Technical Tester vs Non-Technical Tester

December 08 14:13 2015 by Nataliia Vasylyna Print This Article

This post was updated in May 2018.

In 2018, the absence of good technical background is a huge minus. The problem of technical QA vs non-technical generates many debates. But current IT trends and QA tendencies prove that if you have no even basic technical skills your career opportunities are rather limited.

Let’s have a look at the current market situation. Digitalization of business causes high market competition where quality and speed are the most essential things. Every company tries to shortcut the delivery cycle and release a new product faster than its competitor. In terms of QA and software testing, that means the following of automation principle.

Test automation still continues to be a top required software testing type. But you cannot be good test engineer without the ability to write scripts and without good technical knowledge. On May 24th, 2018, there were 4,624 jobs for a position of QA specialists (including Junior, Middle, and Senior) on Indeed(dot)com. But typing “Test Automation Engineer”, I’ve got 16,526 jobs. Of course, skills, experience and country / city do matter, but I hope you get what I mean.

Now let’s review what a QA specialist should know in order to do his / her work properly.

What are software tester’s obligations?

• To be aware of the architecture of tested product. A tester should know product specification, particular design issues, system components, etc. It is impossible to provide proper test results without knowing how the software works.
• To have basic knowledge of programming languages. A tester should be able to review code-based files (SQL queries, scripts, configuration files). It will help to define the elements that should be checked first during black-box testing.
• To be aware of the latest updates and innovations in IT sphere including new approaches and methodologies, e.g., DevOps. Actually, it is a must to keep up with QA and software development trends.
• To be able to run SQL queries and unit tests created by the programmer, to install and configure the tested system, etc.

There is no need for testers to possess as deep technical knowledge as developers have. Software testers should have the system-wide knowledge, while developers possess the in-depth knowledge. The more tester knows, the better his / her work will be.

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