My time with Testing Circle has flown by; from the assessment day to starting work, I have found the process incredibly rewarding.  I haven't found coming from a humanities background a hindrance in any way; a far greater emphasis has been placed on problem solving skills and willingness to learn rather than on raw technical knowledge.  Since joining Testing Circle, I have gained my foundation level ISTQB-ISEB certification; and studying for this has provided a strong theoretical underpinning to the practical skills already gained.

My first role involved working on the launch of a high profile website, as part of a UAT managed service team.  It was a busy project, and from the very beginning I was involved in on-site meetings with the client and other third parties.  This close liaison continued throughout, which was excellent experience and was well supported by the test lead and other staff.  After a couple of months on the job, my advice for anyone starting a career in testing is as follows:

1] Don't let having a background in something other than computer science put you off – technical knowledge will come with time.

2] Be inquisitive, and don't be afraid to ask questions if you're unsure of something; better to ask a small question in the morning than to have a big problem to fix after hours.

3] Become familiar any project documentation as early as possible, because the last thing you want to be doing with a deadline looming is searching through countless files for that vital piece of info. (I make ‘cheat sheets’, but that's just what happens after three years of colour-coded lecture notes...)

4] Look for ways to improve your work, and for ways to help others working with you – testing is a team activity, not a solo fight to the death.

5] We can't all be test ninjas from the beginning, but courtesy and willingness to learn is almost as good!

Testing Circle would like to thank Ros for her contribution as a guest blogger!