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I have been working in the testing industry for more than ten years, and because I have interviewed many test engineers (roughly counted as more than 1,000 people) in my work experience, I have met various candidates, and I have been paying attention to and thinking about this issue. I wrote an article "Let's talk about testing career development again" before, which sparked discussions among industry students. Today, in a more FreeStyle interactive format, let's briefly share how to break through common bottlenecks in testing career development.

How do you define a "bottleneck"?

For personal development, "bottleneck" is generally used to describe the stagnant state encountered in career development, which is like the neck of a bottle, and if you don't find the right problem, you may be stuck in the bottleneck (refer to Baidu Encyclopedia).

I selected a few real cases encountered in the interview, which are representative of the common bottlenecks of the testing profession.

Case 1

The 35-year-old applicant, who has worked in a well-known foreign company for 9 years, is a test team leader, and is laying off employees because the company's efficiency is very bad, so he came out to look for a job.

During the interview, it was found that basically nothing was done except for manual testing, because the company packaged the tools too well; The test management work was also unchallenged because the original process was too standard; There was no thought about the test architecture, because it was always a cog, but it was smoothly arranged to a smooth system.

Comments: Unknowingly, it has become a screw for a large company. I am very familiar with the operation process, but I don't think enough about the principles. Under the standard scrum process of foreign companies, everyone performs their own duties, and there is no problem in daily work cooperation. As for why this is done? What are the benefits? What are the challenges? These cannot be said, resulting in a lack of deep understanding of technology/management, and when you really encounter problems, you will find that you are actually unable to solve them. It will be very painful to come out and find a job again.

Case 2

33-year-old applicant, 11 years of work experience, changed jobs to 7 companies, including 3 outsourcing companies.

During the interview, it was found that I had worked in many industries, but my business knowledge was not drilled in; I have used many tools and several languages, but they are all superficial, and if I ask a little deeper, I can't answer; There is no good experience in leading a team because it changes teams too frequently and does not have in-depth interaction with a team.

Comments: More than ten years of work experience, experienced in many fields (banking, e-commerce, online education), but not in-depth, did not build a good skill matrix barrier, which is a pity.

Case 3

Xiao A, who has worked for 9 years, changed 3 companies, has been at the grassroots level, and has been doing more and more unchallenged work, feeling confused, not knowing what to improve, and how to go next.

Comments: Many students will experience this state, even if they can do their jobs well, their performance is not bad, but they feel that the work is very boring, they feel confused, and there is no clear direction for advancement. Should you change jobs or stay here? There is no clear idea.

Case 4

Xiao B is a classmate with very good skills and is also very active, but he lacks his own opinions and is almost all passive response work. Bring him people, basically all of them are unwilling to follow him.

There is currently an opportunity to be promoted to test architect, and he feels that he is very skilled and should be promoted. But in the end he was not promoted.

Comments: Why is the technology very good, but not promoted?

Although the technology is indeed very good objectively (recognized by the team), but most of the work is passive, as for what is still lacking in the team's technology? How to go next? In fact, I don't have my own ideas. In addition, I can't help others grow, I don't have the feeling of leading people (I am a wild free-range leader for my subordinates), and I can't lead people and the team to get results.

An architect is not a totem placed there as a decoration. The greatest value that architects bring to enterprises is the ability to solve problems, and this kind of problem is usually a very challenging and complex problem, such as technology, process, team factors, etc. At this time, you will find that some abilities are very important, such as the ability to communicate with people, the ability to manage projects, the ability to move things forward, the ability to resolve conflicts, and of course, technical skills are also very important (early technical selection, agreeing on technical routes, finding technical breakthroughs and solving problems, etc.), and integration is a very comprehensive ability requirement.

Good light technology is actually "lame" and not enough to support the position of architect.

Above, due to the rush of time, I picked these four examples.

In fact, everyone will have their own bottlenecks, shortcomings, or blind spots (I don't know what I don't know). The most important thing is to find the right problem in order to have a way to break through.

How to break through the bottleneck of career development?

Start by asking yourself 3 questions:

1. 1. What do you want?
2. 2. Are you satisfied with your current professional status?
3. 3. What determines your promotion and salary increase?

Career development is actually a big topic, the first question, figuring out what you really want, is the most fundamental problem. For example:

• · Some people have mines at home and hundreds of millions of assets, and their work income is not so important to them
• · Some people are very eager to pursue promotion at work, because they have to support their families (two babies, four elderly people), and there is huge financial pressure

Everyone's motivation is different, the problem to be solved is also different, and the position of the profession in life is also different. Figure out what you want from a career? And what kind of energy do you want to put into your career? This context is important.

The second question, I believe that most students are dissatisfied with their career status and look forward to better development, so the third question is very interesting: What determines your promotion and salary increase?

Here is an answer (a statistical result) that may subvert everyone's perception:

Jumping > The organization's perception of your importance and contribution to > Your contribution and importance to the organization

Some students may have recognized this before, but there are also many students who feel unhappy and talented, such as Xiao B, mentioned above.

Can you think about why the company is recruiting a person? There may even be a salary inversion (new employees are paid more than old employees)?

In fact, the company's operations are generally top-down, based on the top-level strategy and then progressing layer by layer to tactical execution, various campaigns, etc. What makes your work excellent and has performance value? ———— Meeting the company's expectations of you is the most decisive.

Therefore, it is necessary to spend enough effort to focus upwards at the beginning of the work, rather than immersing oneself in hard work. Be sure to understand the intentions of the boss/boss in advance, communicate clearly in time, and then act and iterate after reaching an agreement on the definition of work value. Especially if there are some bottom-up jobs, don't be stuffy, you must be recognized in advance.

There is a good saying: "If you don't do things from the east, you will be tired to death." What you do is different from what the boss thinks, and the final result is not what he wants, and no matter how hard you work, it is useless. Without value, you can't win by results. Everyone must remember this sentence.

In addition, valuable results also need to be summarized, displayed and reported. Down-to-earth work also requires a certain amount of exposure. Of course, don't be the kind of person who reports all day long.

Career development bottlenecks are also very individualized issues, and they must be considered and optimized in combination with a context and their own actual situation. You can do a self-assessment first: What do you think are the three most important things that hinder your development? Only when you can realize your problems can these problems be solved.

Here are some of the most common career development problems and solutions.

1. What should I do if I feel "lost"?

"Confusion" can be said to be the most common problem, don't know what to do next, don't know what you want? Don't know what to learn?

Here is the simplest but most effective solution, close your eyes and think:

1. (1) Who is the peer you admire the most (genuinely admire not jealousy)?
2. (2) Where is the gap between you and him?
3. (3) Can you be like him? (Or not.)

Through the benchmarking method, you can understand what your most desired career status, position, and salary are? Once you have a clear and reasonable goal (such as the next 1-2 years), things will be much easier and you will not be confused.

It can be said that if you want to understand this, you will solve more than half of the problems of career development. **At work, I often communicate this issue with my team members, and the effect is obvious.

Of course, if the goal is reasonable, it cannot be said that I want to work for five years like XXX and go public, and achieve financial freedom. IT wealth creation is mainly dependent on fate, and not everyone has good opportunities. You still have to plan your career goals in a down-to-earth manner.

2. What should I do if my work is passive and lacks ideas?

Some students reported that the work is always led by others, and they will do it themselves when someone starts, and they feel that they lack the ability to think actively.

In fact, the idea comes from two places, the first is external. You don't have to come up with ideas yourself, you can see more of what your peers do? Summarizing the experience of other first-tier manufacturers can be inspired a lot. I myself have also developed a habit, that is, I pay attention to the technical blogs and WeChat public accounts of major manufacturers all year round, including the annual industry technology conference, and I will also get to know more outstanding celebrities in the industry, communicate and discuss more, and come out while chatting with ideas.

The other is internal, that is, there is life in the eyes mentioned above. What are the pain points of the team now? For example, from dot dot = "automated test = " pyramid hierarchical test, starting from one problem involves more problems, more and more deep. The more problems you solve, the stronger your ability will be, which is a process of accumulation.

3. I feel that as long as the technology is good, I am awesome and addicted to technology.

Many test students have this situation, their skills have grown rapidly in the past few years, and their promotions have also been very fast, but they are stuck at that point at a stage.

In fact, good technology is only a sufficient condition, not a necessary condition.

The company's willingness to pay you depends on your performance and expectations for your performance.

We should still pay attention to the improvement of comprehensive ability.

4. Poor and busy, 996 working overtime every day, no time to grow?

Just now, some students mentioned that every day and 996 have no time to grow (this is the case with most Internet companies).

But in fact, 996/busy work is not a problem, the main problem is:

Actively or passively give up learning, summarizing and thinking

Therefore, we must force ourselves to develop a good habit of thinking and closely combine the growth of our abilities with work.

I myself face this challenge, basically working more than 70 hours a week, and there are various meetings and various people coming to communicate with you. But you also have to find ways to squeeze in time, such as squeezing out an hour to think about work before the team heats up at 9/10, such as improving the overall utilization of the system. There are also special discussion groups with regular meetings to discuss new technical papers.

No matter how fragmented your work is, there will always be a way. The book "Deep Work" is especially recommended here.

5. Always be in your comfort zone.

Staying in your comfort zone is also a very common problem.

Every year (every six months) it is necessary to ask yourself:

1. (1) Have you grown this year?
2. (2) What are your growth gains? It must be described in detail (the more specific the better).

Many students have been doing little by little in their work without progress.

What new technologies did you learn? Do you use it at work? For example, there is a student who taught himself Docker/K8S, but the question is not clear because there is no practice, so he cannot understand it with half the effort.

So you must keep yourself in the study area and maintain growth for 2-3 or 3-5 years, and you will naturally have a significant improvement and become great.

6. Is my current position right for me?

Have you ever asked yourself, is my current position suitable for me?

• · Is there enough challenge? Isn't it very happy?
• · Did you learn something? Can it grow and support the development of the next 3-5 years?
• · Are there any particularly unreasonable job arrangements?
• · Will it help me in my future career development?

If not, whose problem is it? My problem, or my boss's problem? The boss's problem? Problems with the company's business? Is there a workable solution?

Time always flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a year has passed. Be sure to take the initiative to reflect.

7. Constantly iterate on your own operating system

Whether a person can do it, or how much he can achieve, the core is the key, such as your emotions, wills, and perspective on things, which are the most important.

With a good operating system, other technical or other professional knowledge will not be learning. can be learned quickly. Simply learning something is actually simple.

Everyone needs to constantly iterate and debug their own operating system.