Exploring the Profiles of Software Testing Jobs in the United States

Abstract

There is an indisputable industrial need for highly skilled individuals in the role of software testers. However, little is known about what activities under testers’ responsibilities, competencies, and experiences sought after from employers’ perspectives. For the purpose of this research, a data set of 1000 job ads related to software testing role in the United States was collected and analyzed. Specifically, a thorough analysis was conducted to find the industrial demand for competencies for the software testing role in terms of (i) Level of education, training, and experience; (ii) Testing skills; (iii) Technical skills; and (iv) Soft-skills. Relevant correlated skills that may influence shaping the profile of the software tester were also analyzed. Also, the essential duties that a software tester is expected to perform were investigated. The results from the subsequent quantitative and qualitative analysis are reported.

Keywords

• Software testing
• industry practices
• survey
• job ad
• testing career
• exploratory study