How to become SDET?
With the IT industry in the boom for the past decade, a specific role has been developed by Microsoft to fill a crucial gap, that role is SDET — Software Development Engineer in Test. SDET is a highly skilled professionalinvolved in designing, development, testing and automation tasks of the whole operation not just individual codes.
Big players such as Google have also taken a liking to this role and over the years, more and more companies are hiring SDETs as it’s a pivotal role in Agile and DevOps. This job role is in high demand and will continue to be over the course of the future years of the IT industry. So, currently if you are considering a career in field of software development OR you are thinking to upgrade your current IT job role then you should consider the role of SDET.
But why SDET?
The question often arises that why SDET as a role is now in demand and why it has become so crucial in the software development and the DevOps cycle?
Continuous Delivery is the foundation of the software cycle. To ensure this, it is vital for some core features to be consistent for any product along with new features added on every release. This combination of new and consistent functionality must be tested. To keep up with this fast-paced development manual testing is laborious and time-taking. When testers don’t have the required skills to produce automation checks then manual testing is the only option left. This laborious manual testing results in bottleneck of the development and release of the software taking longer and longer to complete.
Therefore, a SDET’s varied skills come to the rescue here. As they have the skills to create automation checks which save the trouble of manual testing as well as essential coding skills to check and keep up the software cycle.
Now the question arises “How do I become a SDET?”
Well don’t worry, with dedication, practice and the right skills you can adapt to this role. Here are some pointers,
1. Have interest or passion in coding and testing
It doesn’t matter whether you currently possess any skills to be a SDET because skills can be developed what matters is the voice within. Do you have an interest in software development or coding and testing? Do feel passionate with the developments in the IT sector and wish to be a part of this?
If your answer is “yes” then you are on the right track! This interest in the field will help you develop the necessary skills needed for being a SDET! Kudos to you!
2. Develop the right skills
Although it seems easy because SDET seems all about testing + coding but it is more intricate than that. SDET sees what a manual tester can’t and can fill the gap between testing and development while regulating the whole cycle.A must-have balance of testing aptitude and technical capabilities is a key thing.A great SDET is a software tester by trade, is passionate about software quality and at the same time is tech-savvy and has the right mix of technical skills.
What gives you all this? Either years of experience as a tester with direct involvement in the procedures OR an even better option, the right course which fills all these tiny gaps and especially prepares you for this vital role. But don’t worry, we provide you this in our Certified SDET Foundation and Certified SDET Professional courses, soyou can easily move forward towards your career goals
3. Practice QA mindset
Companies want the skills of highly-effective SDETs and the first thing they look for is a Quality Assurance (QA) mindset. Quality above all else should be the core foundation of any product in the market. This should also be valid in the development cycle of the product. SDETs regulate coding, automation and testing cycles while looking out for the crucial element of QA principles.
This comes naturally when you understand the fundamentals of testing and software. Writing and developing code is good but if you lack the QA mindset you can’t come up with enough situations to test user stories and features in depth and change things according to the feedback. This won’t add any value. So if you are going for the role of SDET keep this in mind.
4. Technical Skills
SDET is all about the balance between two important skills in an agile environment. Hence along with testing and QA, technical skills are a must. It is expected for a SDET to know C#, NET, JAVA or other programming languages along with some experience to work in AGILE + DevOps methodology.
Even though it sounds complex right now, know that these skills can be developed and with practice they can be as smooth as second nature for you.
If you are a full-stack tester and QA looking to metamorphose into SDET then focus on technical skill set and if you are a full-stack developer then learn about different test methods Unit testing, Integration Testing etc along with their tools. If you have been gaining experience in both these different environments then going forward should be a bit easy for you.
Your success id depends on what you decide to do today with your time and energy. Taking a step forward is the only way to ensure results. If you have been ruminating for the right career path and this field is of interest then don’t hesitate to go for it! All the best!
