Lecture 12 - Bonus Tracks -> Quick Intro -> How Much Technology Knowledge Must A Beginner Tester Have -> What To Do If You Are The First Test Engineer At A Software Start-UpHere is my position: for your first job in testing you must:
– Know how to use email and a Web browser
– Be familiar with black box testing techniques (Boundary Values, etc.)
– Be familiar with the main concepts of test cases, SDLC, and bug tracking
Below is a quick technology training that I recommend in addition to this Course. But this doesn’t mean that you have to delay your job search*: educate yourself while looking for a job! And, of course, you should keep learning through your entire career. As my dear friend and tutor Nikita Toulinov says: “If you haven’t learned anything new today, your day was wasted.“
* I’m assuming that a job search is in your current plans.
Here is an important thing about technology education: Don’t just read stuff – execute it! Let your fingers remember keystrokes, and let your curiosity explore the PRACTICAL side of technology.
Example
– If you are learning Unix commands, don’t just read that the command “mkdir” creates a new directory; go ahead and immediately type and execute that command and then go into that directory (the command is “cd <directory name or path to directory>”).
– If you are learning about lists in Python, go ahead and create a list and start playing with it.
Remember what Confucius said: “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Of course, you can spend YEARS learning and practicing the following things. So, we are talking about quick training to get familiarized with them. But acquired skills and knowledge will help you during your first interviews, and your resume will be more attractive if it includes a line like “Familiar with the basics of HTML, SQL, Python and Unix”.
I assume that you have Windows OS installed on your computer.
1. HTML
Learn it and execute it here: http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp.
Pay special attention to elements of the Web form.
2. SQL
Learn it and execute it here: http://www.w3schools.com/sql/default.asp.
You can also install Base from Open Office to expand your knowledge (http://www.openoffice.org/). Use Menu/Insert/Query (SQL view) to interact with the DB with SQL.
Your purpose is to:
a. Get a basic understanding of what a relational DB is
b. Learn the basic syntax and usage of the following SQL commands:
CREATE
SELECT
UPDATE
INSERT
DELETE
3. Python
Learn it here: https://docs.python.org/2/tutorial/.
Download and install the Windows version from here: http://www.python.org/download.
Get familiarized with numbers, strings, and lists.
4. Unix
Learn it here: http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Teaching/Unix/
Download and install the Linux-like environment Cygwin from here: http://www.cygwin.com.
Get to know the basic concepts of Unix OS and get confident in using the basic commands. Next ->
Lecture 12 - Bonus Tracks -> Quick Intro -> How Much Technology Knowledge Must A Beginner Tester Have -> What To Do If You Are The First Test Engineer At A Software Start-Up
