Whenever I have free time at work, I often remember that I haven’t updated my WeChat official account article for a long time. I always want to share my experience and feelings of transitioning from testing to development with everyone when I’m not busy with work, but there’s always endless work, and I can’t stop for a moment.
Finally, this week, I had two days where work wasn’t so busy, so I decided to finish updating the article I started writing a few days ago. These are the two most relaxing days I’ve had in these months. There are no bugs to investigate and test, no need to look at decades-old C code, and finally, I have a large chunk of time to write the Python Client-side code I’m responsible for. The feeling of refactoring, debugging, and modifying the Unit Test Suite while listening to music is truly blissful.
Happy times are always short-lived. Today, two more bugs need investigating ε=(´ο｀*)))唉…
Back to reality. After investigating for a long time, I found out that it was actually a QA testing error. Phew, I can relax tonight and update my WeChat official account.
For the past five months, I’ve been working eight hours a day, then continuing to work at home with my laptop in the evening, occasionally going to the company on Sundays, and often studying at home. Due to the change in roles and new projects, there’s a lot to learn. From business to technology, plus the imminent product launch, as a new development member, I also bear the task of bug fixing. Ten-year-old code, all-English documentation, complex systems—if I don’t give it my all, I’m really worried about failing the transition, which would be quite embarrassing.
The busy work and pressure make me eat uncontrollably in the evening. Eating is the most relaxing time of my day. Last year, I bet with others to lose weight and win a prize; I won first prize without any resentment. But this year, when I bet with others to lose weight again, I haven’t even started yet. It’s almost the end of the year, and losing the prize is inevitable. In summary, it’s probably because I’ve been too busy and stressed this year, making it impossible for me to continue practicing guitar and using Keep outside of my eight hours. I haven’t even had time for my annual leave. Plans never quite work out as expected.
Although I’m still a junior developer, the change in roles has also changed my perspective.
Automation Testing is the Foundation, DevOps is the Ladder#
Over the past few years, you’ve probably realized that if a tester doesn’t understand automation testing and can’t write automation test scripts, not only will it be difficult to get promoted or change jobs, but they may also be eliminated by the company.
I personally believe that DevOps is the path many companies will take in the near future. In general, there are very few people in second-tier cities who can explain and implement DevOps clearly. Therefore, those who master the implementation of DevOps early will have the opportunity to become DevOps coaches or testing architects.
Don’t Become a Developer Without Preparing to Handle Pressure#
I’ve encountered a lot of pressure in these months, from initially learning C language to the C language assessment; from learning the all-English business documentation to sharing the business documentation (which is also a kind of assessment); from investigating the code coverage of the C code and Git sharing to investigating and resolving bugs; from daily stand-up meetings to weekly meetings with foreign colleagues. Finally, in September, my title changed from Quality Assurance Engineer to Software Engineer. Only those who have experienced it know the pressure, pain, and fleeting joy involved.
Skills Matching Your Age#
This point is very important. If you’re asked now what advantages you have over young colleagues who just graduated two or three years ago, and you can’t confidently and clearly state your advantages, then you need to reflect on this.
From a development perspective, I currently lack skills that match my age, so testing-related skills and DevOps-related knowledge are still lessons I need to master.
Learn English#
For domestic companies, English may not be used at work, but I want to say that if you want to have a longer-term development in the testing and development fields, English is very important. Generally, the most popular open-source automated testing frameworks, technologies, DevOps-related tools, and the most effective solutions for problem-solving are usually in English. If your English is not good, stick to it for a year and a half, diligently study English materials, form a habit, and you will benefit for life.