The salary for software testers is great. If you are looking to pursue a career as a software tester, consider how large the industry is and how many companies out there will be looking for your skills. The demand for skilled software testers is big and it’s only going to grow!
Software testers are tasked with ensuring that an application functions as it should. This can involve a lot of different work, from finding bugs and defects to conducting usability tests to monitor how software is used by its intended users
Software testing is a common testing practice in the software development process. It is the process of evaluating a software product to ensure that it produces the desired results. Software testing can determine the presence of bugs (errors), assess the severity of their impact, and assist in determining the priority of corrective actions.
Salary For Software Tester Overview
Software testers are responsible for testing software for bugs or errors. They ensure that all the functions of the software work properly and meet the requirements of its users.
Software testers are employed in a wide range of industries, from video game development to research labs, testing websites and applications to making sure that cars are safe. They can work independently or as part of a team and may be called upon to solve problems as they arise during development.
Software testers perform a variety of tasks, but their primary responsibility is to ensure that software works properly before it is released for use by customers or clients. They test new programs by following instructions step by step to ensure that everything runs smoothly and that there are no errors or bugs in the system. They also work with developers to find ways to make programs more efficient and user-friendly. This includes watching how users interact with new systems and identifying potential problems before they become major issues.
Becoming a software tester requires at least some college education in computer science or information technology (IT). A bachelor’s degree is required for many high-level positions; however, employers may hire entry-level testers with less education if they have experience working with computers or software applications as well as strong analytical skills and attention to detail
What is Software Testing?
Software testing is the process of checking whether a software meets customer requirements and ensuring that the software product is free from defects. It involves the execution of software components using manual and automated tools to evaluate various properties.
For example, when an app is launched, the developer sends a piece of software for software testing. During testing, the software is subjected to various kinds of tests while keeping the users in mind. Thanks to these testing methods, users can experience flawless software at the time of the launch of the app.
What Does a Software Tester Do?
A software tester plays a crucial role in the process of a program being created for a client. The tester works as a part of the quality assurance department. The tester receives software programs at various stages of production and puts these programs through various tests, documenting the software programs’ response to those tests.
For example, a developer is making an application that handles customer payments. When the coding part of the application is completed, that code is sent to a software tester, who then runs various manual and automated tests on that application, ranging from checking if it runs in slower connections to checking if it is updating the account balance correctly. These tests are known as test cases. The application is sent to production only if it passes all the test cases set by the software tester.
How to Become a Software Tester?
Unlike what many people say, you don’t have to be a Bachelor in Computer Science, or in any other form of Engineering to be a Software Tester. If you have relevant experience, sufficient exposure to different technologies, and enough expertise in operating various testing platforms, you can become a tester even without a college degree.
Technical Skills for Software Tester Jobs
There are some essential technical skills that a software tester should have to get a job in a good company in this profession. Let’s discuss what they are and why they are important.
- Operation of Defect Tracking tool − Defect Tracking tools, as their name suggests, are used to track defects in a software code systematically. It’s important to maintain a log where records of these defects and subsequent steps are maintained so that developers can later check their errors. Testers rely heavily on such tools so they need to learn how to operate them.
- Operation of Database Software − Software is written using millions of lines of code and all this data is stored in database systems. A software tester should be able to retrieve, add, and save information or changes into this database system, which means he/she should know how to use DBMS (Database Management Software).
- Expertise in Automation tools −Automation is the future in software testing, so all manual testers upgrade to some Automation testing tool or the other after some years of experience. As a software tester interested to get into automation, you need to be good at at least one of these 4 scripting tools − VBScript, JavaScript, Shell, and Perl.
- Basic Linux Skills −A software tester is expected to know Linux because almost every database and application server is stored on Linux-based systems, as Linux is a very secure platform.
- Operation of Test Management Tool − Test Management Tools help software testers to standardize the testing process, identify bugs, and check their progress. Most companies use these tools so a software tester is expected to know how to use these test management tools.
Academic Background for Software Tester
Ideally, a Software tester is supposed to be either an M.Tech or B.E/B.Tech in Computer Science or Information Technology. However, the majority of testers are from MCA and BCA backgrounds. Having said that, it isn’t a compulsory requirement to have any of these qualifications if you have software testing certifications like ISTQB and CSTE.
Certification Exams
If you happen to be one of those hundreds of candidates who are interested to make a career in software testing but don’t have technical graduation to their name, then you can increase your chances of getting employed by doing some very credible certification courses.
The most foundational certification for software testing is the ISTQB Certification in the Testing Field. This certification is a prerequisite for getting employed in most of the top companies. An ISTQB-certified candidate always gets priority compared to other competitors.
Average Salary of a Software Tester
The average salary of a software tester is ₹3.5 LPA, according to PayScale. This figure can lie in the range of ₹1.80 LPA to ₹7.81 LPA, depending on the various factors mentioned above.
If you want to earn more with less experience, make sure you get an offer from a top software company in a location with a high cost of living.
Factors Affecting Software Tester Salary in India
The four main factors affecting software tester salary are:
- Company
- Location
- Experience
- Skills
Software Tester Salary by Company
The top recruiters for the software tester role are HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, and Cognizant. The highest salary is reported at Accenture where the average pay is ₹7.41 LPA. Other companies that offer high salaries for this role are Infosys and Wipro at ₹5.27 LPA and ₹5.14 LPA respectively.
According to Glassdoor, the freelance software tester salary in India is between ₹2.14 LPA and ₹5.06 LPA.
| Company Name | Salary |
| IBM | ₹410,000 |
| Accenture | ₹741,000 |
| Tata Consultancy Services | ₹378,000 |
| Infosys | ₹527,000 |
| Wipro | ₹514,000 |
| HCL | ₹437,651 |
| Cognizant | ₹512,451 |
Salary by Experience
We are now going to take a look at how the average salary of a software tester varies based on experience.
| Experience | Salary |
| Entry-level (Less than a year) | ₹207,000 |
| Early Career (1–4 years) | ₹342,000 |
| Mid-career (5–9 years) | ₹615,000 |
| Experienced (10+ years) | ₹976,000 |
Salary by Location
The salary of a software tester in India varies depending on the location. This is because the cost of living varies greatly in India. The following section discusses the salaries offered to software testers in various Indian cities.
| City | Experience | Salary |
| Bengaluru | Freshers | ₹207,000 |
| Experienced | ₹992,000 | |
| New Delhi | Freshers | ₹147,000 |
| Experienced | ₹705,000 | |
| Pune | Freshers | ₹189,000 |
| Experienced | ₹817,000 | |
| Mumbai | Freshers | ₹158,000 |
| Experienced | ₹681,000 | |
| Hyderabad | Freshers | ₹172,000 |
| Experienced | ₹571,000 | |
| Chennai | Freshers | ₹178,000 |
| Experienced | ₹610,000 |
Now, coming to other cities, on average, a software tester in Chandigarh can earn 26 percent more than the national average. In Surat, the average salary of a software tester is 29 percent more than the national average. The average salary of a software tester in Coimbatore, is 13 percent more than the national average. The salary of a software tester in New Delhi is 14 percent less than the national average. The salary of a software tester in Kochi is seven percent less than the national average.
Salary by Skills
Software testers skilled in ETL have seen a 181 percent increase in their salaries. Similarly, software testers skilled in Python have seen a 127 percent increase in their salaries. Software testers with skills in quality assurance have seen a 64 percent increase in their salaries. Software testers with integration testing and database skills have seen less increase in their salaries when compared to other skills.
