So why is this?
Secondly, rightly or wrongly it is still widely considered that any “good graduate” should pursue a career in Development! This is due to a few factors, lack of promotion of Testing jobs via the Uni themselves, careers fairs, and lack of knowledge of the many ways a Testing role can look. It’s widely considered to be not as technical as a Dev role, and this simply doesn’t have to be the case.
Again, I am biased but a career in Software Testing can be just as rewarding, technical and as financially lucrative as becoming a Developer. It’s our responsibility to make sure this is known! One exception that I know of is Edge Hill University in Liverpool, who not only teach modules of Testing, they actively encourage and promote careers in Testing to their Grads.
All is not lost
So, what do we do?
As a recruiter, help to educate. We can’t always help people secure the right role for them right now. Don’t be afraid to educate your candidates and point them in the right direction to resources that will help them to “upskill” and learn more. These include:
- Online courses
- Ministry of Testing and all their wonderful knowledge
- Key figures in Test who may be able to coach / mentor them
- Organisations that will help to train them up
- Meetups and Events
I would love to hear any other suggestions from you all on how we tackle this issue! Don’t hesitate to give me a shout!
Gabbi