Last week (May 3, 2019) saw great economic news as published
in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April 2019 report. In April, 2019, the unemployment rate dropped
to 3.6% (the lowest since 1969) with over 263,000 new non-farm jobs added. Also
significant was the prior March report with 196,000 jobs added. That is great
news, indeed. But, like with so many things, there are implications along with
these numbers.
Without taking away anything from this great report, it is
important to remember that it is a snapshot, which will change in future
reports, either up or down. Also, there are other economic indicators that show
not-so-great things, like historic levels of consumer debt. And, as with any
metric, there are nuances.
I have had two big issues for many years with how these numbers are reported: 1) the quality of the jobs are not factored in,
so they could be skewed toward minimum wage jobs, for example. 2) The
unemployment rate is only based on people that are currently receiving
unemployment compensation, not on people who may be unemployed but not on
assistance. There are sub-metrics that do address things like people who have
“given up” looking for work, etc., but those are hardly ever reported in the
media.
With that being said, and with no particular political
position taken, plus I am not an economist (although with their track record of
forecasting, I think I could do as well), I humbly offer my analysis.
Since software testing and QA is my focus, I have been
thinking about what this means for testers and test managers. In this article I
focus on impact on testers. I am simultaneously publishing an article for the impact on test managers.
By the way, the impact is not just about economics. There
are forces both now and ahead that will drive the need for development and
testing skills at numbers we have never seen before. These forces include
digital transformations of legacy systems (including the move to virtualized
data centers), connected devices and Internet of Things applications,
cybersecurity challenges, Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence and
the effective creation and maintenance of test automation - all of which will
need tested.
As a tester, this is an opportunity to go for a better position.
I can’t tell you how many people (including test leaders)
that have confided in me over the last ten years, “Once the economy improves, I’m
outta here!” Much of that is due to frustrations with their current manager
and/or company.
Perhaps you, like these people have tried and tried to make
things work, but the culture is so bad there seems to be no hope.
As I was just finishing this article, I read other analysis
on LinkedIn last night which said, “The Labor Department also said the pace at
which people quit their jobs held at a historically high 2.3% for a 10th month
as the unemployment rate has continued to dip to half century lows.”
So, this is that time that dissatisfied people have been
waiting for. And, people are leaving jobs at record levels that are opening new
positions.
The Rise of “The Career Nomad”
I have often wondered “When does a ‘thing’ become a
‘thing’?” In other words, what defines a trend?
A new trend is the “career nomad”. My friend, Tom Staab, brought this to me attention recently. This is a person that
moves from job to job, either inside a company or between companies to
accelerate their advancement. In my day, it was called “job hopping.” I did it
and my parents were very concerned about it, but in the programming field it
was the way to advance. The other option was to work for 20 years at one place
and hope your boss moves on and you get the slot. But, there were no guarantees
for that, either.
It takes a good economy to make the career nomad approach
work, but working it is, right now. To get an idea of the scope, a true career
nomad will have over 20 jobs in a career.
The key takeaway here is that the stigma is going away from
moving jobs too often. Employers are realizing this is the new reality.
Actually, many employers helped create this new reality by layoffs and poor
management. The old mindset was, “Let ‘em go…we’ll find more.” Not so, today -
at least, not full-time employees in tech.
This is a great time to be a career nomad.
When applying for a new position, a new reality hits - you need certain
skills and certifications to even apply at the jobs you really want.
I’ve been saying for the last 20 years, “The time to build
skills is about 6 – 12 months ago.”
The catch is for many of the more desirable skills, such as
certain tools, or experience in a position, there is also an experience factor
or 1 – 5 years required. You can’t just build those things overnight.
What you can do is
get certified in a new skill and start documenting all the related things you
have done in the past. They do add up, and we tend to forget those things over
time. A prospective employer might look at your initiative and allow you to
grow into certain skills that you have a start in, but in which you are not
fully mature.
Certifications, love them or hate them, do convey a sense of
knowledge. HR loves them. Do some initial searches and see which ones are required for the position you want and which
certifications are desired. In some
cases, a prospective employer is willing to accept that you will attain the
needed certification in a given time after hiring, such as six months.
For example, for testing positions, it is common to find
some level of ISTQB certification either required or desirable. You can get the
CTFL in 3 days minimum, although most people will require a bit more time,
especially if going the e-Learning or self-study route.
Certifications do help you stand out among others. If you
need training, I offer live virtual events and on-demand e-learning.
What if you still can’t change companies?
Take if from an old dude that has seen this happen before,
lots of people make changes. New positions may open in your company that may be
an advancement opportunity. That’s very common. Your micro-managing boss might
leave to micro-manage in another company. You might be just the right fit for
their position, as long as you are not a new micro-manager!
Don’t forget how to learn!
No matter how your situation plays out, no matter your age, now
is the time to learn new things and be forward-thinking. Even if you have to
fund it yourself, keep learning. It’s your life and your career. To remain the
same will not work in the future. Your future self will thank you.
I do this personally, even getting some e-learning last
month on penetration testing, and some live training on cyber table-top
exercises. It looks great on a resume to have a consistent record of ongoing
training and learning.
I have taught classes where it was obvious the people hadn’t
been in a classroom for years. Then, add on an exam, and some people really get
nervous. Some haven’t taken a test for 20 years or more, either. Don’t be that
person!
Don’t be afraid, just jump in. So what if you struggle?
That’s where the learning happens. The more you exercise your brain, the more
you will improve and even age better. Find a good teacher and go for it!
Are You a Manual
Tester?
If so, take heart. I’ll say at the outset that I have been
predicting this for many years now.
Over the last ten years, there has been such a push toward
the Software Developer in Test (SDET) role, testers have been told they will be
out of work without technical skills such as coding and test automation. The
push toward technical testing skills has also been fueled by employers
requiring them, whether those skills are actually needed or not. Clearly, there
is a need for technical skills and there are salary benefits, too.
But, technical testing and test automation is limited. There
are some things that simply cannot or should not be automated. Plus, the SDET
often approaches software testing from the developer perspective instead of the
user or customer perspective. So, when the user encounters a failure, the
developer-minded tester may say, “So what? Here’s how you work around that.”
Users don’t need workarounds, they need software that works correctly.
Because so many testers have moved to the technical side, a
shortage of manual testers has actually been seen in some markets. Manual
testing is not easy and requires many skills that technical testers may miss
entirely.
Not everyone is cutout to have technical skills. Their
greater value may be in the business domain. Or, they just may be wicked good
at finding defects in just about anything. Those people make great testers!
So, if manual testing is your strength, play to it!
Summary
Here are the key takeaways for testers and QA professionals
from the current economic news and the testing marketplace:
1.
A significant number of people are changing
jobs, which can be good for the individual, but leaves gaps in the companies
they leave. That, in turn, opens new opportunities to fill in those companies.
2.
Job hopping has lost much of the stigma and is
now seen as a trend of “career nomads.”
3.
There are fewer QA and Test professionals in the
open market to hire, so the competition is less and the pay is increasing.
4.
This is a chance for testers to advance, if they
have the right skills and can demonstrate value to a prospective employer.
5.
The future holds a massive technology challenge
as the convergence of several waves all hit at once. It will make Y2K seem like
a “normal” project.
6.
Manual testers are in demand in many markets.
The good news is that this is a great time to be a tester!
Why? Because there are more opportunities than ever before and the skills
needed are both deep and wide.
If you have a testing or QA career question, please contact me!
-->
No comments:
Post a Comment