I fell into testing, like many I wasn’t aware it was a career that existed when I got a job working as a software tester, I discovered that I liked it.
Years later, I’m at a sort of crossroads, testing is no longer really lighting my fire any more. I’m somewhat in crisis with this, I have enjoyed many years of testing and I’m in a great job with a great company. I’ve not felt like this in other companies though. I think that this disconsolate feeling stems from the fact I’m a lone tester in a company rapidly approaching 50 employees, over half of which are developers. It’s really hard for me to keep my enthusiasm up, or my passion, when I’m meant to be the sole source of inspiration for testing. In fact recently I’ve been more and more tempted to slip sideways and go into a more development based role. Which is somewhat ironic because I always felt that testing was my vocation and that I’d never use it as a stepping stone to being a full time programmer.
What’s keeping me testing is the hope that we’ll very soon be hiring another tester. Having another person to bounce ideas and concepts off has always been useful and helpful for me. The company and the role is great but as you’ll see if you’ve been reading my blog, I’ve been unsuccessfully trying to hire another tester for a very long time now.
If you fancy helping me keep my testing spirit alive, details follow!
If you want to talk to me about this, you can reach me here on Github or on Twitter @Testing_crafty