In 2020, low software quality cost companies in the United States $2.08 trillion. Given that the U.S. GDP makes up 24.7% of the global economy, that impact worldwide is likely around $8.41 trillion.

Quality assurance is a vital role in the software development industry. Software applications are only effective if they’re functional, reliable, and free of errors. 

QA engineers are responsible for the mission-critical testing of the performance of companies’ software. In this post, we break down the statistics, job requirements, and responsibilities of a career in QA engineering.

What Does a QA Engineer Do?

The concept of quality assurance isn’t a recent trend. As long as human beings have been building things, we’ve been concerned with the quality of our work. In that sense, the fundamentals of quality assurance are thousands of years old. 

Quality assurance as a business practice originated from trade guilds in the Middle Ages. It then matured into its modern form during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and during wartime production in the First and Second World Wars.

Today, software quality assurance is an advancing discipline concerned with ensuring the delivery of software products or services at a consistent standard of quality. QA (quality assurance) engineers are responsible for preventing, identifying, and eliminating defects in applications. 

Individual QA engineers are responsible for one of the four quality assurance functions:

• Test analysis: interpreting and testing static requirements
• Test design: creating tests based on software specifications
• Test execution: performing tests and documenting their results
• Test management: overseeing all testing activities

On a more technical level, the core job responsibilities of QA engineers include:

• Working with stakeholders to delivery software that meets quality standards
• Creating comprehensive software testing plans and cases 
• Identifying and recording software bugs
• Finding solutions to bugs
• Developing automation scripts and tools
• Overseeing the debugging process
• Keeping up-to-date with advancements in technology

What Kinds of Companies Hire QA Engineers?

Any company that produces software will need to hire QA engineers to monitor the quality level of their work. With companies in every industry becoming increasingly driven by technology, the demand and opportunities for QA engineers continues to grow. The top sectors hiring for QA engineers include:

• Fortune 500: 30%
• Technology: 23%
• Finance: 7%
• Professional Services: 6%
• Internet: 5%
• Telecommunication: 5%
• Manufacturing: 4%
• Media: 3%

Types of QA Engineer Positions

The titles QA engineers hold vary drastically, depending on their experience, education, and company. The title of a graduate from a coding bootcamp might look different than a candidate with a four-year degree. And the role of a QA engineer in a small startup will be different than at a 5,000 person company.

At the beginning of their career, a QA engineer will start out with an entry-level role, like junior QA engineer or quality assurance analyst. A new QA engineer usually works in one of these roles for one to three years.

From there, they’ll have the opportunity to move into more senior-level and specialized roles with hands-on engineering experience. QA engineering job titles include: 

• Software quality assurance (SQA) engineer
• Quality systems engineer
• Quality assurance specialist
• Test engineer
• QA engineering lead
• Software test engineer (STE)

While they spend several years honing their skills, their responsibilities expand to include taking ownership of projects, working independently in a team environment, and mentoring project team members.

With some experience under their belt, a QA engineer often faces a crossroads in their career having to choose between a few paths. 

The first path is to pivot into people and team management functions. Hiring, mentoring, resource planning and allocation, strategy, and operations become a larger component of the responsibilities of QA engineers pursuing this career path. At the higher levels of an organization, these job functions might include:

• QA Testing Manager
• QA Engineering Manager
• Director of Quality Assurance
• Data Operations Manager
• Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

The second possible career path is to continue as an individual contributor. Many QA engineers opt to continue their careers as individual contributors, enjoying equally fulfilling careers and developing deeper technical expertise in various languages and frameworks.

The third possible career path is to transition out of quality assurance into a related field, such as software development, business analysis, DevOps, customer experience, or product management. Because the responsibilities of quality assurance intersect with multiple technical disciplines, QA engineers are well-positioned to transition to a career in a different field that interests them.

Salary Comparisons & Job Outlook

On average, QA engineers receive highly competitive compensation packages. However, data sources on technical salaries often present vastly different, and at times conflicting, numbers at both a regional and global level. Estimates of total compensation for QA engineers in the U.S. range from $103,040 to $140,000.

Junior QA engineers can expect to occupy a lower salary band at the beginning of their career. In contrast, senior positions provide a higher average compensation, though data for this specific salary band is hard to find. Industry and company size also affect the salary band dramatically.

Current market conditions have made technical salaries especially volatile. Because of this, public salary data may be low or out of date. Total compensation packages, including equity and bonuses, are also changing rapidly. Hiring teams will need to conduct their own research to identify salary bands based on their company’s requirements and the technical needs of the role.

The job outlook for QA engineers is equally promising. As long as there are companies building software, there will be a demand for engineers with the skills to test that software. 

From 2020 to 2030, The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of employed software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in the U.S. to grow by 22 percent — and that includes QA engineers. Specifically, there will be 308,390 new QA engineer jobs filled by 2029.

Requirements to Becoming a QA engineer

Technical Skills

QA engineers use a range of programming languages to create, run, and automate quality test. These include, to name a few:

• Python
• Java
• Ruby
• C++
• C#
• Perl
• PHP

QA engineers also use a number of tools and frameworks. The exact technologies they’ll work with depend on the role or specialization. These include: 

• Test management tools (Test Manager, TestLink, HP-ALM, SpiraTest, TestRail)
• Defect tracking tools (Mantis, BugZilla, IBM Rational ClearQuest)
• Project management software (Jira, YouTrack, Redmine)
• SQL clients (SQL Operations Studio, SQL Server Management Studio)
• Automation tools (Selenium, Ranorex, Katalon Studio, Testim)
• Automation frameworks (Cypress, Serenity, WebdriverIO, Robot Framework)
• CI/CD tools (Jenkins, Tetkon, Gitlab, Bamboo)
• Spreadsheet Software (Excel)

It’s worth noting that there’s a degree of fluidity to the technologies that QA engineers use. A framework that’s in demand today might be outdated a year from now.

Soft Skills

Technical competency alone isn’t enough to succeed in a QA engineering role. Mathematical, analytical, and problem-solving skills are a must in any technical role. And soft skills are even more critical in a digital-first or digital-only environment.

Employers may have a preference for QA engineers with strong soft skills, such as:

• Time management
• Communication
• Project management
• Problem solving

Experience & Education

After competency, the most important qualification for QA engineers is experience. On-the-job experience and training is a critical requirement for many employers.

Then, there’s the question of education. Statistically, 71% of QA engineers have a bachelor’s degree and 17% have a master’s degree. Many employers still require QA engineering candidates to have four-year degrees. 

But competition for skilled QA engineers is fierce, and it’s common for job openings requiring degrees to go unfilled. There are simply not enough engineers with degrees to fill thousands of open roles out there. Companies looking to hire QA engineers will have access to a much larger pool of talent and achieve their data initiatives if they recognize other forms of education and experience. 

Resources for Hiring QA Engineers

Developer Hiring Solutions

HackerRank Projects for QA Engineering

[Checklist] Key Skills of an Effective QA Engineer

How to Assess Selenium Skills on HackerRank

The post What Does a Quality Assurance Engineer Do? Job Overview appeared first on HackerRank Blog.

This is part of HackerRank’s hiring checklist series, where we share insights to help you screen developers. You can find our other checklists here: 

• Junior vs. Senior Developers
• Data Analysts vs. Scientists vs. Engineers
• DevOps Talent
• Back-End Developers
• Front-End Developers
• Full-Stack Developers

Quality Assurance (QA) Engineers are the unsung heroes of a successful engineering organization. They make sure your software won’t break when it matters.

Chosen correctly, a QA Engineer can safeguard your team from errors, inconsistencies, or even downtime. Ultimately, a good QA Engineer means less issues. And less issues means less lost revenue. 

So, what makes an effective QA Engineer? In this post, we’ll discuss what QA Engineers do, how they contribute to a team, and most importantly: what separates top candidates from the rest.

It’s worth noting that the term “QA Engineer” has different meanings for different teams. They can fall into a number of specialities: from load and performance QA, to security QA, to networking QA, and much more. For the purpose of this checklist, we’ll be focusing on key skills for web QA roles. 

How QA Engineers work on a team

In a nutshell, QA Engineers are the last line of defense between development and production. Without their approval, things don’t get shipped. Their goal is to ensure new software won’t break once pushed to production.

They do this by designing and carrying out tests—most frequently, automated tests—on proposed contributions to the codebase. Utilizing their codebase knowledge, and the software use case, they put the contributions through high-stress trials. The goal is to replicate the demands of the production environment as closely as possible.

In turn, those stress trials that help surface potential software quality issues. The QA Engineer’s job is not only to identify quality issues, but to find their root cause. Once the root cause is clear, they can suggest fixes to the code’s author. 

The role isn’t designed to point out faults. The goal is to work collaboratively with developers to ensure the overall health and stability of the codebase.

TechBeacon put it best:

The relationship between development and QA shouldn’t be the same as the relationship between an artist and an art critic. It should be more like the relationship between a writer and a copy editor, both applying their specialized skill sets to make a quality product.

They play a key role in the testing phase of the development cycle, are often involved in other phases in order to inform better testing:

Like most development roles, the scope a QA Engineer is up to the interpretation of the team. Make sure you understand how your hiring manager intends to utilize the role.

Key skills for a QA Engineer

If you’re looking for a QA Engineer, start by asking these questions. Note: qualifications may change from team to team. But these asks are some of the most common:

Expertise

• Do they have strong logic skills, and good basic programming skills?
• Are they comfortable preparing testing notes, test cases, and documentation for a variety of scenarios? Do they have a strong grasp of QA methodology?
• Do they show strong creativity in their work? Can they think up relevant uses cases independently, and test accordingly? Do they test to break?
• Can they thoughtfully interpret test results, and advocate for quality throughout the development process? Do they carefully track and monitor issues through resolution?  
• Do they have strong debugging skills? Are they able to analyze issues and their root causes?
• Are they familiar with your team’s go-to test automation tools (e.g. Selenium)?

Team Compatibility

• Will they be happy working on the “behind the scenes” side of development?
• Are they team-oriented and diplomatic? Can they tactfully work with a diverse mix of developers (spanning many job functions, experience levels, and personalities)?
• Do they have a knack for process? Can they manage and maintain quality procedures?
• Do they have strong technical communication skills (both oral and written)? Can they report issues with clarity and accuracy?
• Are they comfortable with self-direction?

Soft Skills

• Are they careful, and detail-oriented to a fault?
• Do they have strong non-technical communication skills (both oral and written)? Can they relay technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders (e.g. product and support)?
• Can they stay calm under pressure? Are they comfortable acting as the final approver for their team’s work?
• Are they able to triage requests based on priority and severity? Can they maintain a laser focus on their task list?
• Do they have strong business and product savvy? Can they quickly grasp the business objectives of a new project?
• Are they reliable? Do they show strong ownership of their deliverables?

Check on your candidate’s long-term plans

QA Engineers are unique in the professional landscape. After all, candidates that seek out QA roles aren’t always pursuing careers in QA. Entry-level developers, especially, will sometimes pursue QA roles as a stepping stone to development work, or to get a foot in the door at your company.

Make sure you understand the candidate’s long term vision. Are they looking to stay in QA long term? Or is QA only one step in their career path? There isn’t a wrong answer. Both types of candidates can add value to your organization; it all depends on the needs of your team.

Align with your hiring manager on what they need. Are they willing to create a career path to software development? Or are they looking for a tried and true QA veteran? No matter their answer, make sure they’re aligned with your candidate. It’ll help shore up retention down the line.

The post [Checklist] Key Skills of an Effective QA Engineer appeared first on HackerRank Blog.