The secret to making yourself invaluable as a tester isn’t learning how to see the future and forecast what will change the industry and what will fade away. In order to future-proof yourself, spend the time to add the skills you’re missing, and understand what might be coming on the horizon.
A long-time freelancer in the tech industry, Josiah Renaudin is now a web content producer and writer for TechWell, StickyMinds, and Better Software magazine. Previously, he wrote for popular video game journalism websites like GameSpot, IGN, and Paste Magazine, where he published reviews, interviews, and long-form features. Josiah has been immersed in games since he was young, but more than anything, he enjoys covering the tech industry at large.
All Stories by Josiah Renaudin
Simply saying, “Hey, make sure we have automated testing because that will fix everything” isn’t enough. If you don’t fully understand what needs to be automated, why it needs to be automated, and what tests should remain manual, you’re simply following fresh trends for the sake of looking relevant.
With automation, continuous integration, agile, and a slew of other testing innovations, the field has evolved into something new. However, one of the major issues that many testers are running into is that while the occupation itself is expanding, their own personal growth isn’t keeping pace.
IoT is the latest trend that’s producing new connected devices that change how we interact with our environment. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what IoT can achieve, but before we can really hit our stride in this industry, all the different players needs to agree on a standard.
If you’re a professional within the industry and fail to take advantage of a sea change like mobile, you’re wasting a valuable opportunity. Its growth curve continues to spike, and there are still countless ways you can leverage mobile to inspire fresh career opportunities.
Acting as an early adopter isn’t inherently bad—if you look at this from a business context, it’d be like investing in a promising startup and hoping to double or even triple your money over time. But what’s critical here is avoiding pushing all your chips into the middle of the table early on.
The speed at which software evolves, adapts, and moves to the next best thing can be dizzying at times. As soon as you adopt the latest and greatest methodology and see better results, a new solution is created that somehow requires teams to better test and develop at a greater rate.