Table 1Transition record

software analysttosoftware tester

A software analyst already meets 57% of what the software tester role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.

From software analyst

57%

Overlap1

To software tester

52 Skills carried over

8 Required, not held

53.6 Difficulty2

adjacent 0–30

moderate 30–55

substantial 55–75

career change 75–100

this move, 53.6

This move: 53.6 of 100 · moderate

1 Share of the software tester role’s weighted skill requirement already met by the software analyst profile. Required skills count in full, supplementary skills at 0.35. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. 2 Combines what is missing with how specialised it is, so a gap of general skills scores easier than the same number of narrow ones.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 52 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A software tester role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a software analyst background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held software architecture models information and communication technologies (icts)
already held trading software information and communication technologies (icts)
already held levels of software testing information and communication technologies (icts)
already held LDAP information and communication technologies (icts)
already held MDX information and communication technologies (icts)
already held XQuery information and communication technologies (icts)

All 52 carried skills, including the 2 the software tester role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you would need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered below in the order worth working in: the areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the supplementary ones.

Skill to acquire Tier

01 working with computers 3 required, 5 supplementary

required, not held execute software tests required
required, not held perform software unit testing required
required, not held replicate customer software issues required

optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
optional, not held debug software optional
optional, not held execute integration testing optional
optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
optional, not held use scripting programming optional

02 information and communication technologies (icts) 2 required, 9 supplementary

required, not held software anomalies required
required, not held software metrics required

optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held ICT performance analysis methods optional
optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
optional, not held application usability optional
optional, not held software components libraries optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
optional, not held unstructured data optional
optional, not held digital systems optional
optional, not held hardware components optional

03 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 required, 2 supplementary

required, not held provide software testing documentation required
required, not held address problems critically required

optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
optional, not held develop automated software tests optional

04 information skills 1 required

required, not held report test findings required

05 management skills 2 supplementary

optional, not held plan software testing optional
optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional

06 business, administration and law 1 supplementary

optional, not held audit techniques optional

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a software tester role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 52 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held levels of software testing knowledge
already held software architecture models knowledge
already held ABAP knowledge
already held AJAX knowledge
already held APL knowledge
already held ASP.NET knowledge
already held Agile project management knowledge
already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
already held C# knowledge
already held C++ knowledge
already held COBOL knowledge
already held CoffeeScript knowledge
already held Common Lisp knowledge
already held Erlang knowledge
already held Groovy knowledge
already held Haskell knowledge
already held ICT project management methodologies knowledge
already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
already held JavaScript knowledge
already held LDAP knowledge
already held LINQ knowledge
already held Lisp knowledge
already held MATLAB knowledge
already held MDX knowledge
already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
already held N1QL knowledge
already held Objective-C knowledge
already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
already held PHP knowledge
already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
already held Perl knowledge
already held Process-based management knowledge
already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
already held R knowledge
already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
already held SAP R3 knowledge
already held SAS language knowledge
already held SPARQL knowledge
already held Scala knowledge
already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
already held TypeScript knowledge
already held VBScript knowledge
already held Visual Basic knowledge
already held XQuery knowledge
already held computer programming knowledge
already held lean project management knowledge
already held query languages knowledge
already held resource description framework query language knowledge
already held trading software knowledge

The 1 learning area not shown above

Skill to acquire Tier

07 constructing 1 supplementary

optional, not held measure software usability optional

20 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to acquire Tier

optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held ICT performance analysis methods optional
optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
optional, not held application usability optional
optional, not held conduct ICT code review optional
optional, not held debug software optional
optional, not held develop ICT test suite optional
optional, not held develop automated software tests optional
optional, not held execute integration testing optional
optional, not held measure software usability optional
optional, not held perform software recovery testing optional
optional, not held plan software testing optional
optional, not held software components libraries optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
optional, not held unstructured data optional
optional, not held use scripting programming optional
optional, not held audit techniques optional
optional, not held digital systems optional
optional, not held hardware components optional
optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional

49 held skills the software tester role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role Agile development knowledge
not needed by the target role DevOps knowledge
not needed by the target role ICT problem management techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role ICT project management knowledge
not needed by the target role ICT system user requirements knowledge
not needed by the target role Open source model knowledge
not needed by the target role Outsourcing model knowledge
not needed by the target role Prototyping development knowledge
not needed by the target role Rapid application development knowledge
not needed by the target role SPARK knowledge
not needed by the target role Spiral development knowledge
not needed by the target role Waterfall development knowledge
not needed by the target role analyse ICT system skill
not needed by the target role analyse business processes skill
not needed by the target role business requirements techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role core banking software knowledge
not needed by the target role create data models skill
not needed by the target role create project specifications skill
not needed by the target role create prototype of user experience solutions skill
not needed by the target role create software design skill
not needed by the target role data models knowledge
not needed by the target role define software architecture skill
not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
not needed by the target role design information system skill
not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
not needed by the target role develop software prototype skill
not needed by the target role ensure compliance with company regulations skill
not needed by the target role ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
not needed by the target role hybrid model knowledge
not needed by the target role identify ICT system weaknesses skill
not needed by the target role identify ICT user needs skill
not needed by the target role incremental development knowledge
not needed by the target role inter-organisational middleware system knowledge
not needed by the target role interact with users to gather requirements skill
not needed by the target role iterative development knowledge
not needed by the target role legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
not needed by the target role manage ICT legacy implication skill
not needed by the target role manage ICT project skill
not needed by the target role manage system testing skill

9 further entries not listed here

12 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to acquire Tier

required, not held software anomalies required
required, not held software metrics required
optional, not held ICT debugging tools optional
optional, not held ICT performance analysis methods optional
optional, not held Microsoft Visual C++ optional
optional, not held application usability optional
optional, not held software components libraries optional
optional, not held tools for ICT test automation optional
optional, not held unstructured data optional
optional, not held audit techniques optional
optional, not held digital systems optional
optional, not held hardware components optional

Index

Other moves recorded from software analyst

Full index of moves from software analyst

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.