TL;DR

You love software testing, but you are not satisfied with your career as a software tester. I heard a lot of such confessions from testers around the globe. As I am delighted with my software testing career, I will try to put a list of advice that elevated my software testing satisfaction. This list is based on a remarkable book written by Chad Fowler, The Passionate Programmer.

You can not be remarkable if you don’t love your environment, your tools, and your domain [David Heinemeier Hansson].

David is one of the creators of Ruby On Rails, a remarkable web development framework. Not because it produces the fastest application, but the way it solves problems from web development. When I learn a new web framework, Ruby On Rails is my comparable product oracle.

If you recognized yourself in this situation, it is time to put the software testing career in your hands.

Why?

If your life is primarily consumed by your work, then loving your work is one of the most important keys to loving your life [Chad Fowler].

But I have a family, and I do not want to get fired! I do not have a wife and kids, but I often got great ideas by observing random fathers or mothers how they attend “children outbreak crisis in public”. You and your family are a team, and this is no obstacle, but an advantage. The best way to secure a job is to move from mediocrity software tester to awesome one! Do not forget that change is what makes our world to advance, otherwise, we would still be amebas in a puddle of mud water.

Remember that companies do not employ you because they like you. They have a business to run and business is making money (universal good invented by Phoenicians). You need to know how your software testing helps them to make that money.

Chad lists four facets for making our software testing career awesome:

• Choose your market

You are expert in bitcoin domain or security testing, this is your starting decision

• Invest in your product

Conferences, online courses, books, how will you elevate?

• Execute

Test and test and test. Try learned techniques and ideas, pivot and repeat.

• Market!

Start a blog, talk at a local meetup group or just start a local software testing group, this is a start. Find other passionate testers.