What knowledge do you need to learn for self-study software testing? How much time will it take for self-study?

To develop a good software, more than 40% of the time is spent on testing, so software test engineers are very important. There are many people working as programmers now, but there are fewer people working as test engineers, and the work pressure is not too high. big. Seeing this, everyone will ask: "What skills or qualities do test engineers need to be qualified?" Compared with developers, testers not only need to be skilled in one skill, but also need to master various aspects of knowledge such as operating systems, databases, networks, etc. . The editor learned from the professional teacher of You Employment: A competitive software tester must have the following three qualities:

Computer professional skills

Professional skills in the computer field are A quality that test engineers should have is a prerequisite for doing a good job in testing. Although people without any IT background can also engage in testing work, computer professional skills are essential for a test engineer who wants to gain greater development space or lasting competitiveness. Computer professional skills mainly include three aspects:

Testing professional skills

Now software testing has become a major with great potential. To become an excellent test engineer, you should first have a solid professional foundation, which is also one of the purposes of writing this book. Therefore, test engineers should work hard to learn testing expertise, bid farewell to simple "click" and other testing work, and let testing work rely on their own professional knowledge.

There is a lot of testing professional knowledge, and the content of this book mainly focuses on the basic professional skills that testers should master. Testing professional skills cover a wide range: including basic testing technologies such as black box testing, white box testing, and test case design, as well as testing methods such as unit testing, functional testing, integration testing, system testing, and performance testing, as well as basic Knowledge of test process management, defect management, automated testing technology, etc.

Software Programming Skills

“Do testers need programming?” It can be said to be one of the most frequently asked questions by testers. In fact, since developers are generally paid higher than testers in our country, almost all those who can write code are engaged in development, while many people are "forced" to engage in testing because they cannot do development or cannot engage in other jobs. The final result is that many testers can only engage in relatively simple functional testing, while those with stronger capabilities can use testing tools to conduct simple automated testing (mainly recording, modifying, and playing back test scripts).

Software programming skills should actually be one of the necessary skills for testers. At Microsoft, many testers have many years of development experience. Therefore, if testers want to get better career development, they must be able to write programs. Only by being able to write programs can you be competent in difficult testing tasks such as unit testing, integration testing, and performance testing.

In addition, the programming skill requirements for software testers are also different from those of developers: the programs written by testers should focus on running correctly while taking into account high efficiency, especially in the writing of test code related to performance testing. superior. Therefore, testers must have certain algorithm design capabilities. According to the author's experience, test engineers should master at least one language such as Java, C#, and C and the corresponding development tools.

Knowledge of networks, operating systems, databases, middleware, etc.:

Compared with developers, the knowledge mastered by testers has the characteristics of "extensive but not refined". Pressure" is a very vivid metaphor. Since various test environments often need to be configured and debugged during testing, and various system platforms must be analyzed and tuned during performance testing, testers need to master more knowledge about networks, operating systems, databases, etc.

In terms of network, testers should master basic network protocols and network working principles, especially some network environment configurations. These are common knowledge encountered in testing work.

In terms of operating systems and middleware, you should master the basic usage, installation, and configuration.

For example, many application systems run based on Unix and Linux, which requires testers to master basic operating commands and related tool software. The installation and configuration of middleware such as WebLogic and Websphere often require some mastery.

Database knowledge is more important than skills. Today's application systems are almost inseparable from databases. Therefore, you must not only master basic installation and configuration, but also master SQL. Testers should at least master the use of common databases such as Mysql, MS Sqlserver, Oracle, etc.

As a tester, although you cannot be proficient in all knowledge, if you want to do a good job in testing, you should learn as much as possible about testing work-related knowledge.

Software testing engineer - a new highlight in IT employment

In most foreign software companies, one software development engineer needs to be supplemented by two software testing engineers. At present, software test automation technology has just been recognized by a few industry experts in my country, and professional technicians in this area are even rarer in the country. Based on our understanding of the recent online IT talent recruitment situation, many companies that are recruiting software testing engineers are rarely able to successfully recruit suitable talents at job fairs.

With the development of China's IT industry, product quality control and quality management are gradually becoming the core of enterprise survival and development. From software, hardware to system integration, almost every medium and large IT enterprise's products require a lot of quality control, testing and documentation work before release, and these tasks must be completed by professional software talents with skilled skills. And software testing engineer is one of them.

It is understood that since software test engineers are in important positions, they must have a professional background in electronics and electrical machinery, and should have more than two years of practical operating experience. They should be familiar with Chinese and international software testing standards, be proficient in and operate a series of internationally popular software testing tools, be able to undertake relatively complex software analysis, testing, quality management and other tasks, and be able to independently serve as the person in charge of the testing and quality management departments. Generally speaking, software testing engineers can be divided into three levels: test engineers, senior test engineers and senior test engineers.

In the specific work process, the test engineer's job is to use test tools to conduct functional and performance tests on the product according to the test plan and process, and even write different test tools as needed, design and maintain the test system, and Analyze and evaluate possible problems that may arise in the test plan. Software testing engineers must have a high degree of responsibility and self-confidence. Any strict test must be a realistic test, because it is related to the quality of a product, and test engineers are the gatekeepers before products are shipped. Therefore, they cannot be competent for this work without professional technical standards. At the same time, since testing work is generally completed by multiple test engineers at the same time, and the testing department generally needs to communicate more with personnel from other departments, test engineers are required to not only have strong technical capabilities but also strong communication skills.

Therefore, within the enterprise, software testing engineers are basically in a "double-high" position, that is, high status and high remuneration. Some people's monthly salary can be as high as 8,000 yuan. It can be said that their career prospects are very broad. Judging from the recent corporate talent demand and salary levels, the annual salary of software testing engineers has obvious signs of increasing year by year. The position of test engineer will definitely become a new highlight of IT employment.