooving, and the next thing you know, ‘the man’ opens the thick soundproofed door to the studio, hold a wide grin and say,

‘Kid... Pack your bags because you’re getting the golden ticket.’

You’re a little suspicious of the grin but you abide. Now you’re in the big leagues. Playing clubs with the big boys. The bells and whistles you added in on the run-down drum-kit back at home is not going to cut it here. The other drummers have 12-piece sets, they know how to mic the drum kit just right, they know how to sweet talk the owners of the clubs and man do they know how to drum.

Getting back to SQE, its not just enough to wet your feet in the 5 verticals I listed at the start. You need to climb down deeper into each of them. Here are a few tips if you're just getting started,

1. To be good at the SQE body of knowledge:  Study senior testers. After a few years, I recommend you read the ISTQB syllabus (or better yet get certified). This way you will easily be able to map real-world experiences to what you will find in the syllabus. It will stick in your mind better.
2. To be good at functional testing: Start off with a manual functional testing job and learn on the job. Understand how the testing activities are carried out across the different test levels. Get exposure and then move to automation. Spend a few years in test automation learning on the job. The key is to be familiar with the general process so that if you need to switch the technology stack you can still adjust in time.
3. To be good at non-functional: Get a good grasp of reliability, stress and load testing. Like with automation, Focus on the general process and concepts rather than on specific tools but do get real-world experience using a popular tool.
4. To be good at static testing: Keep you’re programming skills sharp. Take on side projects even if they’re basic, just to keep your coding and DevOps skills sharp. Learn on the side, this way you won't feel lost if you need to do shift-left. Look for opportunities to get exposure.
5. To manage stakeholders better: Learn on the job, study test managers and leads. Put yourself out there and venture out into management studies consider an MBA.

Nothing can substitute for on-the-job exposure. So, if you’re starting out try to join a company that can give that to you or work with your company so that you can chart a way forward. Like with other software engineering disciplines, learning stops when you stop engineering, so keep learning!

Sounds like a lot of work? Yes, it is. So in the next post, I’ll touch on why SQE is still worth all the trouble.