TL;DR

This post is about my learning experience from Testing Is Not A 9 To 5 Job (you need to register for Online Testing Conference Slack), the third lecture of Online Testing Conference 2020, presented by Mike Lyles.

This post is a motivational talk on how to become a better tester. This was nothing new for me because I wrote a series of blog posts about this topic. But I see one big issue with this talk (which I also failed to explain in that series passionate tester), to become a world-class tester, you need to sacrifice your free/family time. Mike starts with the table that supports the problem that I raised (picture above).

All suggested points, except tests everything they see, requires free/family time. I would really like to see a talk in the following context:

• Monther of two underaged children
• Keeps track of the family households.

I know that Rosie Sherry from the Ministry of Testing could fit into this context, but I have not heard of any of her public talk.

Mike continued with one crucial fact:

Do not confuse World-Class Tester and a Workaholic.

We got Mike’s surveys results with some interesting numbers:

• almost 50% of examined software testers spend more than 5 hours per week in a meeting
• more than 70% were less than 5 hours per week n requirements and project review meetings
• 91% do not have testing mentors

Mike gave an example of a test to test you if software testing is for you. He presented the following riddle:

If you like this, then there is a software tester in you (My clue for this riddle, how many birthdays are in a year?).

Mike wraps up with the following list how to become a world-class tester:

You will need additional hours to become a world-class tester. My addition to software testing mothers of two underaged children is to try to put some of that advice to your 9 to 5 work. Getting a mentor is a good starting point.