84 Days: Why I'm not Software Tester

I'm coming to the end of my contract at work. As the project is not being shut down, my job won't be there after the end of June. To me, this is no biggie - I have a month and I'm on the case of finding a new role. All will be well. It always is. I'm getting calls back. Once you start getting the call backs things fall into place.

In the meantime, as there is little writing work to do, I'm helping out the test teams.

I have my tester hat on. I am girding my inner tester loins and getting on with the job.


There are some great things about being a part of the test team. I am working as a part of a team. Kumar, Ganesh and Amit are great blokes and good fun to be around. If they break into Hindi, I tend to talk Hindi back (I can say "I know nothing!" - it makes them laugh). We get on well. Our team leader is awesome too.

But testing is one of those jobs that only certain people are really good for. I am not one of them. I was a software tester about ten years ago. Software testing skills are great to have, but I could never be a software tester full time. I value my sanity way too much.

I have walked into job interviews to be a tester and told, 'How can you be a tester? You have a personality." I will admit, I tend to be on the user and business side of testing, rather than the nitty gritty unit and systems testing side of things.

Still, at the moment, I am a tester and I am remember all the reasons why I'm not a tester any more - well at least on a full time basis.

So, here is why I'm not a software tester:

1) Although I have a great amount of patience, I don't have patience for this crap.
2) It is repetitive work.
3) I prefer to converse with people, not computers.
4) When something seems straight forward, it normally is not.
5) It can be very frustrating when the test environment is not maintained properly - and this happens in 95% of companies.
6) Developers have a tendency to treat you like scum.
7) The business thinks you're strange.
8) I don't have that many personality quirks - if you're a real tester, you're normally very strange.
9) I can look people in the eyes, I don't stare at their shoes when.
10) I don't like being repeatedly bored through the day.

It's nice to be a tester for a change. I exclaimed,. "I'm a tester" as I was about to leave tonight. Amit just shook his head and me at laughed. "Oh Pand, you are so funny sometimes," he told me.

Actually, I'm just pleased to be doing something different, working in a team and knowing that it's only for a few weeks while I search out another writing job.

Today's Song: