Software Testing vs Software Development career

Question

Hi,

I have been working as a junior/graduate software developer in C and some C++ for a couple of years.

Now, I have been offered two positions:

1) Software Developer with a good company that develops CRM software, but they use an outdated scripting language called Unibasic, which was developed in 1980s by IBM. In this role I would be involved in the whole SDLC. The salary is very average.

2) Test Analyst with a big ICT provider (3000 employees). This will involve infrastructure testing, software testing, performance testing and load testing. There isn't much opportunity to move within the company and work is project based. The pay package is good, and the company atmosphere is relaxed.

At the moment I think that software developer position will be better in the long run, as the role would be more challenging and interesting and 'Test analyst' position is like an insult to a software engineer, don't you think?

Answer 1

The question is off topic and you'd get better service on one of the other stack exchanges. But it deserves an answer.

Here's my 5 cents: both career paths are valid. Go with the one that meshes better with your personality, with the one that makes you smile when you get out of bed each morning. Software developers build things. Test professionals pick them apart (think mythbusters.) Which one are you?

If none of the offers is the one you aspire for, which one gets you closer? With two years of experience on your resume, which one will make it easier to apply for something you'll want to do more?

Answer 2

Whenever I'm faced with a decision like this, I stop and ask myself "What do I want out of my career?" and also "What have I already achieved?"

If you want a career as a software developer, testing is an integral part of what you do, but not the primary focus.

Whatever you decide, starting out means you need time to learn the ropes, gain a little experience, and spend a couple of years in different roles. Once you have some experience under your belt you'll have a better idea where you see yourself in the future. If you've never worked as a test engineer then how will you know if it's really your calling or not? But if you already have an aversion to pursuing that path, then it sounds to me like you'll have already answered your own question. ;-)

Answer 3

As others have said (implied), it sort of depends on what you'll be happiest doing. For my two-cent addition, as a developer, the guys who test my software try some of the strangest things. They'll find a bug and I almost always ask "Who would do that? No actual user would ever [fill in very-improbable-sequence-of-steps that broke something here]." I don't know how they think up stuff to do to software but I know that I couldn't do it. My mind just doesn't work like that.

Answer 4

Don't ever go down the path of using UniBasic! Leave it in the 80's where it belongs.

These are two job choices you have right now. IMVHO the development one should be avoided like the plague, it is going to keep you trapped in the stone age. But that doesn't mean you should choose the testing job either - you are currently a developer so why change career path simply because there is an open job right there?

Instead you should search a bit more and find more development opportunities. Only then should you decide whether you want to continue in development or branch into testing. At the moment you are comparing one seemingly crappy job against another okay one in a different field which you don't know whether you would like.

Answer 5

Testing and development are very different disciplines - great testers love to break stuff, great developers love to build stuff. What are you best at, and what do you enjoy most?

Many developers have a mental block about their own fallibility that is the #1 reason for having an independent test team. Testers on the other hand assume that the code is broken unless every use case has a passing test case.

The idea that 'test analyst' is an insult to a software engineer is totally incorrect. There are good and bad professionals in both test and development. Truly great testers are very thin on the ground, though.