What is a test engineer? We investigated from recruitment to qualifications, required skills, and annual income

1. 1. What is a test engineer?

A test engineer is an engineer who tests, verifies, and evaluates whether software, IT products, electronic devices, etc. operate normally.
The purpose is to improve the quality of products by discovering program and database design mistakes and errors (bugs) hidden in the program while implementing multiple test cases.

Test engineers are sometimes referred to as testers or QA engineers.

2. Test engineer’s work

2.1 Analysis, planning

Consider and plan how to carry out the test, such as the purpose and duration of the test, staffing, division of modules, and criteria for completing the test.

2.2 Design

Determine the actual test procedure, such as what test technique to use and which test case to perform.
As with software development, it is important to identify test cases because if the procedure up to design is unclear and implementation (testing) is started, it may be a big rework later.

2.3 Execution

We will execute the created test case.
If necessary, leave a test trail such as a DB dump after executing the test, and check the operation to see if the program is running as expected. When hiring an inexperienced test engineer, it is most common to start from this part.

2.4 Documentation of results

Document the test results together from the test results performed and the end criteria such as the checklist.

Furthermore, in recent years, as the movement toward test automation has accelerated, support for the introduction of automation and speeding up of automation have also been required, and the demand for test engineers is increasing.
It is no wonder that among the many IT engineer occupations, the occupation as a test engineer has been established.

3. 3. Test automation and test engineer

In recent years, there has been an active shift to test automation to improve test efficiency and reduce costs .

With automation, the number of testing processes will decrease, and the demand for test engineers will also decrease. I think there are many people who feel that.
However, in reality, it is believed that the demand for test engineers will not disappear even if the movement toward test automation progresses.

Due to the diversification of systems, the required quality is also increasing. Even if the test process that was previously performed manually is automated, an engineer (person) who can master the automation tool itself is required. Furthermore, the demand as a test engineer will increase if we pursue an engineer who can design and execute how to perform tests efficiently by introducing the automation tool.

It may be more correct to say that automation is changing the skills required of test engineers, rather than reducing the demand for test engineers.

Four. Skills required for test engineers

4.1 Software development skills

You need development skills related to the software you are testing.
Knowing how the test target will be implemented will make it easier to consider what test cases are needed. It is also possible to propose new test cases that you think are necessary during the test.

In addition, if you have programming knowledge, you will be able to modify the source code when you find a bug, which will expand the scope of your work. It is desirable to acquire the flow and skills of software development.

4.3 Skills related to testing techniques

The test engineer is not the only one who performs operation tests such as the screen is displayed when the browser is opened and each data is registered in the DB when the registration button is pressed.

In order to build and execute an appropriate test environment along the system, it is also necessary to have knowledge of the concept of software testing and testing techniques such as how to perform testing in the first place. The 5.2 JST QB Certified Test Engineer Qualification , which will be described later , is a qualification that was started with the aim of improving test technical skills, so it is ideal for systematically learning about testing.

4.3 Concentration and problem suggestion skills

Depending on the test target, the test cases to be handled are very detailed and enormous.
Depending on the phase you are in charge of, you may be constantly testing, so you need to be focused on continuing to do detailed work.
In addition to management skills, if you are a test leader, you will also need problem proposal skills to consider and improve the test environment and work problems.

4.4 Document creation skills

It is also necessary to leave evidence as a trail for each test case.
Basic document creation skills are indispensable because the documents are prepared so that you can see the changes before and after the execution of the screen and data at a glance, and the materials for presenting the result report are created.

5.1 Basic Information Technology Engineer Examination

This is a basic information processing engineer examination that allows you to acquire a wide range of basic knowledge as an IT engineer in the national examination sponsored by IPA.
Regardless of the type of job, many companies recommend that you acquire the qualification that you want to acquire first if you are an IT engineer. Depending on the company, there are jobs that are premised on having acquired the job, so it may be essential for job change activities.
It is a qualification that requires not only basic knowledge of IT but also programming knowledge, so it will be useful when fixing bugs while looking at the source in practice.

For more information on the basic information processing test, please refer to this article as well.

Is the Fundamental Information Technology Engineer Examination advantageous for employment? Thorough explanation from allocating points to morning exemption method [2022 version]

5.2 JST QB Certified Test Engineer Qualification

It is a qualification implemented by JSTQB (Japan Software Testing Qualifications Board) and is a valid qualification overseas.
Divided into 3 levels, you can prove your software test evaluation skills. Even if you have practical experience, it is a qualification that you want to acquire in order to become a test engineer as an objective proof of that skill.

(Reference URL) JSTQB certification test engineer qualification
http://jstqb.jp/index.html

5.3 IT Verification Engineer Certification Exam (IVEC)

It is a qualification for test engineers sponsored by the IT Verification Industry Association (IVIA), and is divided into 7 levels from 1 to 7. As of March 2019, up to Level 5 is available, and you must have a lower qualification to take Level 3 or higher exams.

(Reference URL) IT Verification Industry Association (IT Verification Engineer Certification Examination)
https://www.ivia.or.jp/item/43/

6. Test engineer’s annual income

What is the actual annual income of a test engineer?
In a survey conducted by mixi, Inc. as of March 2019, annual income was introduced as a “QA engineer” and a “debug tester”. The average annual income is as follows.

Average annual income: 4.56 million yen

• (Source: QA Engineer’s Average Annual Income / Salary / Salary / Find Job!
  Https://www.find-job.net/income/shokushu-0-95/)

• (Source: Average annual salary, salary, salary of debug testers / Find Job!
  Https://www.find-job.net/income/shokushu-3-19/)

7. 7. You can apply for a test engineer job even if you are inexperienced

There are some test engineer jobs that you can apply for even if you are inexperienced.
There are various ways to find a job, such as using the job change agent service, searching by Hello Work, or using a job magazine.

In job change activities, test engineers are jobs that you may be able to apply for even if you want to be active in the IT industry but have no experience. There are some companies that can apply with no educational background or inexperienced OK.

There are several types of companies that are looking for test engineers.
Examples are given, so please refer to them when you think about what kind of company you want to play an active part in, such as when changing jobs.

・ Companies that carry out tests by contracting products from manufacturers

Companies that outsource electronic device products such as cameras, printers, mobile phones, and semiconductors from each manufacturer and conduct verification tests on those products.

・ Companies that develop web applications and applications

A company that develops software such as core systems and applications that run on smartphones, and is looking for human resources to perform test work in cooperation with programmers and SEs.

・ Companies that specialize in test business as third-party verification

Intermediate position between user and engineer = A company that evaluates products as third- party verification and specializes in quality assurance business (testing)

Even if you are inexperienced, it can be an advantage.
This is because it is possible to raise a problem from the user’s point of view, or to find a potential bug by performing an operation that an experienced engineer would not have expected.
What if you’re doing test cases faithfully and comparing the results against a checklist? If you have the curiosity, interest and enthusiasm for testing, you will realize the depth and fun of the test engineer.

8. To become a freelance test engineer

I think there are many people who are attracted to the freelance work style when working as an engineer.

Here, we will introduce what you need to know if you aim to become a freelancer as a test engineer.

8.1 Difference between freelance and office worker

The main differences between freelancers and office workers are as follows.

・ Difference in salary

When comparing office workers and freelancers, the annual salary of freelancers tends to be higher. The unit price will be higher for projects that require high skills.

Compared to full-time employees, it can be said that freelancers are more likely to have proportional skills and annual income .

Freelancers also have to pay for social insurance, pensions, taxes, etc. on their own when comparing income.

Calculated from actual projects *, the average monthly unit price for freelance test engineer projects is 488,000 yen / month.

If you convert this to annual income, it will be about 5.85 million yen, which is higher than the average annual income of the company employee test engineer mentioned above.

* Calculated from projects posted by professional engineers (part of the projects owned by the company)

Find the latest freelance test engineer deals

・ Differences in working style

It is basically difficult for office workers to choose their own jobs, but freelancers are free to choose their jobs.

According to the Freelance White Paper 2018, many people have become freelancers for positive reasons such as time and place flexibility, work discretion, and challenge opportunities.

• Source: Professional & Parallel Career Freelance Association Freelance White Paper 2018

・ Differences in job acquisition methods

The big difference from office workers is that freelancers have to get a job on their own .

There are several ways for freelancers to get a job:

For more information on how freelance engineers can get jobs, check out this article.

Freelance engineers will teach you how to win projects so that you can continue to earn income!

・ Differences between social insurance and taxes

Security aspects such as paid leave and unemployment insurance exist for office workers but not for freelancers. Freelancers also have to pay for health insurance, pensions, taxes and other procedures themselves.

8.2 Skills required for freelance test engineers

Freelance test engineers need the following skills:

In this way, abilities and tasks that are different from those of office workers are required.

What are the four skills required for a freelance engineer?

9. Software testing symposium “JaSST”

JaSST (Japan Symposium on Software Testing), which is mainly held by NPO ASTER (Software Testing Technology Promotion Association), has been held every year since 2003 as a software testing symposium.

Currently, it is held nationwide, and in addition to keynote speeches, you can hear about the concept of test engineers, skills and techniques required for test engineers, career paths, etc. through tutorials and various sessions.

It seems that 2019 will be held in Tokyo in March, and then in Tohoku (May), Niigata (July), and Hokkaido (August).
If you are interested, please check it out.

(Reference URL) Software Testing Symposium (JaSST)
http://www.jasst.jp/index.html

10. summary

What did you think.
In order to use products safely and comfortably, test engineers are indispensable as the unsung heroes of IT products. Behind the IT products on the market, it would not be possible without the efforts of test engineers. Please consider your career as a test engineer with this article as a starting point.