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copied!<p>I think that devinb gives an excellent answer about some skills/qualities that tend to make good testers. Another I'd add is:</p> <p><strong>Strong Communication</strong></p> <p>A tester is often translating between non-technical desires from stakeholders, and technical implementation details from coders. Being able to translate in both directions is very handy. Similarly, the main product that testers produce is test reports (both bugs and broader, often both written and verbal). Being able to effectively communicate what the (multiple) consumers of our reports need to hear is key to being effective. This includes both clarity and a helpful/non-judgmental tone so as to foster a collaborative relationship.</p> <p><strong>Ways To Determine</strong></p> <p>Looking at your question "are there any other ways to determine if I have what it takes to become a skilled tester?" with an testing mindset, I notice that most of our answers have addressed the "what it takes to become a skilled tester" portion of your question. I want to also spent a minute on "ways to determine". </p> <ol> <li><strong>Informational interviews</strong> with testers you respect (or at companies you respect). This can allow you to ask more specific questions -- with follow-up -- and give you answers focussed on particular contexts that interest you. (Much of what devinb stated above is generally applicable, but testing commercial web apps v. embedded, life-critical software v. video games -- all will give you different answers.</li> <li><strong>Test open source software.</strong> I'm always amazed how few folks trying to break into testing do this. It will help you understand more about what testing is, and build a portfolio of public bug reports that you can link to. Choose whatever OS project in active development that you fancy, and dive in!</li> <li><strong>Study testing</strong> There are great books, blogs, and courses out there. Different testers will point you toward different ones, but in my opinion the writings of Cem Kaner & James Bach (books or blogs) are a great start. In terms of coursework, annual membership in the Association for Software Testing gives one free access to the <a href="http://training.associationforsoftwaretesting.org/bbst_intro" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Black Box Software Testing series</a>, an amazing set of high-quality, instructor led courses, designed by Kaner & colleagues. </li> </ol> <p>Best of luck to you!</p>

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