When we speak of a career in ICT, the image that flashes to mind is usually that of a programmer or software engineer. In reality, software engineering teams are made up of a rich spectrum of roles, ranging from analysts and project managers to software engin-eers, designers and testers. Unfortunately, in the case of Malta, the latter is often perceived as a second-class role filled by those who do not make the grade as deve-lopers. Yet this is far from the truth.

The act of testing software involves applying a range of techniques in order to gain confidence in a product before it is released. I see this as an act rather than a role because most roles within a software engineering team perform testing in some way, shape or form. Product managers carry out user acceptance testing before accepting a product as complete, while developers’ day-to-day job involves a substantial amount of low-level testing.

Test engineers tend to be highly- talented developers because they need to understand all underlying technologies

So what do testers do? People normally associate a tester’s role as being the gatekeeper of quality within a company. The perception is that these people sit at their desks day after day clicking around on systems and trying to break them. While there was a time when this was the case, software development processes have evolved to make quality the responsibility of the whole team, and any company that sticks to the old way of testing is likely to experience difficulties.

These types of testers are known as test analysts and can be very valuable if they are allowed to use their creativity and product knowledge in order to seek out bugs. More systematic and repetitive testing can be automated. This automation is the role of test engineers.

Test engineers are developers who have decided to specialise in testing. They essentially spend their days building computer programs whose purpose is that of trying to break other computer programs. The idea is to automate the systematic testing of a system while allowing test analysts to focus on more creative and valuable work which only humans can do.

Test engineers tend to be highly talented developers because they need to understand all underlying technologies in order to write automated tests for them. Software developers are usually responsible for a small part of a system and do not need to possess expertise beyond what is required within that context.

A career in testing can involve further specialisation. A quick search in ICT job websites will reveal ample vacancies for performance, accessibility and security testers. These roles are perceived as specialisations and are highly sought after and well paid.

Local ICT companies frequently complain that they find it difficult to recruit people to work in software testing. The perception that this is a second-class job is far from the truth. I myself have specialised in software testing for the past 12 years and have found it to be an enriching career path which requires me to constantly keep updated with the latest technologies and techniques. Salaries are the same as, if not more than, those of software engineers, and the level of engagement and job satisfaction is high.

In other countries, people who work in testing are respected and highly sought after. This trend is going to hit Malta soon and I recommend testing specialisation to anyone considering a career in ICT.

• Dr Mark Micallef teaches and leads research in software at the University of Malta. He specialises in helping companies ramp up software testing teams, improve testing processes, build automated test frameworks and improve the way they build and deliver software. He has been invited to deliver talks by organisations like Google and the British Computer Society and has consulted for international companies including the BBC, Phorm Inc. and Macmillan Publishers.

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