6 Skills I’ve Learned as a Software QA

Hi friends! In today’s video I talk about 6 skills that I’ve developed as a software QA. These are all skills or habits that I think are extremely important in my daily work as a quality assurance analyst. Thanks for watching, I hope you enjoy!

FAQ:
Did I get a certification/attend a bootcamp for QA?
No, my company hires manual QA as an entry level position and then provides the training.
Do I need to know code?
For my testing specifically, I do not need to know how to write code.
Am I manual or automation QA?
Manual

Hi friend! My name is Madeline and I’m a 27 year old who is passionate about intentionally creating a life I love living. I make videos about healthy habits, wellness, and intentional living. Making these videos helps me to appreciate the simple moments in life, and I hope they inspire you to do the same!

Music in this video:

[oscarback]

As a programmer, a sign of a good QA is me being annoyed of them finding stuff. It is frustrating getting an issue assigned back to you but at the end of the day that's one less bug in production and I appriciate all my QA collueges 😁

[IslandRach]

I started watching your channel about a year ago trying to find out about the journey I was about to take leaving my underwriting job in insurance to become a QA analyst and after I passed my ISTQB exam I was able to land a QA job and I'm so happy.
You have definitely been a motivator in the journey thank you ☺️🙌🏽

[jonathancole]

good video, i appreciate your input, I am a senior QA engineer, been doing it for 16 years now. there are a couple things I would recommend:
1) I have noticed that every company has different language that they use to talk about the same problems. learn that language and speak to the developers in their own terms.
2) create a document of how to do things that you do that are the more difficult things. (how to reset the server, where to find data in the XML document, stuff like that) then share that document with your team members and encourage them to add to it. by doing this you are developing a training document for QA engineers who join the team and you have a troubleshooting guide for when you get flustered or have not done something is quite a while.

[QA-Chronicles]

As a QA manager I would say this is spot on when you are starting out in a QA role. These are skills that have become 2nd nature to me that I forget these are the building blocks. Thank you for being transparent and helpful!

[SuccessRedefined_]

Thanks for sharing the insights ! This was helpful.

1. Time Management
2. Critical Analytical Thinking
3. Clarity and Practical Logic in Test Cases
4. Organising Knowledge Documentation
5. Efficient Communication
6. Troubleshooting

[christinachmielinski]

Just wanted to share some gratitude towards your channel. I stumbled upon your channel about a month ago, as I'm looking to leave working in education and came across QA as a job that sparked my interest. As I was and still am doing research into the field I came across your first video and felt I related so much! You have inspired me to follow my unknown tech dream and get started in the field of manual QA. Please don't ever stop creating videos about QA testing and sharing your work/like balance tips (I also value morning routines so share away on that as well) is something I value greatly. Your insight into all of this is so encouraging!

[alisaaliska]

Madeline, I've started to watch your chanell during testing course, now I work as a tester, thank you for motivation and interesting content connected with Qa field :)...

[carolinevillar]

I agree with all the skills you mentioned. For me #6, troubleshooting, was certainly the most difficult to develop and sometimes, even after 3 years, I still have difficulties. And I also have the habit of taking screenshots of everything, it helps a lot!!

[SteveMc.]

Subscribed, I've been QA for 20+ years and this is very accurate. One thing I found helpful was anytime a dev helps you with something, say an error in logfile e.g., make good note of them so you can refer fast in the future. Likely it will come up again and you have the investigative/research at your fingertips.

[ibelle]

I started watching you at the very beginning of last year when I was interviewing and it helped me a ton to visualize the role and the lifestyle. Today, watching this as a QA for well over a year and a half, everything in this video is so true & familiar to me now. I’m loving it and wanted to thank you for putting your super chill and genuine content out there for me to find all those months ago. I hope you are well and wish you the best! ❤

[SimsAmbience]

This helped me realize I have a lot of traits for a QA position, just not the actual experience and hearing you say you came from no experience is really helpful. But traits like these are helpful to realize and write on my resume. Thank you!

[TechCoachRalph]

Hi there! This is probably one of the best videos about QA I've seen ON YouTube. I've been in QA for the last 15 years and your break down was spot on. I love the points about critical thinking and troubleshooting.

If I may ask, what kind of software or what industry are you working in for QA? Web/mobile/desktop? Also, are you planning to go into automation?

P. S. You probably already use this but one troubleshooting tool I use when testing on the web is the developer tools through the console to see potential js errors and the network tab to see why certain things may not be loading. Keep up the great work and looking forward to more videos!

[christofferlanzberondo]

I came across one of your videos a few days ago and I wanted to thank you for sharing what it's like to work as a software tester. Currently, I am working full time as a QA in a manufacturing company; however, I have also started studying the basics of manual testing. I believe I have a slight advantage as I already possess knowledge of the fundamentals of quality assurance. I hope you create more videos providing a detailed roadmap on how to secure entry-level jobs and/or websites that can assist in job hunting. I am learning manual testing on YouTube and plan to enroll in Udemy for more in-depth topics. Leaving my current job of five years is difficult, but my passion for and interest in software testing have grown. Thank you once again for your valuable content. I am a subscriber from the Philippines.

[dfranc]

great video!!! i am QA in brazil and my focus is to pursue an international career. my english is not to good but i've watcing to your videos (sometimes in 0.75x speed😂😂)

[a_le]

time management
critical thinking
logic
organize
communication
troubleshooting

wow. ground breaking tips.
thanks.

[LindaHammieh]

I really appreciate the representation that you have made and it's very helpful

[Her_descendant]

I appreciate your videos as someone also starting out

[teamminimus]

Hi Madeline, do you use a specific tool for your personal time management? I know some people use excel or personal Jira board, Trello or just a simple to do list on paper or digital notes.. curious what you use! 💜Love

[Jumss-io]

Hi, Madeline! I like that you're someone who accepts things easily but now you work at QA. It gives me so much confidence that I can do it too. But how did you start out, aside from these soft skills, did you have to enroll in a boot camp or take any certification?

[НашажизньвоФлориде]

Hello. Thank you for the video. What do you use for notes?